# Old timers, remind me of some early 70's stuff **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726 "2009-11-07T17:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/61 "2009-11-08T04:01:53Z")
(Some random memories follow, served up just as they come to me…) Shields & Yarnell. UHF television stations. Saturday morning cartoons — practically a religious rite for young kids in the 70s. Omni magazine. Playboy magazine, still a serious magazine with intelligent articles. Leaded gasoline, still around but creaking through its final years. Cigarette smoking still very common among adults. Ashtrays were in everyone’s house: on end tables, kitchen counters, or close at hand in a drawer or cupboard. They were often decorative to fit in with the other furniture. No nutrition labels were on packaged foods. Also absent in grocery stores: foods imported from Europe (or farther lands). The term “Space Age” was still used seriously, not ironically. The Voyager 1 and 2 probes launched in 1977, and both reached Jupiter in 1979. This was the first time the planet and its moons had been photographed up close. The four Galilean moons in particular had only ever been points of light in a telescope before this. Generally, people found the images stunning. (Saturn and the other gas giants were also stunning, but they wouldn’t be reached until the 80s.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/62 "2009-11-08T04:06:46Z")
hand held Calculators were getting more common by 1975. I had a TI sr50A my parents bought when I started college in 1976. Any science or math major had calculators by then. SR50’s came out in 1975 [http://www.datamath.org/Sci/WEDGE/sr-50a.htm](http://www.datamath.org/Sci/WEDGE/sr-50a.htm) ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/63 "2009-11-08T04:36:00Z")
[GI Joe with kung fu grip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxbW_BY4X80) ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/64 "2009-11-08T04:57:17Z")
> [@rolandgunslinger](#): > > [GI Joe with kung fu grip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxbW_BY4X80) Wackey Packeys Mad Magazine Six million Dollar Man Beer Can Collecting Monday Night Football Skateboard Parks Coulderoy Pants Christmas Ornament Making Pinball Hush Puppies Star Wars Big Foot Smash Up-Derby Roller Derby Roller Skating Hitchhiking Sceeching African American Knocking :dubious: Streaking I guess some of theses are still around. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/65 "2009-11-08T04:59:49Z")
Anyone remember Crazy Wheels? They were bicycle tires that came in red, blue, yellow, orange, and green (Makin’ the scene!). ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/4af34b/32.png) [@Umbriel2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel2)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/66 "2009-11-08T05:19:16Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I’m doing [NaNoWriMo](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=537264&highlight=nanowrimo) this month and my book takes place in 1975… > > - seat belts being mandatory, their usage not As seat belt safety drives ramped up in the early '70s, they initially skipped right over seat belt laws to an even more draconian measure. 1974-75 was the brief era of the [“ignition interlock”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt#Reminder_chime_and_light), that wouldn’t allow your car to start without the belt being buckled. This was intensely unpopular from the start, and I recall auto dealers actively assisting customers in circumventing the system. My parents had metal blanks cut to insert into the belt sockets so they didn’t have to use the actual belts. Young kids, it should be noted, didn’t usually ride in car seats after they were able to walk on their own. They’d ride in front or back, sprawl in the back of station wagons, etc. I remember occasionally lying on the deck atop the back seats of a sedan. If I obscured my Dad’s view through the rear-view mirror, he never complained. Regarding early '70s dweebs – science toys were still fairly common at the time. Chemistry sets. Model rocketry. Rock collecting and tumbling. They might also have been more likely (like myself) to have still been playing with toy soldiers and guns in an era when “war toys” had become somewhat controversial and shunned by some parents. GI Joe at the time (kung-fu grip and all) had shifted into “Adventure Team” mode, with toys oriented more toward exploration than combat (to which they would return, battling COBRA during the Reagan era). Also, I recall Monty Python running on PBS late at night in the mid-70s, where it was perhaps even more likely to be found by the geekier set. Fleeting unedited bits of nudity in a couple of episodes added to its appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/67 "2009-11-08T05:28:32Z")
“I don’t like Zan and Jayna. Wendy and Marvin were better.” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/68 "2009-11-08T05:44:25Z")
The Six Million Dollar Man Carole King’s Tapestry Carly Simon James Taylor Pong The word “hassle” Hare Krishnas, esp. in airports Dalkin Shield IUDs K-tel compilation music album commercials ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/69 "2009-11-08T05:53:47Z")
Nerds were putting together Tandy kits, building speakers, playing Pong and Atari. Home computers were just coming out (Alan Alda was in a commercial for one). Also from 70’s: Earth Shoes began to replace Desert Boots. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/70 "2009-11-08T07:13:20Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m seeing a lot of stuff in this thread being mid- to late 1970s rather than early 1970s. > > How about Duncan yo-yos? There were all sorts of models, along with various tricks you could do with them, such as “walk the dog.” The company even had some sort of yo-yo master (really), probably more than one, who would travel around the country and give tips. Duncan yo-yo’s were huge circa 1960. I had a couple. Also, in 1975 weren’t PONG machines still to be found? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/71 "2009-11-08T09:00:04Z")
ATMs started coming into use in the late 60’s, but weren’t widely popular for some time after that. If you needed cash on the weekend and didn’t have it in your wallet, you were SOL till monday. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/72 "2009-11-08T09:31:27Z")
> [@Oregon\_sunshine](#): > > I think the push-through tabs on beverage cans was an 80s thing?? No, I was in 8th grade when they appeared, so that was 1975. Here’s mine: stagflation ABBA David Cassidy Leif Garrett Watergate Happy Days Disco OPEC MASH High heels for men Ridiculously flared pants Enormous collars on business shirts Fat ties Digital LED watches Calculators Super Elastic Bubble Plastic ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/73 "2009-11-08T09:44:52Z")
Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record on April 8, 1974 with a home run in Atlanta off Los Angeles pitcher Al Downing. I was on my honeymoon and missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/74 "2009-11-08T10:19:01Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Also, in 1975 weren’t PONG machines still to be found? See posts #30, 31, 68, and 69, above. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/75 "2009-11-08T10:21:55Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Home computers were just coming out (Alan Alda was in a commercial for one). [You’re a decade off](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1347&dat=19880220&id=5NISAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8_sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5096,1577834). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/76 "2009-11-08T10:45:57Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > But what were dweebs doing circa 1970? Did dweebs even exist then? What were nerdy but marginally academic kids doing while their compatriots were smoking grass or demonstrating for Richard Nixon? Do you mean _against_ Richard Nixon? Nerdy things to do in 1970? Well, that was before Star Wars, and before Star Trek fandom had arisen from the ashes of the series. But there was model building, Lord of the Rings fandom, science fiction novels, science fair projects, baseball card collecting, comic book collecting, rock collecting, stamp collecting, coin collecting, [Heathkit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathkit) assemble-it-yourself projects, [amateur radio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_radio), [The Whole Earth Catalog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Catalog). ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/77 "2009-11-08T14:30:57Z")
Speaking of phones, when did they start to have cords that you could unhook from the handset and from the phone and the wall? I think in 1975 they were still all hardwired in by the phone company, from whom you rented your handsets. They came in some sweet colors, too. The Life on Mars guy has an aqua one. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/78 "2009-11-08T14:43:02Z")
I remember the 70’s as an era of shortages and shoddiness. Gas lines due to oil embargoes. Cars that came off the Detroit assembly lines with shit wrong with them and which promptly began to rust. Plastic kid’s toys made from brittle polymers that snapped with ridiculous ease. Polyester clothes. Diet pop that tasted like industrial waste. Grocery stores full of flavorless fruits and vegetables all year round, not just in winter. Most of what was on TV was shit, there were only the 3 networks and they strove mightily to be indistinguishable from each other. There were some good things too. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was really cool. It was still kind of a novelty to see bewbees in movies. DC published 100 page Super Spectaculars with reprints of old stories in them…I really loved those. It was still a golden age for mail ordering jokes and novelties (which were cheap and shoddy) and the catalogs rocked. To answer a question from upthread, one things dweebs did back then was spend a lot of time playing board games. I remember Risk being popular. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/79 "2009-11-08T14:59:18Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Duncan yo-yo’s were huge circa 1960. I had a couple. They must have made a comeback circa 1970, because I remember them being very big then. Not regular yo-yos, but all these special models. I had a friend who could do all sorts of neat tricks with them. He’s why I remember the guys traveling around the country to give tips; my friend never missed a chance to go see one who was passing through. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/80 "2009-11-08T15:03:19Z")
Lots of smaller cars due to the energy crisis. Little Japanese cars & Datsun pick-up trucks. Wood burning stoves in the New England, again due to the energy crisis. Leisure suits. Big hair for guys, long straight hair for girls. George Carlin records were big. Texas Instruments scientific calculator were around $250 as I entered my senior year of high school in the fall '75. The price dropped a lot during the school year, as our math teacher loved to announce to the geek in our class who had bought one early. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726.md?page=5)