# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/141 "2009-11-09T19:10:24Z")
Speaking of commercials, 74-75 was the run of those Mean Mary Jean ads for Chrysler-Plymouth. Mary Jean was a young hottie in a football jersey and denim short shorts. I still remember the stupid jingle (sung by a barbershop quartet, IIRC): Hello Hello Hello Mean Mary Jean Our superstar Tell us about our Chrysler Plymouth cars (and then she would) Mary Jean was played by [Judy Strangis](http://www.royhooper.com/HelenROOM222.JPG). Also, [Ricardo Montalban’s Chrysler Cordoba ad](http://en.sevenload.com/videos/3QWfA7m-Chrysler-Cordoba-commercial-with-Ricardo-Montalban) (“soft corinthian leather”) came out in '75. Also the era of Miller Light’s “Great taste!” “Less Filling!” ads, wherein various famous athletes would take one side or the other in the debate. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/142 "2009-11-09T19:11:11Z")
I collected [Mod Rods](http://www.trademe.co.nz/Toys-models/Die-casts/Other/auction-249447031.htm) by Tonka. [Dragon Wagon](http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130323187115) These were done by the mid 70’s. Those multi color pens were a big item about 1976. They were at least an inch in diameter. Those [paper chains](http://www.gumwrapper.com/) were also big. They could be made from a gum wrapper. Pop top chains were a kid challenge also. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/143 "2009-11-09T19:49:49Z")
Bic lighters were the new thing in 1973. “Flick your Bic”. All us kids had one, even if we didn’t smoke. The first UPC bar coded products appeared in 1974, but it was a lot longer before the scanners were ubiquitous. ---
**Author:** ![beatlejuice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@beatlejuice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beatlejuice)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/144 "2009-11-09T20:14:44Z")
patchoulli oil banana seats clackers ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/145 "2009-11-09T20:35:42Z")
We wore a lot of tie-dye and other colorful second-hand stuff from the '60s. Mom liked that because she could watch a bunch of kids playing in the schoolyard and easily determine which ones belonged to her. > [@Umbriel2](#): > > 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. Dad sometimes let one or two of us ride in his wagon’s spare tire compartment! One of my earliest memories is being in the wagon with Dad, just the two of us, going to the local Ford dealer. I think that was when he ordered his commuter car: a '71 Pinto. That little yellow Zeibart-protected thing somehow managed to last at least 15 years! It had developed a problem with retaining oil by then, though. I’d have owned it after graduating high school but one of my brothers got to it first. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/146 "2009-11-09T21:15:00Z")
Hawaiian shirts.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/147 "2009-11-09T21:22:21Z")
Love brand cosmetics I remember lots of commercials for the dry shampoo called Psssssst I still remember the song, that’s how I knew how many esses (s’s ?) to use. We were just starting to get a proliferation of hair care and cosmetic products. Prior to that there was maybe Breck and Prell shampoo, not a bazillion. We had creme rinse, not conditioner. Eye shadow came in blue, green and brown. Maybelline had one kind of mascara in black or brown, cake eyeliner, reeeaal basic stuff. [Walgreens: Pharmacy, Health & Wellness, Photo & More for You](http://www.drugstore.com/qxp94840_333181_sespider/psssssst/instant_spray_shampoo_unscented.htm) ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/148 "2009-11-09T21:28:19Z")
Dashikis, halter tops, hip-hugger jeans, elephant bells, wide belts. I remember outfits that were a mini-dress with matching panties called sizzlers. Polyester was HUGE. Oh oh, oh, men’s leisure suits 😃 link to leisure suit baby blue 😃[http://www.vintage70sclothing.com/Mens/Jackets/13562e.htm](http://www.vintage70sclothing.com/Mens/Jackets/13562e.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/149 "2009-11-09T22:06:02Z")
Green leisure suits. Pooka beads Farrah posters Buick regals that the plain clothes detectives drove so we all knew who they were. NYC with trash piled up every where and taxi drivers driving tourist downtown via queens. kids games like “red light green light” ALUMINUM SIDING. those long annoying phone cords that were always wadded up. Heavy red velvet furniture (this may just have been an Italian thing) All in one record players, tape decks and radios. The Fonz;s “AAyyy” and Welcome back Kotter. “up your nose with a rubber hose” paneling in pink and blue shag carpet and those little plastic rakes. “go rake your room” Forgive me if these are repeats. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/150 "2009-11-09T22:13:55Z")
Nu-Vinyl, for all the shit that was made out of vinyl, from car interiors and roofs to furniture to footwear. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/151 "2009-11-09T22:39:26Z")
> [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](#): > > I remember lots of people having those “raining” oil lamps with drops of oil falling down fishing wire on the outside of golden statue in their living rooms. I guess their called rain lamps, like [this one](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2331/2210947570_faa9dd89e1.jpg). The mall in Waukesha County had one of those, with green threads. And phoney plastic plants. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/152 "2009-11-09T23:00:47Z")
Legionnaires’ disease 1976. There was a nation wide scare of catching it until they figured out what it was. That and swine flue. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/153 "2009-11-10T00:43:34Z")
In the Bigfoot/UFO theme, the Wisconsin Kangaroo Outbreak was a little mystery in our own backyard. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/154 "2009-11-10T02:44:41Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > kids games like “red light green light” I can authoritatively date that game back well into the 60s. EDIT: knowing kids’ games it was probably popular in the 1660s ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/155 "2009-11-10T16:48:17Z")
When I was a kid in the early 70’s, these are the things I remember: Slinkys, silly string, Hot Wheels, and silly putty were popular toys. I had the Lemon Twist thing. It was fun and cute because there was a plastic lemon on the end of the tether. Speaking of tethers, tether ball was popular at my grade school, along with Four-Square. Hong Kong Phooey, HR Pufnstuff – all those Sid and Marty Krofft shows. Land of the Lost, superhero shows on Saturday mornings ([Shazam](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Vi8o4hxOc), [Isis](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNMJRFGuXL0)). I recall superheroes in general being pretty popular: Batman and Robin, Aquaman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, etc. Chiffon “[It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLrTPrp-fW8)”, and Coke “[I’d like to teach the world to sing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOEU87SBTU)” commercials seemed to be shown a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/156 "2009-11-10T16:59:52Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > In the Bigfoot/UFO theme, the Wisconsin Kangaroo Outbreak was a little mystery in our own backyard. I’ve only seen a kangaroo out break in Wisconsin in the last decade. Where and when was the one you refer to. ---
**Author:** ![nibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@nibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/157 "2009-11-10T17:40:05Z")
G.I. Joe - the big ones - like a foot tall and they were American! ---
**Author:** ![Loisseau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@Loisseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loisseau)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/158 "2009-11-10T20:10:58Z")
Thought I was the only one to remember this piece of doggerel. Good on ya! > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Ah, sweet memories. > > _Love they little mousies, > Mousies what I love to eat. > Bite they tiny heads off, > Nibble on they tiny feet._ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/159 "2009-11-10T22:39:18Z")
Harvey Comics (especially Richie Rich, who had 20-some simultaneous monthly titles going in the mid 70s–and I collected them all) Space Food Sticks Sizzlers and the Juice Machine (Hot Wheels cars you could plug into a gas-pump-shaped thing to power them up) Zotz candy Wacky Packages Breakfast Squares Marathon Bars Fonzie/Happy Days (huge fad in our area when I was in 4th/5th grade) Patricia Hearst kidnapping/the SLA SST Racers Vertibird Johnny and Jane West and all their friends and various gear (including a buckboard just the right size and configuration to hitch to the family cat…but wait, I’ve said too much :D) Elton John (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726/160 "2009-11-10T22:43:07Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I can authoritatively date that game back well into the 60s. > > EDIT: knowing kids’ games it was probably popular in the 1660s Who knew they had traffic lights in the 1660’s? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timers-remind-me-of-some-early-70s-stuff/516726.md?page=9)