# Stuff that was different in the 60s and 70s **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688 "2017-06-11T14:38:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/321 "2017-06-21T17:30:15Z")
Does anybody else remember [Blue Chip Stamps?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Chip_Stamps) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/322 "2017-06-21T17:33:25Z")
According to [this,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitary_napkin#History) “The belted sanitary napkin quickly disappeared during the early 1980s.” ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/323 "2017-06-21T17:39:07Z")
> [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](#): > > I was born in 1964… > > For us kids garage projects were common ! > > - We would take the front wheel off of our coaster bikes {Schwinn knock offs}. > - We would cut conduit to make a pair of 3 foot lengths. > - We would pound the last 2" of two ends flat and drill them out so our front tires fit. > - We would jam the open ends of the conduit firmly back onto the forks of our bikes. > > . That reminds me of how we’d take train sets (well, my brother would), take the wheel assemblies off the cars so you had two sets of wheels and put ball bearings on them for weights. Then we’d take the train tracks and make a gravity operated double-track setup in the basement and race them. We called them putt-putt cars. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/324 "2017-06-21T17:49:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Damn. Rapid deceleration would throw you out the back window. Fools, all of you. Obviously, dad was fond of driving in reverse! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/325 "2017-06-21T17:57:48Z")
My sister learned sewing in Home Ec and loved to make her own clothes. Most of her wardrobe of miniskirts was home made. Dad never locked the car doors at night till somebody ransacked the glove compartment one night. And then insurance companies started refusing to pay if there was damage or theft to your car if you hadn’t locked it at night. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/326 "2017-06-21T18:03:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dad never locked the car doors at night till somebody ransacked the glove compartment one night. And then insurance companies started refusing to pay if there was damage or theft to your car if you hadn’t locked it at night. My parents left the car keys in the ash tray of the car overnight at home. Cars today don’t even have ash trays. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/327 "2017-06-21T18:10:08Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Fools, all of you. Obviously, dad was fond of driving in reverse! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/328 "2017-06-21T18:24:56Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > This is pretty much exactly like it was for us too! > > We also had initiation for Freshmen in high school which usually just consisted of the upper class men taking you out in the country a couple miles and making you walk back to town. Sometimes they would put lipstick or something on your face or take your shoes and make you walk a little ways (not miles). Yep, that too! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/329 "2017-06-22T02:01:35Z")
Speaking of catalogs, who spend hours poring over the male AND female underwear ads in the Sears catalog, trying desperately–and futilely–to see SOMETHING, ANYTHING? _\_ There was NO pornography in my house. Every now and then a _National Geographic_ would turn up. Very disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/330 "2017-06-22T02:40:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Speaking of catalogs, who spend hours poring over the male AND female underwear ads in the Sears catalog, trying desperately–and futilely–to see SOMETHING, ANYTHING? _\_ There was NO pornography in my house. Every now and then a _National Geographic_ would turn up. Very disappointing. Heh. I think \*National Geographic \*was a bit more satisfying for us guys than for the gals, back then. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/331 "2017-06-22T03:02:53Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Heh. I think \*National Geographic \*was a bit more satisfying for us guys than for the gals, back then. There were some mysterious and indeterminate bulges in those jockeys. Check out this [1975 ad](http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments/the_man_on_page_602) that some claimed revealed more than was intended. They’re talking about the guy in the boxers, not the one in the bulgy briefs. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/332 "2017-06-22T05:05:07Z")
The PR rep’s name is Judy Aycock? ---
**Author:** ![Murph1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Murph1111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murph1111)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/333 "2017-06-22T16:18:17Z")
Gas Wars in So Cal. For some reason, 19.9 cents seemed to be the lowest any station would go - don’t know the reason. So, needing some way to beat the competition, one station started hiring UCSB girls to pump the gas. College girls in bikinis! Clean my windshield, please! Yes, we did a lot of driving in circles just to burn off gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/334 "2017-06-22T17:53:01Z")
I vaguely remember gas prices below ten cents during gas wars. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/335 "2017-06-24T14:22:59Z")
In the early 60s, at least, dryers were not that common and most people (meaning women, back then) hung their clothes out to dry. So backyards typically had clothes lines and your mom had a basket of clothes pins for that purpose. I remember when we got our first dishwasher, probably about 1964. It was this thing we kept in the pantry and rolled out at night, hooked up to the kitchen sink and then put away when it was done. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/336 "2017-06-24T14:28:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > In the early 60s, at least, dryers were not that common and most people (meaning women, back then) hung their clothes out to dry. So backyards typically had clothes lines and your mom had a basket of clothes pins for that purpose. I remember when we got our first dishwasher, probably about 1964. It was this thing we kept in the pantry and rolled out at night, hooked up to the kitchen sink and then put away when it was done. Appliances like that were taking off in the 50s but almost every home I recall in the 60s still had an outdoor clothesline or one of those[umbrella like things.](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Household-Essentials-12-Tier-Metal-Umbrella-Clothesline/3695036?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA_ONLY-_-Kitchens-_-SosGeneralOrganization-_-3695036:Household_Essentials&CAWELAID=&kpid=3695036&CAGPSPN=pla&k_clickID=d7533357-a591-4a7f-8d73-8e0e5db5e3c9&gclid=CNrT_6XY1tQCFYiNswodyssH_w) ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/337 "2017-06-24T17:10:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > In the early 60s, at least, dryers were not that common and most people (meaning women, back then) hung their clothes out to dry. So backyards typically had clothes lines and your mom had a basket of clothes pins for that purpose. I remember when we got our first dishwasher, probably about 1964. It was this thing we kept in the pantry and rolled out at night, hooked up to the kitchen sink and then put away when it was done. My family had one of those rollaway dishwashers, too, as well as a rollaway washing machine that replaced an old ringer model. My father had to extend our back porch in order to accommodate the two machines. I loved hanging out the laundry on a hot day, with the cool, wet sheets flapping against me. I was also allowed to shout my be be gun to scare away the starlings that would gorge on the neighbor’s mulberry tree and dive bomb all the drying laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/338 "2017-06-24T17:18:49Z")
Prior to the late 196Os, beards and long hair on men was unheard of, unless they lived in really remote areas, like the Appalachians or the Yukon. Clean-shaven and short-back-and-sides was the order of the day. It gets more incredible every year to think that the Beatles in 1964 had outrageously **long** hair. (I wasn’t around back then, but what made me think of this was watching **Never Cry Wolf** , based on the book of the same name by Farley Mowat. Guy goes to north of 60 to study wolves, and necessarily lets his hair and beard grow. At the end, I thought, “But this was earlier than 1963, when the book was published. These are about the only circumstances in which he’d look like this. Wonder how people reacted when he got back to the city?”) ---
**Author:** ![Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Last_Glacial_Maximum)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/339 "2017-06-24T19:38:37Z")
Around 1974 or so, our fridge would spit out a certain type of ice cube. About a dozen or so oblong cubes {with empty spaces between each of them} would be created at once. Joined together by a “backbone” of solid ice. You could snap off any amount of ice you wanted… Also, my older sister wanted her ears pierced… Of course I said “I’ll do it”. I snapped off two oblong cubes and utilizing the empty space between them, I inserted my sister’s ear lobe. As the ice melted, I just replaced them with a fresh pair of cubes. Soon enough, my sister’s lobe was sufficiently numbed and I simply jabbed a straight pin through the center of her lobe. I repeated the process for the other side. When my Mother came home from work she was nonplussed about the whole thing. Her only comment was something to the effect of “I hope you put Bactine on it”. End Result: Bingo! Pierced ears. 40+ years later and her ears still look great ! 😃 . ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688/340 "2017-06-24T19:52:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > … I remember when we got our first dishwasher, probably about 1964. It was this thing we kept in the pantry and rolled out at night, hooked up to the kitchen sink and then put away when it was done. > [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > My family had one of those rollaway dishwashers, too, as well as a rollaway washing machine that replaced an old ringer model. My father had to extend our back porch in order to accommodate the two machines. > > … In 1973 my (first) husband bought me a rollaway dishwasher for Christmas. I just replaced it around 2004 with another one. When I bought the new one, the guy at the store said, “Don’t expect this one to last as long as that first one did, 'cause they really _don’t_ make them like that any more.” I’ve always (by choice) lived in really old apartments/houses, and this is the only kind of dishwasher I’ve ever had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-was-different-in-the-60s-and-70s/788688.md?page=18)