A bullfight poster
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:23 (four years ago) link
(cheap) wood-paneled rec room
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:24 (four years ago) link
shag carpeting
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:25 (four years ago) link
One copy each of I Sing the Body Electric and The Invisible Man.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:26 (four years ago) link
A pool,or bumper pool, table as well as an air hockey table
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:29 (four years ago) link
Supersized brick hearth
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:30 (four years ago) link
macramé
― A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:43 (four years ago) link
no brick hearth in my home, but definitely shag carpeting and cheap wood panelling, also Stairway to Heaven at parties, parents ignoring children, hot naked swimming in gym class, lots of pot, having to apply to college without any help, drinking bourbon with friends, high school musicals, and "Be Here Now"
― Dan S, Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:44 (four years ago) link
Asbestos
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:51 (four years ago) link
Free to Be You and Me
Price, Stern, Sloan parody books like Uses for a Dead Cat
Judy Collins's Colors of the Day
John Denver's Greatest Hits
Beach Boys Endless Summer
bookshelves made out of reclaimed planks and cinder blocks
a coffee table made from a cable spool
a wicker papasan chair
The Vegetarian Epicure
a rotary-dial phone with an extra-long cord (so you can take it somewhere private)
a denim vest with fake-pearl snaps
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:54 (four years ago) link
So many dead photo links over here: Let's talk about the non- pop culture pop culture enjoyed by Real Amurricans in the '70s.
― a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 28 December 2019 03:55 (four years ago) link
Endless Summer was so great. I remember a lot of the things you posted YMP
― Dan S, Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:07 (four years ago) link
The joy of sex
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:10 (four years ago) link
My older sister introduced us to Our Bodies, Ourselves, which we considered very outré. She also brought home hashish from college and got us younger siblings stoned
― Dan S, Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:21 (four years ago) link
I’m OK - You’re OKThe Peter Principle
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:45 (four years ago) link
Tube socksTube tops
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:48 (four years ago) link
Love YMP
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:52 (four years ago) link
which is of course true, but my full post was supposed to be Love YMP’s post, afraid to click on other thread
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:53 (four years ago) link
there were a lot of great books about consciousness and presence and being in the 70s
― Dan S, Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:54 (four years ago) link
wish we in 2019 had the same bandwidth
― Dan S, Saturday, 28 December 2019 05:08 (four years ago) link
fear of flying
alex haley’s roots
shogun/the thorn birds/all other novels later turned into richard chamberlain miniseries
― mookieproof, Saturday, 28 December 2019 05:43 (four years ago) link
In every 70s home ever, UK edition:In every 70s UK home ever
― just another country (snoball), Saturday, 28 December 2019 11:31 (four years ago) link
All of this suggests 70s US homes were very different from 70s UK homes.
― Soup on my lanyard (Tom D.), Saturday, 28 December 2019 11:56 (four years ago) link
I imagine that US homes were fancier, but still had that '70s naff' aesthetic.
― just another country (snoball), Saturday, 28 December 2019 11:58 (four years ago) link
Table centrepiece made of wheat sheaves and shellacked bread in wicker basket tied with grosgrain ribbon
Seashells gathered on holiday in basket in bathroom.
― santa clause four (suzy), Saturday, 28 December 2019 12:10 (four years ago) link
Excerpt from “Desiderata” hanging on the (guest bathroom) wall
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 12:29 (four years ago) link
Entranced by this canned pear and mayonnaise delicacy (Southern homes only, apparently):
Someone brought pear salad to our big family Christmas lunch. I propose this is the worst dish the South ever invented. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/OEMr3hHaAH— Anna Claire Vollers (@acvollers) December 26, 2019
― Alba, Saturday, 28 December 2019 12:36 (four years ago) link
We had the full Desiderata framed on our wall, you lazy bones.
tbh I think most, maybe all had the full “Desiderata,” I just wasn’t able to mentally summon up a picture of all those words.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 12:56 (four years ago) link
They're all good!
― Alba, Saturday, 28 December 2019 12:58 (four years ago) link
the words?
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 13:00 (four years ago) link
thin brick/faux brick wall
https://stpaulsbaltimore.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/desiderata-pamphlet.pdf
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 13:04 (four years ago) link
stained glass chandelier
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 13:06 (four years ago) link
a bunch of these things apparently still exist in the Home Depot catalogue, for example, but I haven’t seen them in wild in decades
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 13:07 (four years ago) link
as is also the case with World’s Best Dad
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:05 (four years ago) link
Ferns
A jade plant, hung in a macrame plant hanger
Hamburger Helper
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:09 (four years ago) link
Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:10 (four years ago) link
A BEAD CURTAIN
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:11 (four years ago) link
all good. what about the close sibling of this last: the accordion door?
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:13 (four years ago) link
Yup, in faux-woodgrain
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:27 (four years ago) link
Crock Pot.
― santa clause four (suzy), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:31 (four years ago) link
Whole Earth CatalogFondue setReader's DigestThe Book of Lists
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:42 (four years ago) link
Dad’s Own Bar, complete with, ahem, humorous signage with respect to opening and closing time, such as cardboard clock face with twelve 5s.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 14:46 (four years ago) link
2-3 dozen copies of "Apartment Life" magazine
― Lactose Shaolin Wanker (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:05 (four years ago) link
A lazy susan, or possibly several
― Lactose Shaolin Wanker (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:06 (four years ago) link
"Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
― Lactose Shaolin Wanker (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:08 (four years ago) link
A weird, singular wood table that appears to have been carved out of an actual tree, drenched in clear lacquer, that isn't really great for most practical purposes but looks sinister and cool anyway, probably situated in the den
― Lactose Shaolin Wanker (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:10 (four years ago) link
Oh yeah, burning Citroën knows the vibe. Musta visited my parents' house in '75.
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:13 (four years ago) link
People's Almanac / People's Chronology also big in those years
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:14 (four years ago) link
Massive console TV that takes no fewer than four people to move, so fuck it, let's just leave it there for the next seven years.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:14 (four years ago) link
Usually a Zenith model, with SPACE COMMAND remote
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:16 (four years ago) link
EncyclopediasToo many National Geographics
― Lactose Shaolin Wanker (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:16 (four years ago) link
lava lampbeanbag chair
― henry s, Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:17 (four years ago) link
the poster from the inside of "dark side of the moon"a paperback book of Polish jokes that nobody will claim responsibility forStacks of old newspapers
― revenge of the jawn (rushomancy), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:22 (four years ago) link
Wood-grain speakers
― revenge of the jawn (rushomancy), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:23 (four years ago) link
solid wood bookshelves built into nooks
― Lactose Shaolin Wanker (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:26 (four years ago) link
An electric organ, with many multicolored switches/presets.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:28 (four years ago) link
pong
― mookieproof, Saturday, 28 December 2019 15:30 (four years ago) link
^was wondering when we would get to that Another bar accoutrement: wave form light thingy that is basically two dimensional analog of a lava lamp
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:03 (four years ago) link
stray beans from beanbag stuck in shag carpetYahtzeeSears catalogpoker chip carouselErma Bombeck bookscrocheted afghan blanket (squares pattern)
― Josefa, Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:03 (four years ago) link
reminds me to post Dogs Playing Poker painting
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:31 (four years ago) link
TV Guide (although not in my home)
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:36 (four years ago) link
cb radio"Bless This Mess" kneedlepoint sign
― henry s, Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:38 (four years ago) link
Habitrailaquariummany items featuring Peanuts characters for no particular reason
― Josefa, Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:44 (four years ago) link
Orange sinksBathroom wallpaper with old-timey advertisements
― change display name (Jordan), Saturday, 28 December 2019 16:58 (four years ago) link
partially completed rug hookingterrariumssand candles
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Saturday, 28 December 2019 17:00 (four years ago) link
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/ae/75/88ae75efce5244fc22206fd8ac16439c.jpg
― henry s, Saturday, 28 December 2019 17:28 (four years ago) link
NoxzemaThe World BookPenthouse (hidden from view)Skateboarder magazine Guinness Book of World RecordsAlvin Toffler’s Future Shock10-speed bikesLife magazine tobacco pipe (dad)wallpaperstore catalogsYellow PagesPeter Frampton Comes AliveHardy BoysRugby shirtsChemistry setCreemCircus
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Saturday, 28 December 2019 17:30 (four years ago) link
Sea Monkeys
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Saturday, 28 December 2019 17:32 (four years ago) link
AnacinThe Game Of LifeToughskinsFerns (all relegated to one room, commonly referred to as "the ferm room")
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 28 December 2019 17:43 (four years ago) link
Garanimals
― santa clause four (suzy), Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:05 (four years ago) link
(in warm regions) jalousie windows
― Josefa, Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:10 (four years ago) link
tangjellor2d2 figurine
― mookieproof, Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:12 (four years ago) link
Mentioned Air Hockey but should also have mentioned Nok Hockey.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:46 (four years ago) link
electric football
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:43 (four years ago) link
We used to have Desiderata framed on the back of the actual toilet door. As a kid I was richly amused by the opening line, “Go placidly amid the noise and haste.”
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:03 (four years ago) link
Born in '63 so the 70s were totally my decade, and we had almost none of this stuff.
― Miami weisse (WmC), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:33 (four years ago) link
Marimekko prints and bedding
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:16 (four years ago) link
one of the things from the '70s that is still popular!
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:45 (four years ago) link
Almost all of these presuppose a middle income household that has at least one filled bookshelf.
― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:57 (four years ago) link
And on that bookshelf: Passages by Gail Sheehy.
― henry s, Sunday, 29 December 2019 01:07 (four years ago) link
Jonathan Livingston Seagull was popular in the early 70s but even as a kid it seemed banal to me
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 01:17 (four years ago) link
You could always tell who had the hip parents by seeing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on the bookshelf. (Spoiler Alert: we didn't have it on our bookshelf.)
― henry s, Sunday, 29 December 2019 01:23 (four years ago) link
forgot about that book
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 01:32 (four years ago) link
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 02:08 (four years ago) link
it was Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City in the late 70s that made me want to move to San Francisco
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 02:19 (four years ago) link
A Shel Silverstein book (this may have just been a New York / Cali thing)
― calstars, Sunday, 29 December 2019 02:19 (four years ago) link
Nope, it was a Midwest thing, too. We had Where The Sidewalk Ends, The Giving Tree, and The Missing Piece.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 29 December 2019 02:31 (four years ago) link
Erica Jong's Fear of Flying?
― Alba, Sunday, 29 December 2019 02:58 (four years ago) link
Erma Bombeck
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Sunday, 29 December 2019 03:41 (four years ago) link
Judy Blume
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:09 (four years ago) link
read about Ram Dass's death last week. his Be Here Now was the defining book of the 70s for me
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:19 (four years ago) link
Loved that book, though I wouldn’t discover it until the eighties.
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:34 (four years ago) link
catholic homes had ‘good news for modern man’
― estela, Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:38 (four years ago) link
ours disappeared in the early 80s and was found rotting in the wet grass up the side of the house, it wasn’t me but i was a suspect
― estela, Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:45 (four years ago) link
a lot of these are reminding of my childhood home that was mostly furnished in the mid 70s that I lived in for the 80s!wood burning stove with huge hearth, shag carpeting, smaller television on a two level “entertainment center” that had a top middle space for tv, and two open areas on the bottom sides for 70s wood speakers with a thatch pattern in the front. audio receiver with that bluish lightingrotating armchair (not reclining) with a shiny velvet texture. living room furniture with gold/green/brown/orange color scheme. vinyl kitchen floor with pattern that looks like square tiles. medium brown wooden cabinets in the kitchen. bronze/gold table lamps with a bulbous shape and large lampshade (I might have one of these stashed somewhere). side tables with double doors for storage
― babu frik fan account (mh), Sunday, 29 December 2019 05:00 (four years ago) link
I’ve lost the original lampshade, but behold:https://i.imgur.com/NBy1DoT_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
― babu frik fan account (mh), Sunday, 29 December 2019 05:07 (four years ago) link
audio receiver with that bluish lightingis there any other circumstance in which that blue light appears?
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 05:18 (four years ago) link
hahahahaha YES we had that lamp
― revenge of the jawn (rushomancy), Sunday, 29 December 2019 05:54 (four years ago) link
An ashtray the size of a dinner plate
― Miami weisse (WmC), Sunday, 29 December 2019 14:15 (four years ago) link
Journey to Ixtlan
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Sunday, 29 December 2019 15:23 (four years ago) link
A box of Wheaties with Mark Spitz on the front
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Sunday, 29 December 2019 15:29 (four years ago) link
^good onewhich reminds me:Quisp AND Quake
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 15:35 (four years ago) link
the Grease soundtrack album
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 29 December 2019 15:59 (four years ago) link
Bicentennial detritus
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Sunday, 29 December 2019 16:03 (four years ago) link
Tab in fridge
― Josefa, Sunday, 29 December 2019 16:10 (four years ago) link
<i>Jaws</i> paperback
― Brad C., Sunday, 29 December 2019 16:14 (four years ago) link
Jaws even
― Brad C., Sunday, 29 December 2019 16:15 (four years ago) link
The Spirograph mention in the UK thread made me think of this one:
If the household has any connection to children whatsoever there is a Lite-Brite set somewhere
― Josefa, Sunday, 29 December 2019 18:44 (four years ago) link
two nations separated by mostly but not always completely different household bric-a-brac
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 19:15 (four years ago) link
Lite Brite was another item not allowed in my particular house but yeah
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 19:16 (four years ago) link
Shrinky Dinks
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 29 December 2019 19:20 (four years ago) link
Nothing he's got he really needs
― just another country (snoball), Sunday, 29 December 2019 19:58 (four years ago) link
TV Magic Cards
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:04 (four years ago) link
Props to Marshall Brodein!
― henry s, Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:11 (four years ago) link
Ha, good thing I left his name out of my post, probably would have spelled it wrong
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:14 (four years ago) link
Underoos that have shrunkSimon SaysConnect FourThat electronic football game with the red LEDs
― calstars, Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:29 (four years ago) link
unprotected sex
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:53 (four years ago) link
Bicentennial detritusmy parents’ marriage innit
― babu frik fan account (mh), Sunday, 29 December 2019 21:06 (four years ago) link
Simon Says
That electronic football game with the red LEDs
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 29 December 2019 21:50 (four years ago) link
TV Guide
― Yeets don't fail me now (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, 29 December 2019 21:50 (four years ago) link
speaking of TV, All In the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:01 (four years ago) link
Lite Brite was another item not allowed in my particular house but yeah― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs)
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs)
Do you come from Amish? What was the objection to Lite-Brite?
― Josefa, Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:13 (four years ago) link
No, just Outerborough German-Irish Catholic. Think perhaps somebody was concerned about us swallowing the pieces.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:15 (four years ago) link
https://www.twincities.com/2010/01/03/w-va-doctor-expert-at-removing-ingested-items/
Before iPods and Playstations, Lite-Brite toys, which include hundreds of small, multi-colored plastic pegs, caused problems.“Now that we have fancier play toys, we have been seeing less of these,” Nasir said as she pointed toward the Lite-Brite.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:18 (four years ago) link
we didn’t have a lite brite either. my mom was very resistant when we requested toys with lots of small parts that were going to get lost or scattered!
― babu frik fan account (mh), Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:24 (four years ago) link
Speaking of choking hazards, Battlestar Galactica:http://www.toysyouhad.com/Bstar.htm
The series was a hit, albeit a costly one. Mattel snatched up the rights to a toy line - hoping to match Kenner's Star Wars success. Amazingly, long after the series ended, the toys continued to fly off of the shelves of toy stores everywhere. There were several types of toys released, the most popular and notorious were the missile-launching toys of 1978. Using a similar spring-loaded mechanism of their Shogun Warrior line, Battlestar Galactica's ships fired tiny red missiles that, as it turns out, tend to get launched into the throats of children. On December 31, 1978 a four year old boy in Atlanta aimed a Colonial Viper toy into his mouth and launched one of the projectile missiles, inadvertently choking himself to death. On January 11, Mattel issued a recall order for the Viper and three other vehicles. It also issued a missile mail-in for those who had had already purchased a missile-firing version of the toys. In exchange for the little red missiles, Mattel provided a Hot Wheels toys, "for the loss in play value." Mattel redesigned the vehicle line to have non-firing missiles.The boy's death triggered a national outcry to remove projectiles from all toys. On March 23, the boy's parents sued Mattel. The judge presiding over the case singled out Star Wars space toys as the culprit (which upset Lucas very much.) The controversy had an impact on Kenner's Star Wars' toy line, as it delayed the shipment of its Boba Fett dolls. The action figure -- whose character would star in The Empire Strikes Back sequel -- was part of a mailaway offer on the backs of other Star Wars figurines. Although Boba Fett's original design and promotion included a rocket-firing backpack, this mechanism was removed from its design. No rocket-firing Boba Fett's ever rolled off the line, and only a handful of the unpainted prototypes exist.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:28 (four years ago) link
xp I always wondered if Lite-Brite was a fire risk, but we didn't have one either and I've never actually seen one
― Dan S, Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:31 (four years ago) link
“Magnets hold the bowel together, with the layering between them, causing the gut to rupture.”
whoa
― Josefa, Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:33 (four years ago) link
nevermind the toys, in the 70s come to think of it many of the clothes on our backs were a toxic, flammable, and choking hazard all rolled into one
― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Monday, 30 December 2019 00:30 (four years ago) link
also bell bottoms
― Dan S, Monday, 30 December 2019 00:32 (four years ago) link
my niece spent the summer in Brazil, she tells me that bell bottoms have made a comeback there
― Dan S, Monday, 30 December 2019 00:36 (four years ago) link
Health-tex, which still exists but w/o the hyphen
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 30 December 2019 00:38 (four years ago) link
xxxxpost Simon was created by Ralph Baer, the creator of the Magnavox Odyssey, considered the father of video games and who Nolan Bushnell & Atari ripped off Long from
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 30 December 2019 01:22 (four years ago) link
Always conflated that game with the Alan Arkin movie of the same name and figured he flew to earth in a UFO the same shape as the game console.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 30 December 2019 01:31 (four years ago) link
High-waisted jeans are already back; the return of bell bottoms feels inevitable.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Monday, 30 December 2019 02:53 (four years ago) link
We already had the great Jnco scare of the 1990s
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 30 December 2019 03:42 (four years ago) link
I'm in Chicago and over the last year have seen bell bottom jeans proliferate, though only on women. (I'm a dude but am in fact wearing bell bottoms at this moment, though admittedly I dress more vintage than your average person. Love how they look with heeled ankle boots!)
― blatherskite, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:18 (four years ago) link
do you mean you’re wearing bootcut or full bell bottoms? the latter are definitely more than a little flared
― babu frik fan account (mh), Monday, 30 December 2019 23:21 (four years ago) link
"hot naked swimming in gym class" wait what?
― akm, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:24 (four years ago) link
Full on. I used to have bootcut but figured hell, I already dress like I stumbled out of 1969 anyway, might as well commit.
― blatherskite, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:36 (four years ago) link
A comment on those pants:
Nice quality. Worked great for a Shaggy costume!
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Monday, 30 December 2019 23:40 (four years ago) link
remember loving bell bottoms, trying to think of something equivalent to them in recent fashion history
― Dan S, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:43 (four years ago) link
"hot naked swimming in gym class" wait what?― akm, Monday, December 30
I was joking about 'hot', but I went from a sheltered catholic grade school to a public high school where our gym teacher made the boys take our swimming classes naked. I was kind of shocked by it at first but got used to it
― Dan S, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:44 (four years ago) link
Colored glassware, especially amber or avocado green.
― blatherskite, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:52 (four years ago) link
still serve cocktails to friends in Russel Wright forest green pinch tumblers
― Dan S, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:57 (four years ago) link
Zodiac posters or wall hangings -- my grandmother had a Capricorn tapestry in the basement. Wouldn't be surprised to see that make a comeback, considering astrology becoming a thing again.
― blatherskite, Monday, 30 December 2019 23:57 (four years ago) link
Chess sets: magnetic, Shakespeare-themed, hand-carved, etc.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 00:00 (four years ago) link
Black Velvet Art, Elvis or otherwise.
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
macrame owl!
― babu frik fan account (mh), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 00:06 (four years ago) link
our house in the 70s had a lot of stuff from the 50s - modern Danish furniture, Japanese lantern lamps, particle board clothes cabinets in the bedroom my brother and I shared
― Dan S, Tuesday, 31 December 2019 00:07 (four years ago) link
Reel-to-reel tape playerAshtraysPoster of Bo DerekFrisbee
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 31 December 2019 03:10 (four years ago) link
Velvet dayglo painting of a panther that looks awesome under blacklight = stoner older brother got to decorate his own room.
See also: Skynyrd poster with Confederate Battle Flag
― Yeets don't fail me now (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 03:21 (four years ago) link
a public high school where our gym teacher made the boys take our swimming classes naked
this is absolutely not something that happened in every 70s US school ever
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 31 December 2019 03:21 (four years ago) link
Apparently up to 1970 in my school district, boys swam naked.
― santa clause four (suzy), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 03:58 (four years ago) link
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 04:19 (four years ago) link
Xpost, the Farah Fawcett poster was ubiquitous.
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 31 December 2019 04:51 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp2ldxIWc54
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 05:30 (four years ago) link
Meh, his Definitely Maybe was better
― Yeets don't fail me now (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 13:32 (four years ago) link
― Dan S
they were back earlier this year at least where i live; it may have passed already though
― revenge of the jawn (rushomancy), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 14:39 (four years ago) link
Frisbee
On the roof of every 70s US home ever
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 15:00 (four years ago) link
our house in the 70s had a lot of stuff from the 50s - modern Danish furniture, Japanese lantern lamps, particle board clothes cabinets in the bedroom my brother and I shared― Dan S
This is an important point, that the '70s - like any decade - were still heavily characterized by the immediately preceding decades. When I think of the '70s I remember a lot of stuff of a design reflecting the '60s Laugh-In aesthetic of bright Day-Glo colors, flowers, op-art, funny slogans. Also lots of graphic reproductions of Robert Indiana's "LOVE" sculpture. Stuff like this gradually went out of fashion in the early '70s but it didn't all just suddenly disappear, it remained in people's houses for a while. I also remember in the early-to-mid '70s there will still lots of cars with fins on them parked on the street.
― Josefa, Tuesday, 31 December 2019 15:09 (four years ago) link
In every 70s US home, Canadian dept: contempra phone https://www.google.com/amp/s/ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/remembering-an-iconic-ottawa-creation-50-years-later/amp
― Hongro Hongro Hippies (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 18:04 (four years ago) link
Josepha speaks truth. People don't suddenly throw out everything they own when there's a new decade.
I happened to see a 1985-ish photograph of a city street the other day and I was like, "why do the cars all look like 1970s cars"? I had completely forgotten that my dad was driving a '77 Mercury at the time.
― Yeets don't fail me now (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 31 December 2019 20:46 (four years ago) link
josefa OTM, this is one of my biggest pet peeves in period movies. and one thing I liked about Stranger Things - that the working-class Winona household was less aggressively "80s" in its furnishings
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 1 January 2020 00:47 (four years ago) link
my friends were really into the Kinks when I was in high school. they were much more socially advanced than I was
― Dan S, Wednesday, 1 January 2020 02:52 (four years ago) link
I remember the record player at our house and those at others' houses, and the experience of listening to records with friends
― Dan S, Wednesday, 1 January 2020 03:08 (four years ago) link
this is actually why i can relate to this thread - shit, i don't actually _remember_ the '70s, i just know all this stuff from growing up in the early '80s.
― revenge of the jawn (rushomancy), Wednesday, 1 January 2020 04:29 (four years ago) link
my goddaughter who is 11 is my sweetie. it is interesting to see how she relates to her world today, it is a world I couldn't imagine in the 70s
― Dan S, Wednesday, 1 January 2020 06:22 (four years ago) link
rushomancy otmI wasn’t born until the 80s but my parents boughtnearly all of their possessions in the 70s and furnished their house after getting married mid-decade
― babu frik fan account (mh), Wednesday, 1 January 2020 17:20 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObdEUA2rwGg
― Erdős-szám 69 (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 26 September 2020 14:53 (three years ago) link
"come to think of it many of the clothes on our backs were a toxic, flammable, and choking hazard all rolled into one" I just remembered I used to have pajamas that were 100% polyester and used to get static so bad it was like seeing lightning under the covers.
― akm, Saturday, 26 September 2020 17:08 (three years ago) link
In every 70s Chinese restaurant ever: the pu-pu platter.
― Working in the POLL Mine (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 15 May 2021 23:26 (two years ago) link
Pu-pu platters originated in tiki restaurants and then Chinese restaurants adopted them. I don't think I've ever had one, but they sound decadently appealing. Spare ribs, crab rangoon... most people shy away from eating such things today. But perhaps the pu-pu platter could make a comeback in post-covid times when people don't give as much as af.
― Josefa, Sunday, 16 May 2021 04:03 (two years ago) link
*of af
― Josefa, Sunday, 16 May 2021 04:04 (two years ago) link
S&H Green Stamps
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 16 May 2021 14:37 (two years ago) link
Tiki drinks have been making a comeback among cocktailians. Maybe tiki cuisine might make a post-covid comeback, when occupancy limits are back to normal and restaurants want to lure people away from delivery or home cooking?
― Infanta Terrible (j.lu), Sunday, 16 May 2021 23:15 (two years ago) link
Seems like a lot of this stuff may appear in ILX's new favorite TV series, FOR ALL MANKIND.
― Planck Generation (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 July 2021 16:11 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPwxmrNVKKE
This is a huge chunk of my childhood here
― weregoats of boston (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 13 November 2021 00:07 (two years ago) link
Omg. It looks like every single cast member of ‘Dynasty’ also appeared on ‘Love Boat,’ right down to the Carringtons’ butler. That video would be a good cultural reference for young people of today, like say if they were studying Late 20th Century Show Biz.
― Josefa, Saturday, 13 November 2021 00:32 (two years ago) link
OK, deep dive time.
I was going through the list to see exactly what we had in our house. We built it in 1969; I was age 8 to 18 in the '70s.
What we had, with annotations:
(cheap) wood-paneled rec roomshag carpeting - Blue & green in my bedroom, pure white in my sister'sA pool,or bumper pool, table as well as an air hockey table - Pool & air. Finished basement, drop ceiling, one wall taken up by a giant photo blow up of sunset through trees.Supersized brick hearth - Brick fireplace taking up 2/3 of a wall, slate hearth, enormous rough-cut wooden mantel, built in log bin. Every few years we'd rent the Powerful Paul hydraulic log splitter to turn a fallen tree into firewoodPrice, Stern, Sloan parody books like Uses for a Dead Cat - Definitely had 101 Uses for a Dead Cat, also Mad Libs and Droodles. Related: "Earl the Dead Cat" flat stuffed cat with tire treads printed on its backBeach Boys Endless Summer - Sistera coffee table made from a cable spool - Not a coffee table--we drilled holes in it and used it as a pool cue standa rotary-dial phone with an extra-long cord (so you can take it somewhere private) - Stretched down the hall and under the bathroom doorerica jong fear of flying - Stole it from a drug store. The concept of the 'zipless fuck' was very formative in my non-existent sex life. (First paperback gay sex: Samuel R. Delany's "Dahlgren"--page 444, if I remember correctly)shogun/the thorn birds/all other novels later turned into richard chamberlain miniseries - "Thorn Birds" and several other Colleen McCullough novelsthin brick/faux brick wall - Painted white, surrounding the built-in avocado-colored ovenstained glass chandelier - Faux stained glass Coca-Cola swag-chain lamp in my bedroom (actually white plastic with the stained glass portion painted on the outside of the shade)Ferns - And snake plantsRice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat - Also: Spam, Shake 'n' Bake pork chopsCrock PotFondue setThe Book of Lists - I had a lot of trivia books. In particular, I remember one called "Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst and Most Unusual," bought from the mail order remainder book and record catalog Publisher's Central Bureau.A lazy susan, or possibly severalPeople's Almanac / People's Chronology also big in those yearsMassive console TV that takes no fewer than four people to move, so fuck it, let's just leave it there for the next seven years. - Heavy not just because of the console--this was a pre-transistor cathode ray TV run on vacuum tubes. The heat from all those tubes made the top of the console prime real estate for the cats.Encyclopedias - Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia, sold through local grocery stores. A couple of volumes released each month, so it took a year to get the whole set.beanbag chair - Sister's roomthe poster from the inside of "dark side of the moon" - My room. Also posters of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Pleiades, the Triffid Nebula, Earthrise over the lunar horizon, and the classic Buzz Aldrin pic.Wood-grain speakers - Was there any other kind?pongAnother bar accoutrement: wave form light thingy that is basically two dimensional analog of a lava lamp - Not sure if it's the same thing--we had a light-up beer sign that looked like a flowing waterfall. Our finished basement was full of vintage electric (but not neon) bar signs that did stuff: rotating Schlitz globe, Black & White Scotch barking scotty dog heads (https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/jn4HuXPQveQX_VxmtaX1iDPcoxg=/250x0/worthopedia/images/images1/1/0516/14/1_9dc922af56d4944cc081c00e9803c6de.jpg), 2-foot tall crow with top hat and cane that would blink "Old Crow" on his chest, Fresca Blizzard sign with hidden fan blowing fake snow around (https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/tQ75wIZRzWQfYukxx9pDmdrG6a4=/250x0/worthopedia/images/images4/1/0508/27/1_5dfa368db21d326777037034b0e50148.jpg)YahtzeeSears catalog - Reprint of 1920's Sears catalog for bathroom readingErma Bombeck books - Also bathroom readingcrocheted afghan blanket (squares pattern) - Zig-zag pattern in browns, blacks and orangesmany items featuring Peanuts characters for no particular reason - A dirty old Snoopy stuffed animal I slept with for years, and an Astronaut Snoopy doll. Also a few dozen Peanuts bookspartially completed rug hookingNoxzemaGuinness Book of World Recordswallpaper - Always with patterns that were a little too big--they looked smaller on the swatches. Also, sponge painted walls. Mom always had some decoration project going.Yellow Pages - Unavoidable--they just showed up on your doorstep every yearPeter Frampton Comes Alive - SisterChemistry set - Me. Also a rock tumblerSea MonkeysThe Game Of Life(in warm regions) jalousie windows - On the back porch that my father closed intang - At Grandma's housejelloJonathan Livingston Seagull was popular in the early 70s but even as a kid it seemed banal to mecatholic homes had ‘good news for modern man’ - Episcopalian too--everybody got a copy in Sunday Schoolliving room furniture with gold/green/brown/orange color scheme.bronze/gold table lamps with a bulbous shape and large lampshade - Two of which are in my apartment to this dayAn ashtray the size of a dinner plateQuisp AND Quake - My sister voted for Quisp. I voted for Quake, a musclar superhero in a miner's helmet. Just another hint that I might be a little gay lad?Jaws paperbackSpirographLite-BriteTV Magic CardsSimonspeaking of TV, All In the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Saturday CBS prime time lineup was the original Must-See TVHealth-tex, which still exists but w/o the hyphenZodiac posters or wall hangings -- my grandmother had a Capricorn tapestry in the basement. Wouldn't be surprised to see that make a comeback, considering astrology becoming a thing again. - Zodiac outdoor tablecloth, currently in Mom's car trunk as a drop cloth when we haul hedge trimmings to the dumpmacrame owl! - Maybe not macrame, but multiple owl items including wallpapermodern Danish furniture - I inherited Mom & Dad's old Danish Modern bedroom set when I moved out, and I'm still using itVelvet dayglo painting of a panther that looks awesome under blacklight - No, but we had a Fritz Rudolph Hug painting of a tiger in the living room, along with a couple of landscapes bought at one of those suburban 'art shows' which showed up in local hotel ballrooms every few months.S&H Green Stamps
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 14 November 2021 23:03 (two years ago) link
wow, excellent reportage. very valuable to realize that a house ticking off dozens of these boxes is by no means just a retro fantasy.
― I Am Fribbulus (Xax) (Doctor Casino), Monday, 15 November 2021 03:01 (two years ago) link
lol, we had about 75% of those things minus the stuff that older siblings might have contributed. my parents definitely didn't have a dark side of the moon poster.
― that's not my post, Monday, 15 November 2021 03:29 (two years ago) link
i was a several years younger than HL and oldest child
― that's not my post, Monday, 15 November 2021 03:30 (two years ago) link
Excellent roundup there, HL, thanks.
― Exploding Plastic Bertrand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 15 November 2021 03:56 (two years ago) link
One copy each of _I Sing the Body Electric_ and _The Invisible Man_.
― Exploding Plastic Bertrand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 15 November 2021 04:17 (two years ago) link
Clackersping pong tablebackgammon setpaint by numbers paintingsGalliano in that tall bottleReader's Digest Condensed Books
― bulb after bulb, Monday, 15 November 2021 05:17 (two years ago) link
My 6th (?) grade teacher had us write sequels to one of the stories in The Illustrated Man. I did a sequel to the wraparound story, with the narrator escaping, only to find himself jumping into the stories.
The teacher liked it so much she sent it to Ray Bradbury, and I got a personally typed letter from him. (I know it was personally typed because a secretary wouldn't have let it go out with so many typos.)
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 15 November 2021 07:05 (two years ago) link
that is incredibly cool
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 15 November 2021 08:03 (two years ago) link
Wow
― Exploding Plastic Bertrand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 15 November 2021 11:41 (two years ago) link
damn, that's cool!
― I Am Fribbulus (Xax) (Doctor Casino), Monday, 15 November 2021 11:45 (two years ago) link
Encyclopedias - Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia, sold through local grocery stores. A couple of volumes released each month, so it took a year to get the whole set.
We had Pears 'Cyclopedia. Not sure if that's a uk thing tho.
― Chicks and Ducks and Geese better scurry (Ste), Monday, 15 November 2021 13:16 (two years ago) link
F&Ws seconded.
― Exploding Plastic Bertrand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 15 November 2021 18:00 (two years ago) link
speaking of TV, All In the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Saturday CBS prime time lineup was the original Must-See TV
― Exploding Plastic Bertrand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 15 November 2021 18:13 (two years ago) link
DIdn't quite remember Dick Van Dyke being on The Carol Burnett Show as a replacement for Harvey Korman for a few months before he himself left and was replaced by Steve Lawrence and Ken Berry (who I of course do remember)
― Exploding Plastic Bertrand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 15 November 2021 18:25 (two years ago) link
Gotta have a copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull
― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 15 November 2021 18:26 (two years ago) link
Our Bodies, Ourselves
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 04:24 (two years ago) link
Good one
― weregoats of boston (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 11:30 (two years ago) link
hanging beads in a doorframe acting as a room separator
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 11:48 (two years ago) link
alternatively, strings of corks
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 11:49 (two years ago) link
Bead door curtain already mentioned by YMP upthread, although I like the way you worded it, but cork curtain is a valuable new post, Tracer, thanks.
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 12:09 (two years ago) link
Light gauge fishing line to string them together. You're welcome.
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 12:11 (two years ago) link
Macrame, god’s eyes, table centrepiece made of wicker basket/varnished loaf of bread/dried or cloth flowers/wheat sheaves, Hollie Hobby stuff for girls, metallic abstract wallpaper in the bathroom above the tile line, the hexagonal side table in the living room with random upholstery offcuts stored there just in case.
― the thin blue lying (suzy), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 13:03 (two years ago) link
Old steamer trunk used as side table
― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 14:56 (two years ago) link
We had one as the TV stand but my mom ran our house like it was 1910 including the furnishings (minus the tv).
― Ima Gardener (in orbit), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 15:10 (two years ago) link
We had at least two steamer trunks, one of which was a TV stand. I think people thought they were 'valuable' but they're really not, even the really old ones
― Andy the Grasshopper, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 17:52 (two years ago) link
Any good flea market in the '70s had steamer trunks for sale
― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 21:35 (two years ago) link
Big Wheel tricycle
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 16 November 2021 23:45 (two years ago) link
Oh yeah. We've covered Lite Brite and the Holly Hobby oven, maybe add Stretch Armstrong?
― weregoats of boston (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:06 (two years ago) link
A huge hi fi stereo that was the size of a buffetA buffet
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:11 (two years ago) link
seemed like Love Story was really big for everyone I knew when I was a kid
― Dan S, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:16 (two years ago) link
as a topic of conversation
I have been stringing together glass beads over the years and have made two beaded glass curtains!
― Dan S, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:27 (two years ago) link
Love Story hadn’t been mentioned yet? Thank you for addressing this glaring omission.In school we often saw the male bonding version of Love Story known as Brian’s Song. And sometimes even the parent-child version, Death Be Not Proud.
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:35 (two years ago) link
Have we discussed roller skates? Ice skates?
― weregoats of boston (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:39 (two years ago) link
Not sure, don’t think so. How about crappy old school low-tech skateboards?
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:40 (two years ago) link
living in a cold weather place, ice skating was a part of growing up for me. my older brother was into skiing but I wasn't that brave and my father and little sister and I went ice skating a lot
― Dan S, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:48 (two years ago) link
I do remember Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, which had some kind of intense moment with a sawbones.
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:52 (two years ago) link
Think I preferred The Three Lives of Thomasina myself.
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:53 (two years ago) link
j/k I was a fan of both
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 01:55 (two years ago) link
Hans Brinker impressed me as a kid
― Dan S, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:02 (two years ago) link
The was also Bang the Drum Slowly in the One’s Dying, the Other Isn’t category.
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:36 (two years ago) link
There was
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 02:40 (two years ago) link
Some discussion over here: School Daze! What Did Your Teachers Ruin For You And/Or More Positive Reflections On Required Reading
crappy skateboards have come back with a vengeance. though the peak was probably three years ago or so? way “cooler” than normal skateboards
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 09:08 (two years ago) link
Really? With metals wheels?
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 14:01 (two years ago) link
Metal
i dunno about all that chief
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 14:31 (two years ago) link
https://www.skatedeluxe.com/blog/en/wiki/skateboarding/history-of-skateboarding/
HE 1970SThe only consistent thing is change and so it came to a point where everything changed for skateboarding. Frank Nasworthy’s invention of urethane wheels in 1972 made it possible for skateboarding to come back. Nasworthy started the company Cadillac Wheels and with the new material it was possible to ride smoother, faster and more comfortable. A variety of disciplines such as freestyle, downhill and slalom experienced a real high point. New magazines like the “Skateboarder Magazine” from 1975 were published and new events were launched. In 1976, the first artificially created skate park was inaugurated and new parks emerged with new elements such as vertical ramps and kickers.
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 14:43 (two years ago) link
https://skateboardingmagazine.com/the-evolution-of-skateboard-wheels/
― Sterl of the Quarter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 14:45 (two years ago) link
yeah i’m not talking about metal wheels i’m talking about “penny boards”, long boards etc
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 15:49 (two years ago) link
also this trend of people riding with their front foot sticking lengthwise along the board and barely bending their knees, like they’re posing for a photo or something
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 15:51 (two years ago) link
Oh shit my first skateboard was TOTALLY a penny board!! I didn't know that was what they were called. It was a dirty jade green? I think my dad got it out of the community "take" pile at the transfer station, ie someone had thrown it away in about 1988 or so.
― Ima Gardener (in orbit), Wednesday, 17 November 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
In every 70s US restaurant ever
― Meme for an Imaginary Western (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 24 July 2022 22:53 (one year ago) link
Pardon the digression but that’s the woman who made an awesome documentary about Boyce and Hart a few years ago which I don’t think has had an official release, due to music clearance issues I assume.
― Josefa, Sunday, 24 July 2022 23:24 (one year ago) link
She is some kind of genius so digression welcomed.
― Meme for an Imaginary Western (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 24 July 2022 23:27 (one year ago) link
Yes. She’d be a celebrity in a just world.
― Josefa, Sunday, 24 July 2022 23:29 (one year ago) link
https://www.shorpy.com/files/no-pest-strip.jpg
― Andy the Grasshopper, Tuesday, 26 July 2022 23:02 (one year ago) link
Food Sticks
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 26 July 2022 23:03 (one year ago) link
Koogle!
― Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 01:01 (one year ago) link
Koogle was my next answer. We had jars of that stuff forever.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 13:24 (one year ago) link
I'm pretty sure that Koogle was some industrial plastic byproduct created by accident that they added flavors to.
Space Food Sticks too, come to think of it.
― Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:00 (one year ago) link
Shell’s No-Pest Strip.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 03:21 (one year ago) link
didn't know the official brand but yes
― joygoat, Friday, 9 September 2022 18:41 (one year ago) link
I tried to find a picture of those hanging wooden-colored boxes, with holes on each side.. that were supposed to kill bugs.. but no luck
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 18:42 (one year ago) link
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0d/62/b6/0d62b606d8f3db955e8945d75e35919c.jpg
there we go
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 18:51 (one year ago) link
Oh god yes, memories
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 18:53 (one year ago) link
Always thought the design was supposed to evoke one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe they couldn't come out and say so lest they offend the good people of Rice-A-Roni.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:05 (one year ago) link
I feel like they were browner in real life but it was probably just my grandparent smoking constantly that made them look that way
― joygoat, Friday, 9 September 2022 19:30 (one year ago) link
'Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat!'
Supposed to be Chinatown-meets-North Beach, but the family that started the brand were Armenian, who actually rule California.. it's based on some Armenian pilaf dish
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 19:32 (one year ago) link
xpost yeah, I remember them sort of danish modern brown
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:34 (one year ago) link
As if hamburger needs any 'help'
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 19:36 (one year ago) link
My mom used to broil the shit out of hamburgers, so the Helper was a welcome respite.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:45 (one year ago) link
Reminds me now of “Shake n’ Bake…and we helped!”
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 19:50 (one year ago) link
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4Cq7lJFeQ0/UsGdUjblvpI/AAAAAAAAJMs/nE89ZRU5NGI/s1600/DSC_6399.JPG
Okay my parents would never allow this kind of kitsch in the house, but the semi-trashy family across the road had one
They also had a weed box with a Pablo Cruise sticker on it, and Fleetwood Mac albums
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:01 (one year ago) link
Oh hell yeah
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/WEBP_402378-T2/images/I/610fZxe-MAL._AC_SX522_.jpg
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:08 (one year ago) link
Wasn't Hamburger Helper making an inflation-era "stretch the family budget" sales pitch? I don't think anyone involved really thought it truly improved upon eating a hamburger.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:10 (one year ago) link
The oldest ad I could find was This one from 1974, which focused on the culinary aspects.
By 1979, the pitch had changed to stretching the family budget.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:14 (one year ago) link
Fascinating!
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:16 (one year ago) link
Why have steak when you can have Hamburger Helper lol
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:18 (one year ago) link
OMG
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:20 (one year ago) link
I always thought the Hidden Valley packets kinda weird.. like, why make your own salad dressing when you can just buy a bottle of it?
But maybe it was a part of that family budget thing
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:21 (one year ago) link
A kids bed frame with assorted Wacky Packages stickers pasted to the headboard.
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:30 (one year ago) link
^this! Not me, but lots of my friends
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:31 (one year ago) link
Definitely me
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:33 (one year ago) link
I had a bunch of the stickers with the Marvel characters saying funny things.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:35 (one year ago) link
https://townsquare.media/site/622/files/2010/04/500xmarvels2.jpg
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:36 (one year ago) link
I was always fascinated by but uneasy about the 1970's Ghost Rider
Damn those stickers look familiar, maybe my sister's 'antiqued' dresser
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:39 (one year ago) link
same with Cyrillic lettering
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 20:42 (one year ago) link
1970s Ghost Rider was intense: he was the result of a literal deal with Satan. Plus, there was Mike Ploog's art, which was heavily influenced by the work of Berni Wrightson, who has to be the creepiest mainstream comics artist ever.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:43 (one year ago) link
*Bernie
I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be Peter Fonda
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Friday, 9 September 2022 20:58 (one year ago) link
Jeez I would
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 21:11 (one year ago) link
oh yeah but i had mine stuck all over my desk.
― that's not my post, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:21 (one year ago) link
My friends also had on their bedroom doors and maybe some other doors as well.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 9 September 2022 22:25 (one year ago) link
let's see if this works
https://wacky-packages.fandom.com/wiki/Hamburger_Blecher?file=03_Hamburger_Blecher.jpg
― that's not my post, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:26 (one year ago) link
well, this will take you to an image of hamburger belcher: https://wacky-packages.fandom.com/wiki/Hamburger_Blecher?file=03_Hamburger_Blecher.jpg
― that's not my post, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:27 (one year ago) link
sloppy joes
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:47 (one year ago) link
Manwich
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:50 (one year ago) link
A stash of unsold Grit newspapers that some gullible kid thought would earn him enough money to buy a spy camera.
― henry s, Friday, 9 September 2022 22:58 (one year ago) link
fuck I tried to sell Grit and sold one to my aunt
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 23:07 (one year ago) link
Jesus, it still exists: DIY CHIGGER BITE RELIEF
https://www.grit.com/
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 9 September 2022 23:08 (one year ago) link
Wow many things on this thread are extremely familiar. There's just one mention of the big chunky remote controls, but we had one of these. We actually inherited it when my grandparents were killed in a car accident — before that we just had a little black and white TV, but then they died and we got their color TV with an actual remote control. It confirmed my sense that my grandparents (who lived far away and I rarely saw) lived lives of great luxury.
https://compote.slate.com/images/eacaab7b-bdc7-4097-8bab-74107d1c0707.jpg
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 9 September 2022 23:40 (one year ago) link
NB: YMP was the first to mention Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Rona upthread, but this is the kind of list thread where multiple entries are fine, especially since they are usually recontextualized.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 00:05 (one year ago) link
Lol at typo
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 9 September 2022 23:40 (yesterday) link
OMG, these things - I actually had a thrilling rush of sensory memories at that picture. My grandparents had one too.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 10 September 2022 01:36 (one year ago) link
The ka-CHUNK was very satisfying.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 10 September 2022 01:51 (one year ago) link
I probably posted something like this upthread, but the original design of the remote (Zenith’s Space Command, specifically) always fascinated me. Tiny hammers hit tiny sound-producing rods!https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenith_Electronics#Remote_controls
Lead engineer Robert Adler then suggested that ultrasonic sound be used as a trigger mechanism. This was produced in the hand held unit by mechanically struck aluminum rods of carefully constructed dimensions—a receiver in the television responded to the different frequencies this action produced. Enough audible noise was produced by pressing the buttons that consumers began calling remote controls "clickers". The miniaturization of electronics meant that, eventually, the sounds were produced in the remote unit electronically; however, the operating principle remained in use until the 1980s, when it was superseded by the infrared light system.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 10 September 2022 10:50 (one year ago) link
Yes, you mentioned on the second day of this thread’s existence, as a follow-up to your massive console TV post.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:43 (one year ago) link
Well that technology background was certainly new! And totally unknown to me.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:55 (one year ago) link
Yes. The new information was very welcome.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:55 (one year ago) link
Again, repeat posts are not frowned upon in this thread, they are welcomed. Which in itself is a repeat post.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 14:56 (one year ago) link
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 15:02 (one year ago) link
Macrame
Macrame mucho
― the floor is guava (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 10 September 2022 15:47 (one year ago) link
Ha.Johnny Mathis albums. Although I think they were borrowed, at least in our house.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 15:54 (one year ago) link
God’s Eyes.
― put a VONC on it (suzy), Saturday, 10 September 2022 16:49 (one year ago) link
Hi suzy, was hoping you would be back to contribute some more.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 16:51 (one year ago) link
I feel like, even if there is some small thing that we may have missed on this thread, we still have all the basic DNA required to clone one of these houses if needed.
― Jean Arthur Rank (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 10 September 2022 18:10 (one year ago) link
That mustard yellow rubbermaid pitcher with the white top that twists. Saw one on an episode of The Americans set in 81 or 82. Must have been a holdover from the 70s...
― that's not my post, Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:26 (one year ago) link
^Good one!
― Ride On Proserpina (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:41 (one year ago) link
Great pick. I actually saw one at a yard sale a couple months ago... Strong Proustian Madeleine moment --- my entire 80s childhood, we drank orange juice (reconstituted from a cardboard tube of frozen concentrate) out of one of those. We had a blue-ish one too, used by my Mom to rinse shampoo from our hair when we were really little.
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:42 (one year ago) link
Tupperware parties and Avon ladies.
― Ride On Proserpina (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 18 September 2022 15:01 (one year ago) link
Fiddle Faddle and/or Screaming Yellow Zonkers
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 18 September 2022 20:57 (one year ago) link
The coffee table book "Gnomes"
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 18 September 2022 21:09 (one year ago) link
We had “Gnomes.” But what about B. Kliban books, maybe they were too counter-cultural for every ‘70s home, but we had all of them.
― Josefa, Sunday, 18 September 2022 21:49 (one year ago) link
Oh man we definitely had Rubbermaid pitchers, I think including a yellow one. Also, juice concentrate! I was just thinking about the other day, how it seems to have disappeared. That was all we drank, frozen Minute Maid OJ and lemonade.
Here's an article from Vice about the decline of fro-jay: https://www.vice.com/en/article/4x5nzq/nobody-gives-a-damn-about-frozen-oj-anymore
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 18 September 2022 22:06 (one year ago) link
And B Kliban, wow, this whole thread is like visiting my childhood home. My dad is a big comics/cartoon fan, so we had everything from classic Little Lulu to R. Crumb, including a shelf of Kliban.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 18 September 2022 22:14 (one year ago) link
When I was a kid my mom used to take my brother and me with her to visit some adult friends of hers who didn't have any kids, but they did have a gigantic coffee table book that had about 40 years' worth of Dick Tracy anthologized in it and I used to sit there and read entire plotlines that must have taken months to play out a day at a time in the 1930s or whenever.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 18 September 2022 23:10 (one year ago) link
watched Klute again and the brown, rust, yellow, olive and beige car colors of the early 70s look really good in retrospect
― Dan S, Monday, 19 September 2022 00:04 (one year ago) link
I guess by yellow I mean harvest gold
― Dan S, Monday, 19 September 2022 00:07 (one year ago) link
In every early '90s home ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi0uz8JD9Aw
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 19 September 2022 00:24 (one year ago) link
In every 70s grandparents' home ever:
Candy that only grandmothers buy. In my case, it's nonpareils in covered glass candy dishes, and Chiclets and Necco Wafers in the purse.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/2019-12-27_15_44_29_A_packet_of_Christmas_Nonpareils_produced_by_Hollabaugh_Brothers%2C_Incorporated_in_the_Dulles_section_of_Sterling%2C_Loudoun_County%2C_Virginia.jpg/640px-thumbnail.jpg
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 19 September 2022 03:44 (one year ago) link
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 19 September 2022 04:10 (one year ago) link
cologne bottle shaped like a green glass car
― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 19 September 2022 16:53 (one year ago) link
Stored in the attic or basement, let's not forget tents with metal poles! A joy to set up and take down for backyard slumber parties.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Monday, 19 September 2022 16:58 (one year ago) link
Slip ‘n’ Slide
― put a VONC on it (suzy), Monday, 19 September 2022 18:33 (one year ago) link
In every early '90s home ever:If I’m not mistaken, one of the ingredients is petroleum. Just plain petroleum. Ingredient list reads something like, “water, high fructose corn syrup, orange flavoring, petroleum, xanthan gum…”
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 19 September 2022 19:11 (one year ago) link
In Every Miniature 70s Home Ever
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1355608872556376064.html
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 9 January 2023 14:54 (one year ago) link
Oh man, that's fantastic. Versus a lot of mid-century house imagery, it's very much in the spirit of this thread, in capturing the junky, cluttered and texturally mismatched quality that these spaces often had in reality.
Also, I'm aware that building miniature houses of this kind has grown from a niche hobby into a whole Thing (we even watched a few episodes of a pretty badly-made competition show about them), but this seems like an especially excellent showcase of craft and attention to detail. Look at all that stuff! Look at those rugs! Love it.
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Monday, 9 January 2023 15:11 (one year ago) link
The Lincoln Log house constitutes a dollhouse within a dollhouse. Dollhouseception.
― I got two Clark Gables and a slide trombone (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 9 January 2023 15:43 (one year ago) link
Perky Pat's summer house
― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 9 January 2023 18:43 (one year ago) link
@pplayouts
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 9 January 2023 18:48 (one year ago) link
Love the pictures of the soup can wandering the house
― jmm, Monday, 9 January 2023 18:56 (one year ago) link
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGQ2OTlmMzAtZTAyNy00Zjc2LTg1ZDgtZDgyZTM5MWMyYTljXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTkyNDA3NDY@._V1_.jpg
should've been this guy
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Monday, 9 January 2023 19:41 (one year ago) link
beef stroganoff
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 25 March 2023 17:31 (one year ago) link
See also Hamburger Helper discussion upthread starting here: In every 70s US home ever
― Old Man Reacts to Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 25 March 2023 18:07 (one year ago) link
Can we take a moment to talk about commemorative glasses? Hell yeah. Collect all four or five or six or whatever.
Most of mine got lost or broken or otherwise scattered to the winds, but thanks to my wife we DO miraculously still have a Great Muppet Caper glass with Fozzie on it. It is among our most treasured possessions, long since retired to a secure display case and insured by Lloyd's for six figures.
To think that people like me just, like, drank orange Fanta out of them like it was nothing. Like they were just common drinking vessels, instead of the rare and priceless collectors' items they would one day become.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/G0IAAOSwq3Nhd~Xc/s-l400.jpg
― carne asana (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:18 (one year ago) link
Lol. That reminds me of something I can’t remember posting about before. Near the checkout at the A&P was a giant stack of commemorative bicentennial plates made of thick amber glass, embossed with some kind of Spirit of ‘76 imagery, one of which I bought as a present on some occasion. We never even thought of eating off of it, although now that I think of it, maybe they would have wanted us to do so as a multiplier to sales. My dad liked it so much that he went in the basement and made a little stand for it with his jigsaw if not one of his other saws.
― Old Man Reacts to Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:30 (one year ago) link
Lol at the elder Mr. Redd's collection of various saws. Each with their purpose. Lovingly oiled, sharpened when necessary. Hung on a pegboard in its appropriate place, outlined in Sharpie.
Anyway yeah I suspect it's a blurry reflection of the British tradition of having commemorative plates of the umpteenth Royal Wedding or Diamond/Platinum/Emerald/Tungsten Jubilee etc.
Tungsten Jubilee would be a decent band name
― carne asana (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:37 (one year ago) link
Jarts
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:44 (one year ago) link
Most important saw of all was the radial arm saw, which was like a giant manually operated robot arm with a table of its own.
― Old Man Reacts to Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:50 (one year ago) link
He came, he sawed, he conquered
― carne asana (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:53 (one year ago) link
Cigarette dangling out of the corner of his mouth
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:53 (one year ago) link
Overalls with a loop specifically to hold a ball-peen hammer
― carne asana (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 25 March 2023 19:58 (one year ago) link
But back to the Bicentennial for a moment.
The stylized star logo felt so fresh and forward-looking. Negative space, bold curves. Makes me think of Jimmy Carter and NASA.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/American_revolution_bicentennial.svg/220px-American_revolution_bicentennial.svg.png
There were mailboxes that were painted to look like Continental soldiers. Some of those held on for a while; one still occasionally saw them years later.
Every now and then I get a Bicentennial quarter in a handful of change from 7-11. I know they're not rare or valuable but I still have trouble parting with them. Sheer nostalgia.
― carne asana (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 25 March 2023 20:06 (one year ago) link
Stopped smoking when my sister was born. Never wore overalls, just classic cutoff shorts, farmer tan and VBC (does this TLA already exist?) Work dress was often a vaguely Captain Kirk-like combo featuring Beatle boots, even though he hated Star Trek: TOS.
― Old Man Reacts to Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 25 March 2023 20:11 (one year ago) link
I remember being really disappointed after I took out a new 7-Day Loan library copy of The Bicentennial Man with the little yellow sticky with a red-lined rocket inside an atom on the spine denoting SF. It must have been really new since it still smelled primarily of binder’s glue without any of the hearty overtone scent of fine tobacco. Disappointed because it was so bad. Of course now in hindsight I can reflect “Isaac Asimov? Of course it was bad.”
― Old Man Reacts to Cloud (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 25 March 2023 20:18 (one year ago) link
I've always found the Bicentennial melancholic. I was born that year - in the UK, but I remember growing up reading coffee table books about science and technology, and they always had stock NASA photos from the 1970s. There was always a photo of the Arecibo telescope and some concept drawings of wheels in space. It was an odd period when "Big Science" and "Big Engineering" were still red-hot but people were also concerned about reusability and efficiency as well.
The Bicentennial logo suddenly reminded me of NASA's early wind turbines, which were built around the same time as the Bicentennial, and I realise now they're red, white, and blue! Presumably as a way of getting funding. "Mr President, wind energy is not communist, and in any case the model is the colour of our glorious flag". They were called MOD-1 and MOD-2 etc.
https://cdn10.picryl.com/photo/2013/12/31/mod-0a-wind-turbine-block-island-rhode-island-dedication-92ead6-1024.jpg
It's sad, because those books always presented wind turbines and alternative energy as The Future, marvels of science etc. Even the space shuttle's big selling point was that it was efficient, low-mileage, reusable, less wasteful than Apollo. I have the impression that the men and women dedicating that wind turbine had high hopes. But they all had to go into hiding because wind turbines and environmentalism eventually became tantamount to Communism. I was fed dreams of a better world.
― Ashley Pomeroy, Saturday, 25 March 2023 22:51 (one year ago) link
Ashley, the bicentennial year was significant for me because it was the year of my family's rather narrow escape from Missouri and our move to DC. There was something especially exciting about arriving in the capital and seeing it all decked out and celebratory. It was like the part of "Wizard of Oz" where it shifts from black and white to color.
― carne asana (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 25 March 2023 22:56 (one year ago) link
An eBay listing for James Redd (no stand included).
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/2TgAAOSw3ktfH4KF/s-l1600.jpg
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 26 March 2023 12:58 (one year ago) link
I’ve always wanted to hold a Bicentennial-themed Fourth of July barbecue. Get some radio air checks from 1977, encourage folks to dress era-appropriately, find some inexpensive decorative stuff on eBay like that plate or glasses etc.
(I admit that I did go to eBay to see what Bicentenniel kitsch could be found after that post; I already love decorating my place with old LIFE magazines and other ’70s odds and ends.)
Are commemorative/collectible plates still a thing? I remember seeing commercials as a kid in the 90s, but can’t recall anything since. I see the Franklin Mint is still around, at least.
― blatherskite, Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:13 (one year ago) link
Not having been around for the Bicentennial fever, I always associate the whole thing with the oddly woozy theme song of "U.S. of Archie," which has some fun 70s funk and synth elements, but in my mind is dominated by this dreary psychedelic hangover sensibility. Apparently the show actually dates to 1974, so I'm not sure it has any direct connection at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih9rVocvxWc
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:29 (one year ago) link
I’ll see your “U.S. of Archie” and raise you whatever the fuck this is, produced by the U.S. Information Agency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxAEPnq1KsU(The soundtrack sounds almost like post-Forever Changes Love, but is in fact one Edward Simon)
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 26 March 2023 14:53 (one year ago) link
No ceramic panther, no deal.
― Fuck You Know About a Tralee (I M Losted), Sunday, 26 March 2023 16:05 (one year ago) link
Oh mannnn, Tarfumes, that video is great. Perfect example of exactly what the Yellow Submarine aesthetic had become by 1976. I grew up surrounded by kids' books whose covers were the still-image version of this, like the 1971 Houghton Mifflin Readers. We have a thread for this kind of thing, right?
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 26 March 2023 20:29 (one year ago) link
OMG. I was trying to recuse or absent myself from my thread for a while like some Joycean creator whilst y’all worked your magic with these last several posts but just now I was reminded of two things. First is that I bought a book through the Scholastic Book Club called The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics which, in the paperback form I owned had no actual illustrations except on the cover, but did have an introduction by Richard Brautigan and in photo insert section which some pictures of things such as The Beatles in bathing trunks in the Bahamas whilst shooting Help! or mugging with Muhammad Ali. Second is, did anyone else on this thread apart from James Redd have bicentennial wallpaper?
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 20:54 (one year ago) link
A photo insert section with
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 20:55 (one year ago) link
Feel like I need to justify my inclusion of the first thing because of trickle down cartoon psychedelia (the one illustration on the cover reminded of what I would see a little later in the artwork for Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy without the hidden boobs) and because Scholastic Book Club book, in case we haven’t mentioned yet.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:00 (one year ago) link
See also those special Sunday newspapers with a free wraparound Peter Max poster!
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:03 (one year ago) link
Wow, I definitely was assigned those Houghton Mifflin readers in grade school (late ‘70s - early ‘80s) — I remember Panorama and Fiesta. And James Redd, sorry to hear you got screwed on that Beatles book. I remember flipping through it at my local library and digging the illustrations, most (all?) of which were by Alan Aldridge, who had also done the Who’s A Quick One cover.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:04 (one year ago) link
The other thing about The Beatles book was that it didn’t seem to have any of George’s songs, let alone Ringo’s, but instead included some Lennon-McCartney-for-hire audition fodder numbers such as “Like Dreamers Do.”
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:14 (one year ago) link
Hmm. Maybe that book actually has a few George songs but not all. Perhaps it’s a Northern Songs/Harrisongs thing.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:18 (one year ago) link
That one PSA looks like some Parallax View-level mind control psy-ops.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:25 (one year ago) link
Just confirmed that Alan Aldridge also did the Captain Fantastic artwork.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:39 (one year ago) link
We used those Houghton Mifflin readers from K-6!
― steely flan (suzy), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:49 (one year ago) link
We used something called SRA Reading Laboratory.https://bookriot.com/a-box-of-nostalgia-the-sra-reading-laboratory/
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:52 (one year ago) link
Color-coded folders containing one or two page stories along with accompanying questions. Color-coded so the kids supposedly wouldn’t know that their classmates on the Gold Level were more advanced than those on Maroon Level, they even scrambled the colors from grade to grade to throw you off the scent.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:56 (one year ago) link
At some point later on I felt maybe we should have been reading more challenging formats but at the time it was a very addictive, gamified process, like a precursor to Duolingo.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 21:58 (one year ago) link
If no one else owns up to using those think I am going to feel like I had some kind of multiverse slip.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 22:02 (one year ago) link
I vividly remember the big SRA boxes in my grade school classrooms. I have no memory whatsoever of myself or any of my classmates actually using them.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 26 March 2023 22:04 (one year ago) link
Perhaps they were already being phased out by the time you arrived in the system.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 March 2023 22:14 (one year ago) link
We also used SRA, and took SRA tests in fifth grade.
― steely flan (suzy), Sunday, 26 March 2023 22:15 (one year ago) link
Oh I was totally schooled via SRA. Haven't thought about that in decades, ha!
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Sunday, 26 March 2023 22:31 (one year ago) link
Definitely remember the giant SRA box — in fact I have so many memories of the SRA box Im wondering which ones I should and should not share.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 27 March 2023 00:15 (one year ago) link
I went to school in the 80s fwiw
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 27 March 2023 00:16 (one year ago) link
Please share whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 00:40 (one year ago) link
Either on this thread or a new one if you think that would work better.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 00:41 (one year ago) link
The author of this piece didn’t like the system, but her write-up – along with sample card! - seems to remind me of the appeal.http://hackeducation.com/2015/03/19/sra
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 01:23 (one year ago) link
Fidgit! The Fidget Spinner of its day!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ms14Weak0E/Tu6KJDlk7KI/AAAAAAAAANo/NGOa_g8MIxU/s1600/fidgit2.jpg
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 27 March 2023 05:18 (one year ago) link
^this wasn’t some kind of mood thing?
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 09:24 (one year ago) link
In any case, that one is slowly working its Proustian madeleine magic on me this morning, thanks for posting.
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 March 2023 10:17 (one year ago) link
I don't remember if it was temperature sensitive like a mood ring. It was some kind of oily I-don't-know-what that changed colors as you smushed it around with your fingertips.
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 27 March 2023 10:50 (one year ago) link
I thought I remembered every stupid device of the era, and I have zero recollection of the Fidgit.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 27 March 2023 18:28 (one year ago) link
I recognize it, or the general principle. Maybe we had a differentlyre-formed, no-name knockoff from a few years later.
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Monday, 27 March 2023 18:40 (one year ago) link
I don't remember the Fidget thing. But randomly it triggered memories of GI Joe action figurines. Google sent me to an vintage TV commercial for GI Joe with Kung Fu grip. From today's vantage point, yikes. Don't think my parents were particularly anti-Vietnam War but that figurine is OTT.
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 28 March 2023 02:51 (one year ago) link
In (many) 70s homes in NYC and the Tri-State Area: mini-bagel necklaces with names on them given as souvenirs for going on Wonderama.
― No Zing Compares 2 HOOS (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 14 August 2023 13:21 (eight months ago) link
"A jade plant, hung in a macrame plant hanger" absoilutely
― | (Latham Green), Friday, 3 November 2023 19:38 (five months ago) link
I didn't see this yet in this thread
https://i.etsystatic.com/8777027/r/il/dc4ba3/730668538/il_fullxfull.730668538_4ei2.jpg
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 3 November 2023 20:47 (five months ago) link
Oooh, we had one of those. I remember sitting around it with my parents on Friday nights pretending it was a campfire.
― peace, man, Saturday, 4 November 2023 15:26 (five months ago) link