In every 70s US home ever

as is also the case with

World’s Best Dad

Ferns

A jade plant, hung in a macrame plant hanger

Hamburger Helper

Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat

A BEAD CURTAIN

all good. what about the close sibling of this last: the accordion door?

Yup, in faux-woodgrain

Crock Pot.

Whole Earth Catalog
Fondue set
Reader's Digest
The Book of Lists

Dad’s Own Bar, complete with, ahem, humorous signage with respect to opening and closing time, such as cardboard clock face with twelve 5s.

2-3 dozen copies of "Apartment Life" magazine

A lazy susan, or possibly several

"Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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

Oh yeah, burning Citroën knows the vibe. Musta visited my parents' house in '75.

People's Almanac / People's Chronology also big in those years

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.

Usually a Zenith model, with SPACE COMMAND remote

Encyclopedias
Too many National Geographics

lava lamp
beanbag chair

the poster from the inside of "dark side of the moon"
a paperback book of Polish jokes that nobody will claim responsibility for
Stacks of old newspapers

Wood-grain speakers

solid wood bookshelves built into nooks

An electric organ, with many multicolored switches/presets.

pong

^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

stray beans from beanbag stuck in shag carpet
Yahtzee
Sears catalog
poker chip carousel
Erma Bombeck books
crocheted afghan blanket (squares pattern)

reminds me to post
Dogs Playing Poker painting

TV Guide (although not in my home)

cb radio
"Bless This Mess" kneedlepoint sign

Habitrail
aquarium
many items featuring Peanuts characters for no particular reason

Orange sinks
Bathroom wallpaper with old-timey advertisements

partially completed rug hooking
terrariums
sand candles

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/ae/75/88ae75efce5244fc22206fd8ac16439c.jpg

Noxzema
The World Book
Penthouse (hidden from view)
Skateboarder magazine
Guinness Book of World Records
Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock
10-speed bikes
Life magazine
tobacco pipe (dad)
wallpaper
store catalogs
Yellow Pages
Peter Frampton Comes Alive
Hardy Boys
Rugby shirts
Chemistry set
Creem
Circus

Sea Monkeys

Anacin
The Game Of Life
Toughskins
Ferns (all relegated to one room, commonly referred to as "the ferm room")

Garanimals

(in warm regions) jalousie windows

tang
jello
r2d2 figurine

Mentioned Air Hockey but should also have mentioned Nok Hockey.

electric football

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.”

Born in '63 so the 70s were totally my decade, and we had almost none of this stuff.

Marimekko prints and bedding

one of the things from the '70s that is still popular!

Almost all of these presuppose a middle income household that has at least one filled bookshelf.

And on that bookshelf: Passages by Gail Sheehy.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull was popular in the early 70s but even as a kid it seemed banal to me

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.)

forgot about that book

I went to school in the 80s fwiw

Please share whatever you feel comfortable sharing.

Either on this thread or a new one if you think that would work better.

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

Fidgit! The Fidget Spinner of its day!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ms14Weak0E/Tu6KJDlk7KI/AAAAAAAAANo/NGOa_g8MIxU/s1600/fidgit2.jpg

^this wasn’t some kind of mood thing?

In any case, that one is slowly working its Proustian madeleine magic on me this morning, thanks for posting.

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.

I thought I remembered every stupid device of the era, and I have zero recollection of the Fidgit.

I recognize it, or the general principle. Maybe we had a differentlyre-formed, no-name knockoff from a few years later.

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.

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.

"A jade plant, hung in a macrame plant hanger" absoilutely

I didn't see this yet in this thread

https://i.etsystatic.com/8777027/r/il/dc4ba3/730668538/il_fullxfull.730668538_4ei2.jpg

Oooh, we had one of those. I remember sitting around it with my parents on Friday nights pretending it was a campfire.