What things were normal parts of life which you're glad no longer are?  It may not have to do specifically with pop culture.

Thanks

OK, I'll start.

I don't miss that kids were crueler back then.  Taunting of anyone slightly "different" was terrible.  There was more overt racism.  Things which were said/done to girls generally aren't today.

I also don't miss that cars (at least the ones my family could afford) broke down more often.
And boy did they take a long time to heat.  In the winter, we'd usually be where we were going before the old 8 cyl. put out any heat.

And tv's are much better today.  Remember the "fine tuning?"

I also don't miss that in jr high and to some extent in high school, girls were directed to take certain classes and boys other classes.

Anyone else have things they don't miss from the 70's?
Not that it wasn't a great decade, but some things do change for the better. :)

And if I were in junior high or high school, I wouldn't miss having to get naked and take a shower after pe.

The 55 mph speed limit.  :P

Not having a/c-either at home or at school. I remember sitting in class DYING from the heat.


Cat

I agree with AL-B and Cat.

Along the lines of what Sally said, I don't miss the small-minded bigotry that was so pervasive back then.  Even though our pop culture historians talk about the 1970s as a time of liberation and liberalization, out in white bread America fear of the other was rampant.  If you were a guy with an earring and they didn't serve you at the Dogpatch Cafe, well, tough sh*t, and if you complained, the sheriff just might tell you to get out of his town!
::)

@ AL-B:  the 55 mph speed limit was imposed in the mid-late 70's as a response to the oil shortage.  Before that, feeways were 70 mph.

Yeah Cat, I have to say I looove my A/C.

I was a teen living in a rural area then, and our phone was a 'party line'.

If you don't know what that is, picture deciding to make a phone call, and picking up the phone, and before you dial the phone you hear someone (someone not in your house) having a conversation.  Of course, as a young teenage girl, it wasn't beyond my imagination to cook up a little fun phone mischief  ::)

This was also the days before answering machines were widespread.

So, I don't miss the telephone availability situation of that day.  On the other hand, there were advantages.  It was rare to receive calls from advertisers, cold calls from charities, or calls from politicians.  That's the part I don't miss!

Ah, the 70s, the decade that taste forgot!


The 55 mph speed limit.  :P


Not having a/c-either at home or at school. I remember sitting in class DYING from the heat.


Please, please, please, can't it be both? 

RvV3nn_de2k

Not having a/c as a standard option in your car.  Even if you were Sammy Hagar and had a Ferrari, a/c was an optional feature.

Since I can't find an accessible copy of Sammy Hagar / Waboritas 2001 sequel I Can't Drive 65 (soundtrack to NASCAR: Full Throttle game), I'll go with a historical note instead.

The National Maximum Speed Limit Law was repealed in 1986.  It wasn't until 1995 that all national speed limits were lifted; it wasn't until September 2011 that Texas approved an 85mph limit in its rural highways.

(Oh, and shame on you, SammyHagarVEVO.  The word is "Ass."  Your ASS is what should be thrown in the city joint for censoring your own artist's content at 2:20.  I don't miss that sort of "radio mix" bowdlerization about the 70s either.)

And I'll add in "being stuck in my parents' un-aircoinditioned car, waiting in gas lines, due to malaise-era price controls on gasoline".

I also don't miss that in jr high and to some extent in high school, girls were directed to take certain classes and boys other classes.


Hey I just caught this one...

I was MAD  >:(  that I wasn't encouraged (i.e. discouraged) from taking shop class, cause I like wood and stuff.  Not that I disliked Home Economics - it was OK.  But I wanted shop.

On a related note, I ran track in High School - when I joined, it was only the second year the girls had a track team  :o

I was a teen living in a rural area then, and our phone was a 'party line'.

If you don't know what that is, picture deciding to make a phone call, and picking up the phone, and before you dial the phone you hear someone (someone not in your house) having a conversation.  Of course, as a young teenage girl, it wasn't beyond my imagination to cook up a little fun phone mischief  ::)

This was also the days before answering machines were widespread.

So, I don't miss the telephone availability situation of that day.  On the other hand, there were advantages.  It was rare to receive calls from advertisers, cold calls from charities, or calls from politicians.  That's the part I don't miss!


Did you ever see "Radio Days"?  One of my favorite scenes is when Cousin Ruthie is listening in on the neighbors.

"Stop listening in! My wife hears her giggling!"
"Hey Waldbaum, do you think we care about something going on in YOUR house?
"Yeah, let her have her ovaries out!"

I don't remember party lines, but when I was growing up it was standard to have ONE phone line per household.  Nowadays a kid gets her own phone account almost as soon as she is weaned!

Of course, we had four phones in the house, but ONE line, so you could eavesdrop on your parents and siblings if you were quiet about it.  Sometimes one of us would be on the phone with a friend and my dad would pick up downstairs and bark: I NEED THE PHONE.  GET OFF!
And there was nothing you could say about it because he pays the bills around here!
>:(

Now, the Blackmers were millionaires, so their kids had their OWN separate phone line in the house, and that was like WOW, fancy!

Hey I just caught this one...

I was MAD  >:(  that I wasn't encouraged (i.e. discouraged) from taking shop class, cause I like wood and stuff.  Not that I disliked Home Economics - it was OK.  But I wanted shop.

On a related note, I ran track in High School - when I joined, it was only the second year the girls had a track team  :o



When I was in jr. high, EVERYONE took shop, drafting, sewing, & cooking. We all took each class for a quarter and then we switched. And the classes were co-ed.


Cat

When I was in jr. high, EVERYONE took shop, drafting, sewing, & cooking. We all took each class for a quarter and then we switched. And the classes were co-ed.


Cat


I remember getting assigned to "sewing" class in 7th grade.  I thought it was really stupid that they were teaching sewing instead of computers.
::)

I remember getting assigned to "sewing" class in 7th grade.  I thought it was really stupid that they were teaching sewing instead of computers.
::)



When I was in 7th grade, very few people had even HEARD of computers-and if they did, they were big bulky things that took up half the room.



Cat

When I was in 7th grade, very few people had even HEARD of computers-and if they did, they were big bulky things that took up half the room.



Cat


PC's were clunky, slow, and expensive when I was in 7th grade, but they seemed like a better investment than teaching a kid to make scrambled eggs!
::)

The power cuts...standard fare over the 'three-day-week' adventure during 73-74...

Candles were an essential, as you could be plunged into darkness at any time...

Also being the last member of the family (the youngest) to have the rationed hot bathwater!  :P

The power cuts...standard fare over the 'three-day-week' adventure during 73-74...

Candles were an essential, as you could be plunged into darkness at any time...

Also being the last member of the family (the youngest) to have the rationed hot bathwater!  :P


We had to live in a shoe box in the middle of the road...
:D

Seriously, I knew Britain went through some lean times in the seventies, but I didn't know they were rationing electricity like the war was still on! 

The power cuts...standard fare over the 'three-day-week' adventure during 73-74...

Candles were an essential, as you could be plunged into darkness at any time...

Also being the last member of the family (the youngest) to have the rationed hot bathwater!  :P
I remember there was a postal strike around that time too.

Seriously, I knew Britain went through some lean times in the seventies, but I didn't know they were rationing electricity like the war was still on!


Not rationed per se...just a knock-on effect from the turmoil in the Middle East (sound familiar?) and the  power game fought by the unions...

However, petrol was almost rationed! Ration books were printed, but never used...


I remember there was a postal strike around that time too.


I'm hard pressed to think of any part of industry that wasn't on strike...

Oh yes, the teachers! I don't remember being kept out of school around this time!  ::)

Not rationed per se...just a knock-on effect from the turmoil in the Middle East (sound familiar?) and the  power game fought by the unions...

However, petrol was almost rationed! Ration books were printed, but never used...

I'm hard pressed to think of any part of industry that wasn't on strike...

Oh yes, the teachers! I don't remember being kept out of school around this time!  ::)
I also can recall large piles of rubbish bags in Leicester Square.

I also can recall large piles of rubbish bags in Leicester Square.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/years/1979/gallery/images/340/rubbish.jpg

I also can recall large piles of rubbish bags in Leicester Square.


This was from later in the decade (about 1978) which led the newspapers to classify it as the winter of discontent...

...not sure if this was an improvement or not, but we got a heavy dose of Thatcher soon afterward!

This was from later in the decade (about 1978) which led the newspapers to classify it as the winter of discontent...

...not sure if this was an improvement or not, but we got a heavy dose of Thatcher soon afterward!
... Kate Bush appeared amid the doom and gloom!

The power cuts...standard fare over the 'three-day-week' adventure during 73-74...

Candles were an essential, as you could be plunged into darkness at any time...

Also being the last member of the family (the youngest) to have the rationed hot bathwater!  :P



I hear ya about being the youngest. I rarely got new clothes as a kid. I ALWAYS got handmedowns.

We didn't have power cuts but we had long lines at the gas station. We had "Odd" & "Even" days depending on your license plate ended in an odd number or even number.


Cat

What I don't miss?

Having to ride in the cramped back seat with all the windows up and no air conditioning and dad smoking (and me trying to wind the window down a smidge for fresh air and being yelled at if caught.)  Nope no smoking for me.  I guess that's one way to stop your kid from smoking.  ;D

Not rationed per se...just a knock-on effect from the turmoil in the Middle East (sound familiar?) and the  power game fought by the unions...

However, petrol was almost rationed! Ration books were printed, but never used...

I'm hard pressed to think of any part of industry that wasn't on strike...

Oh yes, the teachers! I don't remember being kept out of school around this time!  ::)


There was no schedule of outages?  Sounds dodgy. 
???


I also can recall large piles of rubbish bags in Leicester Square.

The union in Boston were such that the sanitation workers just won't pick up your trash if it's not set out according to union demands.  Well, this wasn't the seventies, it was 1990, but I remember yelling for the garbage men not to drive off without our refuse bags.  They said:  The union says we don't have to pick it up if it's that far from the curb.  They waited for me to haul it across the sidewalk!
::)


What I don't miss?

Having to ride in the cramped back seat with all the windows up and no air conditioning and dad smoking (and me trying to wind the window down a smidge for fresh air and being yelled at if caught.)  Nope no smoking for me.  I guess that's one way to stop your kid from smoking.  ;D


In the seventies the grownups would sit around the kitchen table and gossip with a big billows of smoke converging into a smog cloud at the ceiling.  It was about 1981 when my father finally forbade smoking in the house...until the next year after my parents split up and my future stepmom shacked up with us and she smoked like a chimney. 

One thing I miss today as from the 1970's is that hearing classic pop songs and tunes for the first time, I do recall hearing the premier playing of Julie Covington's "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" back in 1976, a few months before Evita hit the London West End.

Also added to the list of hearing first time round, Tubular Bells and Bohemian Rhapsody.

There was no schedule of outages?  Sounds dodgy. 
???



No, you just learned to live knowing where the matches and candles were.

About 10 years afterwards my mum decided it was safe to put the candelsticks away.  they had been a permanent fixture on top of the TV for as long as I could remember

No, you just learned to live knowing where the matches and candles were.

About 10 years afterwards my mum decided it was safe to put the candelsticks away.  they had been a permanent fixture on top of the TV for as long as I could remember
Just in time for the Miner's Strike?

No, you just learned to live knowing where the matches and candles were.

About 10 years afterwards my mum decided it was safe to put the candelsticks away.  they had been a permanent fixture on top of the TV for as long as I could remember


Oh, so you watch TV during the black outs?
:-\\

So who got the brunt of the blame for the situation, the unions or the utility companies?

I hear ya about being the youngest. I rarely got new clothes as a kid. I ALWAYS got handmedowns.

I was the youngest until my stepbrother made the scene when I was twelve.  Thank god I only had older sisters.  I got my own back-to-school trip to Rich's in Nashua!  Yeah, Rich's, there's a cheap dept store from my seventies memories.  It got bought up by Bradlee's (?) in the eighties.  Those were some butt ugly clothes, I tell you!  Cotton-polyester weaves, checks and stripes, monkeypuke colors.  My mom still has our class pics...and those were the nice ones!


We didn't have power cuts but we had long lines at the gas station. We had "Odd" & "Even" days depending on your license plate ended in an odd number or even number.


This time around there won't be lines because we won't be able to afford to buy the gas.  They're closing down three refineries that supply oil to the Northeast.  Just wait until Memorial Day.  I'm doing thumb exercises every morning!

The heavy floor model tv's.  They were great for longevity but horrible in weight!

I was the youngest until my stepbrother made the scene when I was twelve.  Thank god I only had older sisters.  I got my own back-to-school trip to Rich's in Nashua!  Yeah, Rich's, there's a cheap dept store from my seventies memories.  It got bought up by Bradlee's (?) in the eighties.  Those were some butt ugly clothes, I tell you!  Cotton-polyester weaves, checks and stripes, monkeypuke colors.  My mom still has our class pics...and those were the nice ones!

This time around there won't be lines because we won't be able to afford to buy the gas.  They're closing down three refineries that supply oil to the Northeast.  Just wait until Memorial Day.  I'm doing thumb exercises every morning!



When I first moved to Vermont and went over to NH-that was when I first encountered Rich's. But, I do remember Bradlee's and I remember Zayre's.



Cat

The heavy floor model tv's.  They were great for longevity but horrible in weight!



They are called console t.v.'s. We still have one (that was bought in 1988). It does have wheels to make it easy to move. The picture is going on it so I know it is almost time to replace it but we have a lot of "stuff" on it (DVD player/dish receiver, pictures, nicknacks, etc) that we won't know what to do with when we get a flat screen t.v.  :-\\


Cat

When I first moved to Vermont and went over to NH-that was when I first encountered Rich's. But, I do remember Bradlee's and I remember Zayre's.



Cat


Ame's, Caldor's, they were all about the same.  Now it's all Wal-Mart and Target.
::)

When I was in jr. high, EVERYONE took shop, drafting, sewing, & cooking. We all took each class for a quarter and then we switched. And the classes were co-ed.


Ditto.

The first time I ever cooked a meal without parental supervision was in "Home Economics" ("Home Ec").  The teacher had us all making tacos, and we accidentally (Really.  We pulled the cover off the shaker, and instead of a few shakes of powder, we dumped in several tablespoons) used several times as much chili powder as the textbook's recipe called for.  We were initially scared to eat it, but when we actually tried, it was great, so we pretended like nothing wrong had happened.  We not only got an A+, the teacher actually smiled while eating it.  Wasn't until after the grades were out (and we'd eaten our own share of it!) that we told her the truth. 

I remember rebelling against "sewing", and having forgotten about it until a few years after moving away from home and realizing that knowing how to sew a button back onto a suit the day before a life-alteringly-critical job interview (and before you could just google it!) was a really awesomely friggin' useful skill.  Thus was the foreskin of ignorance retracted and the wire brush of enlightemnent applied.

I don't miss the sexism and the ignorance of my youth.  But I'm glad I remember them.  To my junior high Home Ec teacher, if I remembered your name, I'd share a homebrew with you.  (Which I probably couldn't have brewed without a little help from my junior high Shop Class teacher who taught me to be unafraid of fire and metal.)

Ditto.

The first time I ever cooked a meal without parental supervision was in "Home Economics" ("Home Ec").  The teacher had us all making tacos, and we accidentally (Really.  We pulled the cover off the shaker, and instead of a few shakes of powder, we dumped in several tablespoons) used several times as much chili powder as the textbook's recipe called for.  We were initially scared to eat it, but when we actually tried, it was great, so we pretended like nothing wrong had happened.  We not only got an A+, the teacher actually smiled while eating it.  Wasn't until after the grades were out (and we'd eaten our own share of it!) that we told her the truth. 

I remember rebelling against "sewing", and having forgotten about it until a few years after moving away from home and realizing that knowing how to sew a button back onto a suit the day before a life-alteringly-critical job interview (and before you could just google it!) was a really awesomely friggin' useful skill.  Thus was the foreskin of ignorance retracted and the wire brush of enlightemnent applied.

I don't miss the sexism and the ignorance of my youth.  But I'm glad I remember them.  To my junior high Home Ec teacher, if I remembered your name, I'd share a homebrew with you.  (Which I probably couldn't have brewed without a little help from my junior high Shop Class teacher who taught me to be unafraid of fire and metal.)



My first home ec class was in 5th grade. Here, they divided the class up. I have no idea what the guys did. The first part, was sewing where we made an apron-to use during the second part-cooking. I learned how to make a grill cheese sandwich.  :D :D :D

But, then in jr. high...(see above post). I became really close to my jr. high sewing teacher. I kept in touch with her for many years. I lost touch with her sometime back in the '80s. When I got on-line, I tried to find her/rehook up with her. But, unfortunately, that did not happen. I did contact her via Classmates but received a message from her daughter to tell me she passed away.  :\'( :\'( :\'( :\'(


Cat

Thus was the foreskin of ignorance retracted and the wire brush of enlightemnent applied.

You've got a way with metaphors there, Fooey!
:P

I don't miss the sexism and the ignorance of my youth.  But I'm glad I remember them.  To my junior high Home Ec teacher, if I remembered your name, I'd share a homebrew with you.  (Which I probably couldn't have brewed without a little help from my junior high Shop Class teacher who taught me to be unafraid of fire and metal.)


They didn't call it shop at our school, they called it the "industrial arts."  I had shop with Mr. Childs, who was usually drunk by 10:00 a.m. and staring at the little jock boys' asses.  What a waste of space he was!  Haven't thought about that guy for years!

Here's something I don't miss:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Flashcube_on_Kodak_Instamatic.jpg

Flash cubes for Instamatics. 

SMILE! click.

OW OW OW MY EYE OW MY EYE!!!



My first home ec class was in 5th grade. Here, they divided the class up. I have no idea what the guys did. The first part, was sewing where we made an apron-to use during the second part-cooking. I learned how to make a grill cheese sandwich.  :D :D :D



Scrambled eggs.  And then wash the dishes.  Please don't spray your classmates with the rinser.

Oh, so you watch TV during the black outs?
:-\\



No it was the only flat surface out of reach of small children (i.e. me)  ::)

Ah, the 70s,

(...)

Not having a/c as a standard option in your car.  Even if you were Sammy Hagar and had a Ferrari, a/c was an optional feature.


Hehee, it's funny to read this and it seems, Germany was about 25-35 years behind in this case... Even in the 1990's, only few had a/c in their cars - it was concidered luxury. It became more common in the 2000's, but it was and still is optional and costs extra payment.

Another problem is, that a lot of Germans don't like a/c. I don't know why... some are afraid they could get a cold due to it; others don't like the dry air, others find it normal to sweat... ::)

It really was like dying when we were on a trip/vacation in summer, when I was a kid - even in northern Europe.

As for me, I appreciate a/c and we're having it since 1999 in our car, but I hate it to pay surcharge for it when getting a new car.

Oh, so you watch TV during the black outs?
:-\\

Obviously no, but ironically it's been said that the one thing that turned public opinion against the union boys was the fact that our TV stations had to close down by 10.30pm to conserve energy!

(Us wacky Brits, eh? The world can go to rack and ruin, but take away our creature comforts... ::))

So who got the brunt of the blame for the situation, the unions or the utility companies?


As I recall, roughly a 50/50 split between the unions (demanding anything upward of 20% pay increases) and the government of the time (Ted Heath's Tories, who went into the 1974 election with the slogan, 'Who Governs Britain?'...well, it certainly wasn't you, Ted!)

What else don't I miss? These...

http://www.tapedeck.org/400/IMG_0012-23-04-2011.jpg

These little blighters first entered our household sometime in the 70s (along with the requisite cheap 'n' nasty recorder) and hung around like a bad smell for most of the next decade...

Of course, at the time they were nothing short of revolutionary...until the faults started creeping in. One of which being the dreaded 'snarl' which was pretty common with the 120 flavour as seen above...

Do they still make them? I don't think I can be bothered enough to care!

(Us wacky Brits, eh? The world can go to rack and ruin, but take away our creature comforts... ::))



Americans too!  That's why we kicked you out in the 18th century.  We were fixing too steal everybody else's sh#t and make for the door, and we sure as hell didn't want to give King George his cut!
::)

What else don't I miss? These...

http://www.tapedeck.org/400/IMG_0012-23-04-2011.jpg



120 min. you're just asking for trouble!

I remember working like a heart surgeon to unravel the tape from the heads of the recorder without damaging it, and then re-spooling the tape back into the cartridge with a ballpoint pen!  It drove me mad, but I had two episodes of Dr. Demento on that cassette!
:D

Do they still make them? I don't think I can be bothered enough to care!


The internet disagrees: CASSETTE: A Documentary Film about the Cassette Tape got funding. 

There are a few folks releasing stuff on tape for hipsteresque retro reasons, but now I'm wondering when the last major album release came out on tape alongside CD.  It's probably within the last decade.

For the young'uns out there - keep an eye on the news for when the last CD pressing plant shuts down.  It'll be a similar day, and you'll want to remember it for trivia purposes, like I forgot to do some 5-10 years ago.

120 min. you're just asking for trouble!

I remember working like a heart surgeon to unravel the tape from the heads of the recorder without damaging it, and then re-spooling the tape back into the cartridge with a ballpoint pen!  It drove me mad, but I had two episodes of Dr. Demento on that cassette!
:D



Been there, done that. I had one of those tape eating machines, too. One time I managed to get the tape rolled back and somehow it got twisted so I was hearing everything backwards!  :o :o :o :o  PAUL IS DEAD! PAUL IS DEAD!



Cat

Been there, done that. I had one of those tape eating machines, too. One time I managed to get the tape rolled back and somehow it got twisted so I was hearing everything backwards!  :o :o :o :o  PAUL IS DEAD! PAUL IS DEAD!



Cat


That happened to me a few times too.  I had one of those primitive splicing kits to repair chewed tapes.  You could get them at Radio Shack, same place you bought the POS tape recorder and the POS tapes!
8)

That happened to me a few times too.  I had one of those primitive splicing kits to repair chewed tapes.  You could get them at Radio Shack, same place you bought the POS tape recorder and the POS tapes!
8)


Bloody luxury!

Out of sheer naivety and stupidity, I used a pair of scissors and model glue for my hamfisted edits! The only upside to this was I didn't use an expensive deck to try my efforts out on...

Bloody luxury!

Luxury, we used to have to live in t' corridor!

Bloody luxury!

Out of sheer naivety and stupidity, I used a pair of scissors and model glue for my hamfisted edits! The only upside to this was I didn't use an expensive deck to try my efforts out on...


When I learned basic studio production in the early nineties, it was still reel-to-reel, and we still used a razor blade, a grease pencil, and splicing tape. 

http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/revox_head.jpg

That is patience...more patience than I had to really get into it.  The exercise did give me an appreciation for "tape music" pieces such as:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biT94ingOcA
All sounds rendered from "ohhh" using tape decks and cut editing.

Composers now achieve the same style in 1/100 of the time and effort with cheap software available to any idiot...but few have the same soul as when men like Marshall suffered for their art!
8)

Mr. Microphone.

Everyone had one of these portable "annoyances" when I was in middle school and drove everyone and their mother up a wall. Static-y and full of feedback and reverb, the worst "microphone" you could buy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYEXBTlWf_4

Problem was they were so damn cheap and so many thought this would be a great "gift" for their son/daughter/grandson/daughter, they were everywhere...

Mr. Microphone.

Everyone had one of these portable "annoyances" when I was in middle school and drove everyone and their mother up a wall. Static-y and full of feedback and reverb, the worst "microphone" you could buy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYEXBTlWf_4

Problem was they were so damn cheap and so many thought this would be a great "gift" for their son/daughter/grandson/daughter, they were everywhere...


In the eighties there was a tape deck that let you record yourself singing along with your favorite bands, it was called "Star Studio."  Pretty lame.
::)

Mr. Microphone.

Everyone had one of these portable "annoyances" when I was in middle school and drove everyone and their mother up a wall. Static-y and full of feedback and reverb, the worst "microphone" you could buy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYEXBTlWf_4

Problem was they were so damn cheap and so many thought this would be a great "gift" for their son/daughter/grandson/daughter, they were everywhere...



I never had one. Does that mean I was a deprived child or was I lucky?  :D ;D ;D ;D



Cat

What else don't I miss? These...

http://www.tapedeck.org/400/IMG_0012-23-04-2011.jpg

These little blighters first entered our household sometime in the 70s (along with the requisite cheap 'n' nasty recorder) and hung around like a bad smell for most of the next decade...

Of course, at the time they were nothing short of revolutionary...until the faults started creeping in. One of which being the dreaded 'snarl' which was pretty common with the 120 flavour as seen above...

Do they still make them? I don't think I can be bothered enough to care!


In the 80's some friends and I would do this prank where we'd go out after dark, crack open an old cassette and remove the tape, and then string it across the street between two signs or poles at about headlight level.  Then we'd hang an empty beer can in the middle of it and hide someplace where we could watch.

Whenever a car would come up on it they couldn't see the tape, only the beer can hovering mysteriously in midair about 2 feet off the ground.  ;D

In the 80's some friends and I would do this prank where we'd go out after dark, crack open an old cassette and remove the tape, and then string it across the street between two signs or poles at about headlight level.  Then we'd hang an empty beer can in the middle of it and hide someplace where we could watch.

Whenever a car would come up on it they couldn't see the tape, only the beer can hovering mysteriously in midair about 2 feet off the ground.  ;D


If you rigged pulleys the right way you could make it look like the invisible man was crossing the street with a beer!
:D

In the 80's some friends and I would do this prank where we'd go out after dark, crack open an old cassette and remove the tape, and then string it across the street between two signs or poles at about headlight level.  Then we'd hang an empty beer can in the middle of it and hide someplace where we could watch.

Whenever a car would come up on it they couldn't see the tape, only the beer can hovering mysteriously in midair about 2 feet off the ground.  ;D




Oooh, spooky.  :D ;D ;D ;D ;D



Cat

Some of the horrible fashions!  In Australia at one time, we had the nautical look.  It was just awful - clothing made in red, blue and white.  With no disrespect to the Captain and Tennille, I can only think of the Captain's hat for some stupid reason when pondering this awful trend in clothing.  Thank heavens it didn't last long.  It's hard to believe that my friends and I went from wearing denim jeans and cheese-cloth blouses and then had to contemplate this garbage!  We lived in the country and the town we were closest to had so little variety, we almost had no choice in having to buy some of this rubbish.  Thank goodness the trend hasn't repeated itself - yet!  :o

I was a teen living in a rural area then, and our phone was a 'party line'.

If you don't know what that is, picture deciding to make a phone call, and picking up the phone, and before you dial the phone you hear someone (someone not in your house) having a conversation.  Of course, as a young teenage girl, it wasn't beyond my imagination to cook up a little fun phone mischief  ::)

This was also the days before answering machines were widespread.

So, I don't miss the telephone availability situation of that day.  On the other hand, there were advantages.  It was rare to receive calls from advertisers, cold calls from charities, or calls from politicians.  That's the part I don't miss!


I thought party lines were pretty cool...unless you were wanting to make an urgent call and the other "party" wanted to talk about the weather or a deathly boring recipe they just cut out of "Harper's Bazaar". :-\\

- Watergate on TV
- Teachers smoking in class
- High long distance rates for telephones

A chance to further my education.