Things you remember but that most young folks never heard of. Pre 1980

[buckabucka]

I loved the old metal rotary phones and the sound of dialing.

We had some weird toys: this liquid you poured into molds and heated on this plate, and it turned into rubbery plastic, and wire shapes you dipped into "liquid plastic" and it dried looking like stained glass. That stuff must have been toxic.

We also had a mini- roller coaster. It was curving metal tracks you set over a slide. You climbed onto a flat wooden sled of sorts, that had grooves in the wheels to (most of the time) cling to the tracks, and went rolling down. That was crazy. Maybe they were trying to get rid of us!

 

[oldrooster]

I have seen 8 tracks but never used one, my parents refused to buy them we went from records a few 45's lots 0f 33s and a few 78's to cassettes same goes for beta and VHS tapes I bought the first VCR they ever had in the house in 94. leaded gas anyone? or how about tires on vehicles that needed inner tubes, and not tubeless tires we have on cars now? Am radios in the car because FM wasn't available in car stereos yet? and also the radios lasted longer than the car and not the other way around? regular size spare tires and not "dough nut" spares? I hear now they don't include spares anymore in some cars just air compressors... bumper jacks and not the little scissor jacks for changing a flat. My grandparents had a party line in the mid 90's when they died, and my aunt and uncle who lived down the road finally had a regular phone line installed when the federal government forced their local phone company to switch over at the turn of the current century. head light dimmers on the floor board, Lap belts in the front seat only, rotary phones that where designed to hang on the wall not for the desk or wall real desk style phones with the rotary or touch tone on the base not the hand set. no such thing as a cordless phone. 4 prong jacks for phones not these little square do hickeys. lead wire from an antenna no "coaxial" cable. septic tanks and if you wanted gas appliances outside of the city limits and off the main drag to and from town you had to get propane. cable TV or Internet wasn't provided by the phone company. satellite was a 4-8 foot dish in your yard if you had it. afternoon editions of news papers. gas stations that where locally owned and operated. mom and pop groceries and not just the super whatever store or big name chain, same for clothing and sporting goods and shoe stores.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Oh yeah, full service gas stations. I remember you had a choice of full serve or fast serve.

 

[Fowl_Odor002]

no need to carry ID

 

[Glenmar]

I remember when smoking was allowed on airplanes.

 

[hemet dennis]

I remember when there was no self serve and you could smoke in the stores while shopping. And I still don't carry an I.D. most of the time.

 

[chickened]

Was talking to wife about how my highschool counselor (1981 grad) would give me cigarettes and/or give me money to buy cigarettes, she liked me I guess.. How would that go over today?

 

[duckinnut]

Soda(or pop pending where you live) machines that dispensed 8 oz. bottles of it and the bottles were glass. And you had to open the door to the machine and put the bottle out of the rack and had to use the bottle opener on the front of the machine. While we are at it, how about the soda fountain often found at the local pharmacy with a little snack bar inside. You won't be finding that at CVS or Walgreens.

 

[oldrooster]

having a clerk measure your feet on the shoe sizing board... Having an antenna was not abnormal for television viewing, pay phones and phone booths, makes me wonder does superman now change in a dumpster???? parks with wooden fort like structures. televisions with knobs to change stations, and picture controls left to right up and down to prevent or cause it to "roll" color and shadow adjusment knobs different knobs buttons or switches to turn it on or off. floor model tv that looked like one unit not the new kind that looks like you slid a tv in a wood box and rewired the speaker to the side. magic fingers in motel rooms

 

[sezjasper]

Another vote for party lines (imagine today's teenagers dealing with that one!)
Milk in glass bottles delivered to the little cooler box on the doorstep
Cigarette advertising on TV...and cigarettes cost $.37 a pack when I first started smoking!
Riding around all day on $1 worth of gas
Gas station attendants who filled your tank, checked your oil, and washed your windshield
Five and dime stores
Tiny pet turtles that lived in a plastic dish with an island and palm tree in the middle
Rabbit ear antennas with aluminum foil
S&H Green Stamps