If you grew up in the 1970s...you remember this - Life in America

[Music] for those of you who grew up in the 70s it was the sweetest time to be alive this was an era in which many of us spent time in a wood paneled shag carpeted rec room where we listened to eight-track tapes it was also the decade of polyester and bell-bottom jeans of watergate and the end of the vietnam war and the beginning of summer blockbuster movies let's take a step back and look into some of those quintessential moments of growing up in the 1970s shag carpeting really did look hideous but it was also surprisingly comfortable on bare feet after all you could lay on the carpet and make angel patterns on the living room floor beyond the soft touch it also came in a variety of earthy shades from rust orange and moss green to sunshine yellow and sky blue on top of those shag carpets were most likely couches or decorative pillows upholstered in big floral prints let's also not forget about the macro may owl you had hanging around the house too this decade will always be remembered for the very first home video game pong that's because this two-dimensional game which was released by atari in 1972 as a stand-up arcade was a game changer it was meant to be a computerized version of table tennis which involved a white dot slowly bouncing back and forth between two white lines known as paddles if you loved playing pong then you most certainly remember destroying enemy ships in the arcade game space invaders which was released later in the decade one of the most popular toys of the time was something called clackers they were two heavy balls attached to a string that you banged together to make noise they actually turned out to be quite dangerous and were eventually banned [Music] there's also no doubt you begged your parents for four dollars so that you could buy a pet rock you got to feed your pet rock dress it up with googly eyes and take it for a walk just like a real pet do you remember the cool metal lunch boxes you used to carry to school the sturdy tins protected your bologna sandwiches and were often decorated with cartoons superheroes or your favorite movie characters and of course don't forget the matching thermos that came with it in the 70s every kid seemingly wanted to look like adam rich from the tv show eight is enough so they made their parents give them a bowl haircut if you're unfamiliar with a bowl cut it's exactly what it sounds like mom would put a bowl over your head and use scissors to cut around the edges the resulting distinctly 70s haircut made it seem like you were wearing a salad bowl as a hat but if it was good enough for baseball player pete rose and olympic figure skater dorothy hamill it was good enough for anyone [Music] who could forget the educational animated shorts that popped up during your usual saturday morning cartoon lineup without you realizing schoolhouse rock taught you timeless lessons about grammar math politics and science the cartoons were funny and the songs were catchy i'm sure you can still sing the whole conjunction junction what's your function song without missing a beat [Music] the biggest 70s fashion accessory was the mood ring which was a ring that could recognize your emotional state blue meant you were calm or relaxed amber meant you were nervous or anxious and black well that meant you were about to lose your temper to calm yourself down you may have relaxed on your bed and read the latest issue of tiger beat magazine the original teen pop culture magazine was also full of posters that kids plastered their bedroom walls with at school especially during gym class you wouldn't be caught dead without a classy pair of tube socks at the time it was quite the fashion statement if those socks reached all the way up to your knees even better rarely in the history of fashion has a clothing style been universally accepted by both men and women but that was the case especially with the shortest of shorts and colorful striped tube socks [Music] all it took was one seriously terrifying movie steven spielberg's jaws to keep an entire generation of children out of the ocean jaws made its big screen debut in the summer of 1975 terrifying a nation with a 25-foot mechanical shark and crystallizing the concept of a summer blockbuster it made children and adults alike scan the water for signs of a shark fin anytime they were near the ocean when star wars first hit movie theaters in 1977 it was unlike anything the world had ever seen it was immersive and the special effects were groundbreaking if you ask anyone who saw the original star wars in theaters about their experience they'll probably be able to tell you every little detail right down to how long they waited in line for many kids star wars defined their childhood kids were absolutely obsessed with the movie franchise and they wanted every star wars toy that was released [Music] do you remember learning how to do the hustle for the very first time the song came out in 1975 and everyone immediately wanted to learn the dance the ymca and the chicken dance also originated during this time and they too led to crazes that saw everyone performing the dances together [Music] in the 1970s music was everything you wouldn't just fan over your favorite bands you'd play their records on repeat and tape their faces all over your bedroom walls you may have also grown to love eight-track tapes these devices gain steadily in popularity because you could take them with you and many car makers even included an 8-track tape player in new models of their cars this meant you could listen to whatever you wanted while you cruised the streets of your hometown they weren't the most user-friendly audio formats but boy you sure did love them every decade has its top music genre and in the 70s disco reigned supreme if you were brave enough to go to an actual disco you could get down to the sounds of casey and the sunshine band the bee gees and the tramps even the rolling stones released a disco track to get in on the trend if that wasn't enough disco for you you could even strap on some skates and head over to the roller disco these fast-paced parties would be complete with shiny outfits bright lights and of course groovy tunes tvs in the 1970s weren't nearly the high definition entertainment centers they are today you were lucky if you had decent reception meaning no fuzzy screens or zigzag lines otherwise you'd have to fidget with the rabbit-ear antennas until you got a clear picture and forget about late night talk shows and around the clock programming if you turned on the tv after midnight all you'd see is a test card of color bars speaking of television for teens happy days was the coolest of shows but adults also had to get a weekly dose of the tv show mash there were other popular shows of course like the six million dollar man and charlie's angels which contributed to 1970s pop culture in their own way you may also remember staying up to watch some of the very first episodes of saturday night live this was back when cast members like chevy chase john belushi and gilda radner were at their best making the entire country laugh together a 1970s party would never be complete without a cheese log or a cheese ball these must have snacks involved shredded cheddar cream cheese butter and chopped nuts for rolling another 70s food gem was launched by betty crocker in 1971 called hamburger helper this easy to make hearty dinner fed millions of us with just a box of pasta powdered sauce and a pound of ground beef even if you didn't care much for politics in the 1970s everyone was talking about watergate each night the evening news reported new details of the scandal and seeing richard nixon leave the white house forever as he boarded a helicopter was one of the most surreal moments of the 1970s regardless of what side you were on the 70s are filled with many fond memories all of which take us back in time to a place that is familiar but fading the fads and crazies are fun to reflect upon so let me know in the comments your own memories of growing up in the 1970s and as always thank you so much for watching you

Channel: Recollection Road

Views: 772,185

Keywords: Recollection Road, nostalgia, memories, photos, history, closed, forgotten, business, past, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, memory, yesteryear, golden age, photo album, oldies, fifties, sixties, abandoned, 20th century, seventies, shag carpet, lunch boxes, bowl cuts, disco, happy days, mash, charlie's angels, brady bunch, pong, atari, 8 track, tapes, clackers, pet rock, school house rock, conjunction juction, mood rings, tube socks, jaws, star wars, hamburger helper

Id: okxrvXTewx8

Length: 11min 4sec (664 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 19 2022