Today we will deep dive into 1970s.
Not a bad idea, as this was a defining era that I (MM) am part of. And after all, the movie “Dazed and confused” was a 100% accurate portrayal of what my Graduation year 1977 was like!
Dazed and Confused Intro “Sweet Emotion” HD 1080p
There’s my GTO. Identical. Oh, I miss those days!
I showed this movie to a friend who had never heard of the movie before. He saw the first 2 minutes and fell in love with it. He said he wished he grew up in the 70's.
To watch this “time machine” of a movie is important for all of us to remember from whence we came from. It will help us define where we are right now.
Dazed and Confused | Party at the Moonlight Tower
It’s true that so many things has changed since those days. But the experiences help define who MM is.
We all are defined by our decisions our choices, and our relationships. But all those things are secondary to our experiences. And that is what “bakes our cake” and makes us either tasty and delicious, our soggy and foul.
The 1970’s were awesome!
Dazed And Confused – Beer Purchase
They got the 70s looks and feel on point man.
If the assumption is correct that airplanes are more efficient than high-speed trains over long distance, why is China building so many railways as opposed to airports relatively speaking?
I. Expertise
China is a Master at Macro Engineering and evolving such technology
When it comes to Railways – China is the undisputed Boss
It has even beaten Japan to second place if you include the Saturation of Japan against the Evolutionary space of China and the Hyperloop and Maglev Developments.
China is the one of the rare countries to be able to evolve a railway line in a Cost Effective Manner
The Entire Industry and Manufacturing of Railway Lines is Indigenous – ie:- Based within China
Now when it comes to Airplanes – China is at least 10 years behind manufacturing Commercial Airplanes especially where Microengineering is involved.
They would have to depend heavily on Imported Airplanes from Boeing or Airbus or would have to depend heavily on Foreign Components and Foreign Technology and be at the mercy of Nations like Europe or Japan or USA
II. Population
China has too huge a population to depend on Airplanes as a main avenue for long distance.
Orlando Florida for instance during its peak holiday time boasts a maximum of 102,400 Passengers per day arrving from various parts of USA to Orlando.
A Similar Figure for China would be a whopping 907,000 Passengers!!!!! during lets say Spring Festival and close to 1,300,000 Passengers during the Lunar New Year
How many Aircrafts would you need? Assuming you have the Standard US Domestic Delta with its 200 Commercial Seats – thats a whopping 4535 Flights a Day!!!!
Its just impossible. There are too many passengers to make Aviation a Routine mode of Transportation.
Thats why Aviation exists mainly when Time is a serious Object like Businessmen or Holidaymakers who have a short time to spend on holidays etc.
III Fuel
Fuel is the biggest reason why No Country is able to run a profitable airline outside North America or Middle East (And Maybe Singapore).
Aviation Fuel or AVTUR is almost entirely Imported or fueling is done in foreign countries like Central Asian Countries or Middle Eastern Countries which means dependency.
Thus for a Country with 1.4 Billion Population – the Most Efficient Modes of Long Distance Travel include
- Railways
- Highways
- Waterways and Ferries
Thats exactly what China is doing
Dazed and Confused (8/12) Movie CLIP – The Emporium (1993) HD
Remember fooshball?
What China’s rare earth metal ban means for the West
If Beijing fulfils its threat, Europe and the US will need to diversify their supply
China is threatening an export ban on rare earth metals in response to Washington’s recent decision to impose restrictions on exports of high-end semiconductors to Beijing. This is not the first time that China has mooted such a ban, with rumours circulating since at least 2019 as well as formal threats in 2021.
If such a ban came into effect it could, in theory at least, be quite damaging. Rare earth metals are needed to produce the magnets that are used in everything from wind turbines to hard disk drives to electric vehicles. Everything from a smartphone to a Tesla has a substantial need for these elements, while US military technology is also dependent on them, with the F35 fighter jet requiring 417kg of rare earth metals.
China is by far the largest producer of usable rare earth metals, accounting for 60% of rare earth mining, 85% of rare earth processing and 90% of high-strength rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing. Yet there are questions that arise about whether the sanctions would work. We have seen since sanctions were imposed on Russia last year how difficult it is to regulate commercially available technology. There is every chance that even if China banned exports of rare earth metals to the US, America could simply buy it through a third party — just as Europe is buying Russian oil via intermediaries in India.
The threats, however, are likely to push Western countries to find new sources of supply. Japan has already paved the way in this regard after the imposition, in 2010, of a two-month ban on rare earth exports from China. This followed a territorial dispute which broke out when Japan arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain near the contested East China Sea islands. The Japanese were then spurred to diversify the source of their rare earth metals and, as of today, they only import around 60% of their supply from China. Recently, Japan has been exploring the possibility of tapping into deep undersea reserves.
Diversifying the sources of rare earth metal purchases may prompt a renewed debate about the environmental consequences of rare earth metal processing, which creates toxic waste and has a high risk of causing damage to both the environment and to human health. These realities are embarrassing to those who advocate the use of technology like wind turbines and electric vehicles to save the environment. If China is no longer willing to do our dirty work, we may find ourselves with a national debate on the dangers and downsides of rare earth processing.
Ultimately, if China makes good on its threats, we should expect the price of rare earth metals to rise. Even if the sanctions do not work to prevent the US from gaining access to rare earth metals, they will likely lead to supply chain issues and rising costs. The same is true if we start to process these metals domestically. This means higher prices for Western consumers — and that includes everything from smartphones to green energy. Should Beijing’s threat be fulfilled, ramifications will be felt well beyond the corridors of Washington.
Dazed and Confused | School’s Out!
How long will it take Huawei, probably with generous state aid, to catch up with and perhaps exceed the technology the US is attempting to ban them from using?
I am not a technical person and i am writing the tech stuff verbatim from a report stated Why Huaweis 5G lead is significant by a Netherlands company.
There are 3 spectrum bands for 5G.
The Low Band is less than 1 Gigahertz. This overlaps with the 4G and even 3G spectrum bands. This has the widest coverage but the lowest speeds. Its ok for mobile conversations, downloads etc. However the latency is very high (85 -120 milli seconds)
The Mid Band – This is 1–20 Giga Hertz. This overlaps upto 2.5 Giga Hertz with Wi Fi but has a lesser coverage but faster speeds. Here the latency is lower (25–40 milli seconds)
The High Band – This is 20–95 Giga Hertz. No overlaps. This is pure 5G territory. Fastest speeds. Latency is 1–2 milli seconds and ideal for self driven cars or robots or auto bullet trains (Latency has something to do with some form of communication speed time i guess)
US is going for the Bottom to Top approach.
Many have already began to offer 5G services but only in the LOW BAND where Huawei 4G infrastructure is already in place. So though they offer the newer technology like flexing, splitting – its still a glorified version of 4G. Just faster. They propose to develop US infrastructure to be built and developed and the go to the MID BAND and HIGH BAND.
Germany is going for the MIDDLE BAND so as to clearly offer an advantage of 5G and not intermingle 5G and 4G. This requires infrastructure update but not replacement. This way HUAWEI stays in charge but US is not too annoyed (UptoTrumps defeat)
China is going for the HIGH BAND. They have already 95% infrastructure in place and the technology in place. Huawei owns certified technology called Blockchain Integrated Data Movement (BIDM), Splitting Data Packet Emission (SDPE), Flexed Stream Data Communication (FSDC)
Huawei is the clear leader here of the High Band Communications Technology and their new infrastructure is revolutionary.
Now.China has the worlds finest technology for 5G
BUT
There are claims that:-
These technologies that Huawei has certified ownership of were already developed with a far more limited ability by the US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IN 2015–2016.
In short US already had the Ford Model T designs ready but before they could start building on it, China started to go faster and now have the design for the Ford Focus.
Now US has to take a different route or they will get a technology clash notice from Huawei (Basically Huawei will say You stole our certified tech ).
This is the first time in History that a Asian Company has a Technology Lead over a US one. Earlier US always had the Tech edge but the edge was too expensive for civilian use and was restricted to defense.
Obviously Trump got pissed and said “You have stolen our Tech, modified it, upgraded it, certified it as your own and will control all communications”
So he forced everyone to Ban Huawei.
Huawei said “Sorry. Tech is ours. We developed it. We have the certified licenses for it”
Trump said “If you use this technology, we will…….”
Huawei said “We will…its ours. You are just whining”
This is the Tech dispute. Its not as if US has special tech. Its that Huawei owns tech for 5G that is a highly refined version of Tech already existing in the DoD (But not certified).
Russia and 59 countries have already signed with Huawei and agreed to pay license fees for the technology to the tune of $126 Billion a year and buy Huawei Equipment.
Europe is fence sitting. Hoping Nokia can manufacture the equipment to handle the technology of huawei at par cost to make everyone happy. Pay Huawei for the Tech license and Ensure European equipment to.please Trump (No idea what the Genial Old Man will say)
US is fuming. They will not pay license fees to an Asian country!!!!!! Its beneath them. So they claim theft and espionage and security threats!!! They are hoping to certify their own technology for BIDM, SDPE, FSDC etc but are not able to do so because the big players are saying “Not worth it. We wont spend billions. Cheaper to pay China for the license fees for the tech and buy Nokia or Ericcson if u really want to be Anti China”
So Trump pressurized Huawei with semi conductor ban etc but Huawei simply said “Jo ukhaadna hai ukhaad le “ (Do what you can).
Trumps gone, the Courts will favor the law which goes for Huawei.
So right now Huawei is at the top. US is behind for the first time
(Possible that China “Took” the Tech from US defense by other means but no proof)
Huaweis problem is if nobody buys their equipment, then their tech could get stolen and modified by the western countries like US.
And where does India stand in all this?
We have agreed to pay license fees to Huawei but are on the wall for the equipment. Jio is playing with Nokia but Airtel is exploring going with Huawei in return for HIGH BAND domination if GOI agree.
Meanwhile Jio is hoping to.make its own equipment to.handle the technology of huawei.
Classic Foods Of The 1970s!
https://youtu.be/Sgduka_LYnM
Do most 65-year-olds sit at home all day just eat, sleep, and watch TV?
Let me put it this way. I can only talk for myself for I don’t know “most “ 65 year olds, I retired at 40, or so I thought.
I had a hobby, ( lapidary) collecting, cutting and polishing stones and gems, but then a mate got me interested in bees as well, and that got me started in beekeeping.
I ended up with 470 hives, which was all I could handle on my own, and they kept me flat out for years, thing is though they could also look after themselves for a while so I could keep my hobby with gems going.
Ispent a lot of time at the Queensland sapphire fields, and ended up with many beautiful sapphires, bought a faceting machine so I could cut my own gems , point Is I was busier after I retired than when I was working for a living.
I never had time to sit at home and watch TV, even after I sold the bees as a business I kept enough as a hobby, that still kept me busy untill I went into hospital ( at 78 ) for a tripple bypass during which I had a massive stroke and my left side ended up paralysed.
Fortunately, through persistent pushing by the physios at the hospital they got me walking ( hobbling ) again, thing is though my left side ie still useless, and yes these days I spend all days on the lounge mucking around with my iPad as I’m doing right now writing this. Lol.
By the way here are some gems I found and cut just to show what can be done, in the hope that other might get interested in the same thing,
Thai Chile Beef
Ingredients
- 1 round steak (or stew meat)
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 tablespoon hot pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 1/2 cup young baby corn
- 1 onion
- 1/2 cup water or beef broth
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Instructions
- Slice the steak into paper thin slices (if it is frozen partly or very cold this is easier.) Cut into slices 2 x 1-inch thick.
- Marinate for 1 hour in the ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder and flour.
- Stir-fry in the oil for 2 minutes the hot pepper, bell pepper, mushrooms, corn and onion.
- Add the water and cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the sauces.
- Toss lightly and serve over rice.
Makes 2 servings.
Backyard Bomb Shelter Abandoned for Over 50 Years
What invasive plants are currently causing problems in the United States?
Bamboo.
This is the side yard of my house. My neighbor, to the right in the picture, decided to plant what she thought was “ornamental bamboo” as a barrier to her house and mine, long before I bought the place. Then she died and her son inherited the house. He has let it grow out of control.
This stuff has a growing season in the spring. It’s a rhizome, meaning that the roots grow underground and it shoots up stalks along the root at an amazing pace. I was naive about it – had no idea what what I was getting myself into when I bought this house. I spent two years digging it up for it to destroy this part of my yard and for it to come back three times as fast as I was digging. I finally had it when it started growing under my air conditioning unit and eroded the soil underneath it.
Some states have banned it, but I live in Maryland where there is no legislation to keep it under control. Their thought is if they ban bamboo, they don’t know how they will force homeowners to eradicate it.
It does not die. The only thing that kills it is agent orange. You can chop it down, dig it up, poison it, cover it to block the sunlight, or any other “solution” that YouTube has, and it just keeps coming back.
I spent a lot of money to have this retaining wall built. It goes four feet down into the earth to block the roots from coming onto my property. It’s thick plastic with the block on top – my landscaper told me that if they used metal or block the bamboo would eat right through it.
My neighbor has visible bamboo growing out of his foundation.
Remembering The 1970s!
https://youtu.be/31_Iudf_kPI
More Than 4,000 Photographs From The D-Day Invasion Of Normandy Are Now Available Online
The Flickr account PhotosNormandie has just posted more than 4300 photos of the Normandy Landings of June 6, 1944, this decisive date of the WWII.
This impressive collection is the result of a collaborative project that began in 2007, bringing together thousands of photos from the Archives Normandie 1939-1945, the Municipal Library of the City of Cherbourg-Octeville and the American archives. It invites users to complete, comment, locate and identify photographs, making it possible to better document the Normandy Landings archives.
More info: Flickr (h/t: ufunk)
Most Popular Toys Of The 1970s
https://youtu.be/1sAMykZ3BR0
If the US invaded China and installs a new government like Afghanistan and Iraq, what will the invasion look like? How will China surrender?
Mark Shainblum. China would “surrender” with a giant mushroom cloud over New York, Washington and LA. I mean nukes, right? A huge Chinese military? In what Dreamland do you think the USA could just walk in and conquer China?
1980s Things Found In Every Home
https://youtu.be/xf8d00tZ9uA
Is China becoming a less desirable place to live for foreigners?
As a foreigner living in China, I can confidently say, “not at all”.
However, there has been one change that has occurred over the past few years.
China HAS become a less desirable place for less qualified foreigners / foreigners who have little to offer to the country (this includes English teachers and westerners who came here to become either models or pretend company representatives “for hire for face value”
On the other hand, it has become a desirable place for foreigners who are of high quality and who have something to offer to the country. The compensation packages here are exceptionally high (at par or higher than what the same person would earn say in USA or UK).
For my own placement in China. obtaining the “Foreigner expert certificate” issued by the local administration was far more stringent than what it was five years ago. I had the experience and qualifications, hence it was less tedious for me. I know of friends who have little experience / qualifications who have not been able to get it, and hence cannot work in China.
Do remember that unlike other nations, foreigners experience far lesser / negligible racism here (my personal experience has been that living in China was a nice respite after having lived in London!), the food is better, housing is better, and your Yuan / dollar goes far longer here than in other countries.
The number of Chinese people who do not speak English has been the same (negligible!) – that has not changed in the recent past. And unlike most western nations where jobs are receding and foreigners are given the impression that they are being done a favor by being given (low paid) work, there are no such misconceptions her in China.
There is far more activity currently occurring here as was in the US and UK pre 2007 at the crest of the developmental sine curve!
Smells Of The 1970s!
https://youtu.be/P3vtbn92pZE
Is Vietnam a good place to travel?
In the summer of 2019, I spent three months in Vietnam and absolutely loved it. My buddy and I got motorbikes in Hanoi, traveled north to the Chinese border, back down through the central mountains and south along the coast. He left after one month, and I kept going for another two.
We were in Thailand and Laos before this (a month in each country) and I felt rushed. When I found out you could get a three-month visa for Vietnam, I was stoked. I applied, got approved, and was set for 90 unrushed days in Vietnam.
The people were kind and welcoming, sometimes too friendly. The food and the Pho was incredible. It was a bit rainy at times, but I enjoy the rain and you could work around it for the most part. The rice wine is great and the cost of living was low. I was spending $300–600/month and still living comfortably enough.
I ended up selling the motorbike in Da Nang and continuing via bus to Da Lat and Saigon, where I capped off my trip with three weeks in the bity southern city.
I would definitely return and spend more time in Vietnam. The only trouble is that there are other places I want to visit and flights to Southeast Asia are damn expensive!
Surely, this isn’t about to happen in the U.S.A.
Does the Chinese government give money to poor people in China?
Not a Brass Farthing
No Free Lunches in China for anybody
No Benefit Transfers, No Charity handouts, No Free Rations, No PDS, No Free Tickets
Sure China offers more welfare and subsidies than any Nation in Asia but they are all aimed entirely at incentivizing citizens to work and be economically active
Sure China has a Pension and Old Age Insurance Scheme but that’s entirely as a reward for 35–50 years of hard work
Every Yuan spent by China is expected to bring Two Yuan back to the Economy in 5–7 years
For instance say a Factory is set up outside a small group of Villages
Then the Provincial Government will give large subsidies to the factory in 20 year tax cuts in exchange for which the factory shall
- Train the workers
- Put up Workers Health Insurance
- Use a fixed percent of revenue to pay the Local Corporation to build Roads, Small Bridges, Renovate Worker Houses, Build and Lease Houses for Workers
- Put up Workers 10 year Payment (Gratuity) or Life Pension whichever is chosen
- Use a portion of revenue to establish Schools where the Provincial Government will send 2–4 teachers to teach Mandarin, Mathematics, Science and History (Only Four Subjects)
So for a 150,000 Yuan a year tax subsidy and a 100,000 Yuan a year Profits – the Factory will have to spend around 180,000 Yuan for all the above
So 30–40 such factories can spend around 7.5 Million Yuan a year and in 10 years THE ENTIRE LANDSCAPE WILL CHANGE
The Villages become self sufficient and then start paying taxes themselves
Literacy will rise from 32% to 96% over say 20–25 years
That’s how Chinas model works
That’s how Chinese live
They aren’t parasitic guttersnipes.
Even an 80 year old sells noodles or fish balls or dumplings to make money and his pension is merely an addition to his income
The Chinese especially the Communists who loved Mao were very hard workers
The Soft Chinese, Imperialists, the Lord’s, the so called Elite all fled to Taiwan
Thus today’s Chinese and Vietnamese are very hard workers who don’t expect anything but a recognition of their hard work
Proud people who hate handouts and would rather work till they drop dead
It’s why Chinas Model is a Winner
It’s a real life story of Chinese Policies of Great Leaders from Deng to Jiang to Xi Jingping
Thai Lemon Beef
Ingredients
- 1 (1-inch thick) boneless beef top round steak
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 to 3 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- Hot cooked ramen noodles or rice
- Garnishes: lemon rind strips, fresh basil sprigs
Instructions
- Cut steak across grain into 1/8-inch thick strips, and place in a medium bowl.
- Combine soy sauce and next 4 ingredients. Reserve half of mixture.
- Pour remaining half of mixture over steak. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
- Drain steak, discarding marinade.
- Stir-fry half of steak in 1/2 tablespoon hot oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium high heat for 1 minute or until outside of beef is no longer pink.
- Remove from skillet, and repeat procedure with remaining oil and steak. Remove from skillet.
- Add scallions and carrot to skillet, and stir-fry 3 minutes or until crisp-tender.
- Whisk cornstarch into reserved soy sauce mixture; stir into vegetables, and stir-fry until thickened.
- Add steak, and stir-fry until thoroughly heated.
- Serve over noodles or rice. Garnish, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings
ABANDONED | Albanian military relics from the Communist regime | Submarine bunker & Air base
25 Reasons We’re Glad We Grew Up in the ’70s
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
They say that hindsight is 20/20, but hindsight can also be clouded by nostalgia. And that is especially true if you grew up in the 1970s. Sure, it was a decade that will mostly be remembered for Vietnam and Watergate. But, for those of us who grew up in the ’70s, it was the sweetest time to be alive, an innocent era where disco reigned supreme and we all had haircuts that made us look like Chia Pets. From the glorious simplicity of pet rocks to the musical lessons of Schoolhouse Rock, here are 25 reasons the 1970s were the absolute best years to be a kid. And for more on last century’s greatest decade, check out 20 Things Every “Cool Kid” Growing Up in the 1970s Owned.
They weren’t the most user-friendly audio formats, but we sure did love them. At the time, it felt like we had the best of all possible worlds. Vinyl was for home listening, cassettes were for music on the go, and 8-tracks… Well, we’re still not sure what 8-tracks were for. But there’s just something about being able to hold on to an album sleeve or flip over a cassette to get to your favorite song that made the whole music-listening experience feel more personal and special.
Just look at this lunch menu from a Texas school in 1974. Their idea of healthy, brain-boosting food back then included chili burgers, hamburgers, oven fried chicken, buttered corn, and fruit gelatin. It’s a miracle we all weren’t napping through every class. But good gosh, were our taste buds happy. And for more blasts from the past, don’t miss these 20 Amazing Photos Every ’70s Kid Can Relate To.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood wasn’t just one of our favorite shows because we had so few other options. Singing along with “Won’t You be My Neighbor?” actually made us feel comforted, even if we didn’t realize we needed comforting. Mr. Rogers’ soothing voice and gentle disposition was like a balm for the soul, giving us the confidence to face the world even when we would have rather hidden under our bed covers.
Kids today would likely scoff at how we played video games in the ’70s. We actually had to pay a quarter for each game—and we don’t regret a penny of it. For one thing, it made the experience feel more precious. We didn’t just flip on a console in our home and play Pac-Man endlessly; we had to save our money, and wait for the weekend when our parents would let us walk to the arcade.
“The Bump” was so simple, yet something about it felt rebellious and naughty. You essentially just bumped hips against your partner over and over and over. Crank up KC & the Sunshine Band’s “Shake Shake Shake,” and us ’70s kids could do “The Bump” all night long. (Literally, it wouldn’t be a problem: The dance really wasn’t that complicated.)
If you weren’t there, it’s impossible to explain what it was like to walk into a theater having no idea how Star Wars was going to change your life. We had no preconceived notions about Han Solo or Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader, no older brothers or parents or even grandparents telling us, “This is the greatest film trilogy ever made,” or, “Oh my gosh, we’re about to get to the lightsaber battle. Wait ’til you see this!” It truly felt like ours, which is something no other generation will ever feel again. And for more great films of the past, here are 30 Movie Quotes Every ’70s Kid Knows by Heart.
There was no such thing as a mobile phone in the ’70s. If you wanted to have a conversation without your mom or dad or siblings overhearing, you had to get creative. Wherever the home phone was located—for many of us, it was in the kitchen—the challenge was to see how far that cord would stretch and if there was any way of pulling it into another room with a door. If you couldn’t make it that far, you just had to be careful not to say anything you wouldn’t want your entire family to hear.
The only danger in opening mail from a mysterious sender in the 1970s was the possibility of getting a chain letter. But unless you were especially superstitious, you could usually ignore those. Still, in the ’70s, we would never open a letter and find out later, “Oh no! My house is infected with a virus now!” Ah, the glory days. And for more on letters to look out for, here are 11 “Spam” Letters You Should Never Throw Away.
What Farrah Fawcett poster, you ask? Okay, imagine a meme that’s so popular, everybody in the world decides that it’s the only meme that matters, and everybody wants their own copy of the meme so they can hang it on their bedroom wall, and simply displaying the meme means that you’re somehow in the know with popular culture, that your tastes are more sophisticated than other kids’ and that you understand something about the world that only adults really appreciate. That was the Farrah Fawcett poster.
https://youtu.be/RjvWZV9WTxQ
Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic had almost no special effects, and we only saw the shark for a few minutes at the very end. But it had a psychological effect that made an entire generation terrified of getting into the water—we mean any body of water (including pools, freshwater lakes, and maybe even the bath). We were certain we would see a shark fin gliding towards us, and we were moments away from being devoured alive.
There’s no experience quite like letting your body sink into some shag carpeting. For a true ’70s kid, nothing makes us smile like memories of doing snow angels on a shag carpet.
Whether you were a city kid or a country child, leaving the house without being constantly patrolled by a parent wasn’t a big deal in the ’70s. By today’s standards, it was an unprecedented amount of freedom, and we relished every second of it.
It wasn’t just rare to see a kid in a bike helmet during the ’70s, it was unheard of. Even if you considered yourself something of a neighborhood Evel Knievel, wearing a helmet was like admitting to the other kids that you expected to crash. We probably had a few more concussions than necessary, but we didn’t know at the time just how dangerous it was to have our craniums so exposed.
https://youtu.be/RFPpETHiltY
If you wanted to catch your favorite cartoons, there was only one time to do it: Saturday morning. We didn’t have the luxuries of kids today, with their digital streaming services that make it possible for them to watch their favorite shows at any time, 24 hours a day. And we’re happy we didn’t.
Saturday morning cartoons taught us to be patient, and to be grateful for every last second of Bugs Bunny. You couldn’t have a short attention span when there were only 30 minutes of Looney Tunes every week. If you weren’t paying attention, you’d miss it all!
Sure, 99.9 percent of what Tiger Beat printed about teen idols was probably written by publicists. But we didn’t care. If anything, we reveled in the myth-making, eager to think that such flawless teenage titans as Shaun and David Cassidy existed in the world. We didn’t want to be told otherwise, and we sure weren’t interested in what was going on in the adult news world.
And they were stoned all the time. -MM
It’s not just that we adopted rocks and pretended they were actual pets, akin to a dog or cat except incapable of showing real affection. We actually paid somebody to sell us those rocks, despite the fact that rocks are pretty much available for free everywhere you go. Yes, it was ridiculous, but it was a fun and harmless diversion.
The brilliance of Schoolhouse Rock is that it taught us timeless lessons about grammar, math, politics, and science without any of us realizing that we were learning. The cartoons were funny and the songs were catchy—we can still sing the whole “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function” song without missing a beat—and, when it was all over, our heads were filled with facts and useful information that we probably would have ignored if it came from an actual school teacher.
Saturday Night Live is now an institution (and one that you don’t actually have to stay up late on Saturday to watch anymore). But, in the late ’70s, it was still mostly mysterious, at least to kids who only heard whispered rumors about the show from our older brothers and sisters. Getting to see even five minutes of SNL felt like we had gotten away with something.
Yes, we know that people still take road trips. But they’re nothing like the road trips of the ’70s. We had no GPS, and no digital distractions of any kind, for that matter. We lived in a world without smartphones or iPods or tablets or portable DVD players. We had to make up our own car games to keep the malaise from setting in, or stare out at the scenery whizzing past until we reached a road trip trance state. Nobody does meditation like a bored kid on an eight-hour road trip.
Kids have always been mean to each other, but at least in the ’70s, if you wanted to be a jerk, you had to make an effort. You couldn’t do it anonymously, on a computer screen, without any consequences. You had to walk up to someone and be cruel right to their face. Their words could still hurt, but at least you were never bullied on a global forum in front of millions of strangers.
You could make an argument that mood rings didn’t actually work as promised, and were about as effective in diagnosing your mood as a horoscope is in predicting your day. But in the 1970s, it felt like mood rings were some sort of black magic that could see into our souls and announce to the world, “Not today, people. Not today.”
Imagine living in a world where Sesame Street was still in its prime—Muppets like Grover and Ernie and Bert were doing arguably their best work ever—and, on top of that, The Muppet Show was making new episodes every week. Kermit wasn’t just a nostalgic throwback to yesterday—he was a bona fide celebrity, a Burt Reynolds for the under-15 set. In the ’70s, we tuned in to every episode of both shows with hive-mind-like anticipation.
Seriously, nobody. Can you imagine a character as innocent as the Fonz being idolized in a cynical modern world? He was a middle-aged single man in a leather jacket who constantly gave a thumbs up and said, “Aaaaaaaay.” He would have been laughed off the planet. But in the ’70s, we worshipped him, and we regret none of it. And for some fun lingo from the best decade ever, here are 20 Slang Terms From the 1970s No One Uses Anymore.
In the ’70s, every kid seemingly looked at Adam Rich on the TV show Eight Is Enough and then told their parents, “I want to look like that!” Wealthy or poor, it didn’t matter—we all got haircuts that made it look like our mom had put a salad bowl over our head and cut around the bottom with scissors.
The clothes were insane.
We can’t look at those old photos of ourselves in the 1970s without wincing, but we secretly love those crazy clothes. At least we all looked collectively silly in our wide-collar shirts and bellbottoms! And for more snazzy styles from the era, here are 25 Things Cool People Wore in the 1970s.
Just started watching tv mini series, Daisy Jones and the Six.
1970s galore, the 70s vibe, the music, the clothes, the hair, the sex, drugs & rock and roll.
Man, I’m hooked after the first episode.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kSrcNCGMrLc