If you grew up before the internet, smartphones, and streaming, you know the world looked very different. From rotary phones to milk deliveries and TV with rabbit ears wrapped in tin foil. Here are 30 things that’ll make you smile, laugh, and maybe even say, “Hey, I do remember that!”
S&H Green Stamps
If you remember this, you remember the struggle. A new set of dishes? A toy guitar? You could get anything out of these books, and it was a tough choice.
Wide World of Sports
ABC’s Wide World of Sports was some of the most sensational TV of its time.
Getting Your Mail Twice A Day
According to USPS, mail carriers delivered twice a day to residential homes up until 1950.
*Old* Electronic Calculators
Electronic calculators were the hot tool that promised to make “long division” a thing of the past.
Miracle on Ice.
On February 22, 1980, the U.S. hockey team beat the undefeatable Soviet Union team in the semifinals at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
Rotary Phones
It took ages to dial someone’s phone number, especially if it had a lot of nines or zeroes in it.
Baseball Cards Clipped To Your Bike Spokes
They made one of the most satisfying and unique noises when you rode down the street really fast.
The Milkman
By the 1960s, 30% of milk was still delivered to homes.
The Five-And-Dime Store
Before we had Five Below, Target and Walmart, we had five-and-dime stores where you could buy almost everything you needed for a super cheap price.
Jell-O Salads
In the 1960s, people were putting everything they had in their fridge in Jell-O and called them Jell-O Salads. Good thing they’re gone.
TV Channels Signing Off
TV channels used to sign off at the end of the night with graphics like this one.
Talking To Operators
Dialing 0 and then talking to a real person to direct your call. Peak technology.
The Signing of the Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act, which outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, in 1964.
The First Season Of SNL
The first episode aired on October 11, 1975. George Carlin was the host, and Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner were some of the first cast members.
Billboards Advertising Tobacco
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, cigarette advertisements were everywhere. Everyone knew Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man. Now it’s banned due to the dangers. The signing of the Civil Rights
Swanson TV Dinners
These were invented so people could eat on the couch while watching TV. Genius.
Loving v. Virginia Court Case
There used to be laws banning interracial marriage until Mildred and Richard Loving took their case to the Supreme Court in 1967 and won! We celebrate Loving Day every June 12.
Encyclopedias
Before Chat GPT, baby boomers had to search word by word in the encyclopedia. It took longer and it was probably outdated.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Mary Tyler Moore made television history by being one of the first women to wear pants on TV. It was so scandalous that the producers limited her to wearing pants only in one scene per episode.
Banana Seat Bicycles
They were designed to look like a chopper, with high handlebars, smaller wheels, and that classic banana seat to make you feel like a grown up.
TVs With Knobs
There were no remote controllers, so every family’s remote control was the youngest sibling.
The Sears Catalog
Online Shopping (Analog Version)
Beatlemania
They invented fangirling.
Pay Phones
If you wanted to call somebody you needed change, being able to remember phone numbers and a pay phone you could find in any corner.
Typewriters
Before printers and Taylor Swift made songs about them, typewriters were the tool we used to write.
Tin Foil On The TV Antenna
It helped boost the signal and get a clearer picture when 4K wasn’t a thing.
People Smoking On Airplanes
It wasn’t until the 1990s that it was banned completely.
Drive-in Movies
Watching a movie from the comfort of your car was quite an experience we’d love to have again.
I Love Lucy
A middle-class housewife facing hilarious antics and charmingly sticky situations. The sitcom carried on from 1957 to 1960 with even 13 one-hour specials.
Wood-paneled Station Wagons
They were created in the 1930s but became everyone’s favorite family car by the 1960s and 1970s.
