Little things you miss about 70's/80s culture

[Werewolf]

What are some of the fun little things you miss about the 70s and 80s?

Some of the stuff I miss.

Wood grain. I loves it. Everything from TVs, video game consoles, stereos, etc. had wood grain. The XBOX One and PS4 don't need more power, they need wood grain.

Shopping. I really miss Waldenbooks, B. Dalton and Kaybee Toys.

Classic toy gimmicks. The 80s were full of toys that glowed in the dark, were scented, translucent and had holograms. It was awesome.

[enyawd72]

1. Saturday morning cartoons! Sure you can watch almost anything anytime now, but there was something magical about only being able to catch them once a week.

2. Action figures with action features! MOTU was really onto something. Power punching, telescoping, squirting, glowing, ramming, exploding, sparking, color changing...it was all awesome.

3. Horror/monster magazines! Famous Monsters, Creepy, Eerie, Monsters Unleashed...I read them all.

4. Bubble Gum cards in wax packs! Remember the smell? Trading cards with your friends? No chase cards or insert sets, just plain old fun for 15 cents.

5. Scholastic books! I couldn't wait for that monthly order form to come at school.

6. Fast food mascots and characters! Boy do I miss McDonaldland...

7. Book and Record sets! Reading along while you sat close to your little record player was just magical.

8. And the most missed of all? 25 cent comics on the old spinner rack at every single dime, grocery, and convenience store.

[PNGwynne]

Weekend TV with Big Chuck and Little John on ch. 8 and Super-Host on ch. 43. (Can you dig it, Dwayne? )

Huge console televisions and TV dinners

Finding Megos and MOTU at the grocery chain my dad worked for.

Those incredible Ohio blizzards where you missed so much school that you almost had to extend the school year.

[Werewolf]

and TV dinners

Yeah, I do miss those. Once they switched from the metal trays to plastic and paper microwave ones the stuff started tasting really bad.

That reminds me, I miss 80s cereal. Smurfberry Crunch and Strawberry Shortcake cereal were awesome.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

Cereal for sure (and when I could drink milk)
Stampede Wrestling
my late 80s body!
shopping at the mall and finding toys
Saturday morning cartoons!
Those weird plastic vegetables that hung in the kitchen

[Brown Bear]

Family sitcoms you could watch with the entire family. I honestly cannot think of one family show I can watch with my seven year old that doesn't talk about sex, drugs etc. I miss people giving a crap that children might see, watch or read certain things in plain view. It was there then but nearly as blatant as today.

[Marvelmania]

pop bottle lid movies. Sat matinees that were just for kids and you didn't pay to get in but had to bring like 6-8 pop bottle lids to get in. They showed movies like Herbie the Love Bug, Apple Dumpling Gang and Tarzan movies. As you went into the theater you just dropped your bottle caps into a box.
Rack toys and knock off at most every small store or dollar store type places.
Finding comics at any store, convenience stores, grocery stores, book stores really just about anywhere.
Toys that you had to use your imagination to play with. The toys were so simple so to get the most playtime out of them you had to make your own adventures.
Real comic artwork
Variety tv shows
K-Mart cafeteria, they actually had good food,
sitting on the stools in the dinning area of a woolworths, drug store or Kay's Ice Cream eating food or ice cream.
Having to wait the entire week until sat to watch your favorite cartoons. It made them seem that much more special.
Recess in school. Waiting for that break to go outside and run wild and play.
The Gold Mine arcade in the mall
Having a coke or tv sinner was special event and not something looked down on. They made it seem like a real treat.
Drive in movies!!!!!!!
Household kitsch just off the wall home décor that made no sense but was fun to have and look at.

[PNGwynne]

70s décor: Honestly, I kind of like avocado green, harvest gold, persimmon orange, and concord blue. Even today, my décor is autumnal.

[johnnystorm]

Toy stores & record stores in the mall...used book stores with cardboard boxes of comic books hidden in a corner...oddball & cheap knockoff tie-in merchandise for tv shows & movies...Burger Chef...local am radio stations & dj-s...tv stations signing off at night...And I miss paneling in every living room. Oh, and dept.stores like Hills, Zayres, and Ames. Cars I could fix things on myself. My grandparents & their house for the summers. Mr. Softee.
but mostly?
NOT knowing every detail of what's coming up in toys, movies, comics, tv, etc. There's no surprises anymore ...like going to the newsstand and finding a new #1 issue or a new show coming on without a dozen teaser trailers.
.

[HardyGirl]

Wow...you guys took a lot of my answers, so I will try not to repeat them. But...

cereal box prizes (especially cereal box records)
Wonder Bread prizes
Chiller Theatre
Woolworth lunch counter and Ben Cooper costumes
commonality in TV watching. Y'know, when everyone watched almost the same thing and you could talk about it the next day?
after school cartoons
cereal mascots
going outside w/ $1 and that's all you needed all day
real radio DJs that made listening to the radio fun!
Station Idents (for TV and radio)
When staying up to see the Late, Late Show was a big deal
Good cop and medical shows (Like Marcus Welby or the NBC Mystery Wheel
Good PBS shows like Vegetable Soup and Zoom
TV Guide
Good Sunday comics
TV specials (especially CBS w/ the swirling "Special" ident)
Making sure you watched your weekly shows, b/c you wouldn't see them again until summer reruns
Battery operated dolls

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

TV Guide! It was like a religion for me! I totally forgot about going by the tv guide to watch everything.

[enyawd72]

I thought of some more!

9. Kids Magazines! The Electric Company, SuperMag, Dynamite, Highlights for Children, Ranger Rick, ZooBooks...had subscriptions to them all. My Favorite was the Electric Company because of those awesome Spidey Super Stories!

10. METAL LUNCHBOXES! So beautiful...kids today will never know the joy of owning one of these practical works of art.

[HardyGirl]

I thought of some more!

9. Kids Magazines! The Electric Company, SuperMag, Dynamite, Highlights for Children, Ranger Rick, ZooBooks...had subscriptions to them all. My Favorite was the Electric Company because of those awesome Spidey Super Stories!

10. METAL LUNCHBOXES! So beautiful...kids today will never know the joy of owning one of these practical works of art.

Yep! I had a subscription to Wee Wisdom magazine (put out by Prevention). And although you can get some really nice "tin totes" on Ebay, most parents opt for the soft satchel type of lunchbox.

[MIB41]

I miss albums because of the artistry in their design. I miss the abundance of walk-in toy stores that are nearly extinct today. I especially miss the MTV culture where you could see all the latest and greatest groups 24/7 in addition to all the vintage videos. The internet and Youtube have destroyed that. I miss the ticket price for a concert and the frequency in which you could see your favorite groups. The music industry is a shadow of what it use to be. And I miss the hobby magazines that were so abundant. Always great articles and plenty of quality photos.

[Goblin19]

Dime Stores are my biggest thing. There's something I just love about them. Nothing is more nostalgic to me. Everyone else's things are great too, but the horror movie hosts mentioned before is the other thing that I wish my kids could experience. I take my kids to the Ghoulardifest every year that is run by Big Chuck and Little John (old local hosts mentioned before) but my kids don't fully get it. Though even my teenager does enjoy it.