The "Fads and Memories from the 60's, 70's and 80's" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Gathering information from the Traveltalkonline.com forum (TTOL) for this post.  Few nights ago I was watching the news on TV and heard a story about some of the fads that topped the headlines 50 years ago.  

The Mood Ring invented by Josh Reynolds

Brought back memories so I thought I would share some of my memories with you about the fads of the 1960s to 1980s.  Started writing them down and thought maybe I would Google these decades, but then changed my mind and thought, who better would know the fads of these decades than the readers of TTOL, since I think that the majority of the people who frequent the travel site are close to my age.  So, I posted a question on SXM People Talk asking the readers to share with me the fads from the 60's to the 80's.  I started it off with my recollections, mentioning the pants I wore in high school which had buckles on the back and were later banned because of the damage they did to the school chairs.  Also mentioned the mood ring which one of my friends, Josh Reynolds, invented. Then there were the favorite cowboys from TV such as Roy Rogers, Cisco Kid and Pancho, Lone Ranger and Tonto, Davy Crockett, and Hopalong Cassidy.  

45s were the record of choice in the 60s.

And, anyone remember the moon hubcaps and lights in your wheel wells that you just had to have to look cool while driving. And the electric typewriter, S&H Green Stamps, cash registers where you had to know how to divide and give change without the machine telling you how, Bambi on TV, the metal gliders on the front porch, the Instamatic and Polaroid cameras, and Casius Clay.  Well, that was six days ago and now over 1,100 people have read the post and just about 50 have responded.  Naturally many have the same memories so I thought I would share with you what some of the readers have written in response to my original post.

• KATE:  Madras shorts, burning bras, and  Cabbage Patch Dolls
• Islandgem: Hot pants were the in fashion style.  Bell bottom pants for men
• Cincinnati Kid: Hula hoops and transistor radios, TV Time Popcorn, TV "test patterns", 45s
• o2bnsxm: Remote control for the TV (made us all lazy)
• SXMSAMMY: Color Television, lava lamps, platform shoes, slot cars, tye dye shirts, locker loops on the back of men's shirts, Tab Soda, Moxie, cherry bomb mufflers, seat belts, fallout shelters, peace symbol, the twist, twiggy, barbie dolls, James Bond, Frisbees, topless dancing, skate boards, Chinese firedrills
• Bill_S: Leisure Suits, campus protests, FM stations challenging AM stations, creation of PBS, creation of Area Codes, cars with four headlights
• Temery: Boom Box radio, Van's "Off the Wall", Sony Walkman, Atari/PacMan, party lines, phone numbers with letters in them, dialing an operator
• charlieh: Motown and Elvis, Muscle cars, $1 a gallon gas, 55 mph highways, long sideburns and slicked back hair, flat tops, cars without air conditioning, Gunsmoke and Have Gun will Travel
• SXMWendell: Beatle haircuts, Woodstock, 4-track tape players, hip huggers, 12 volt car systems, aluminum Christmas trees, Playboy after Dark, drive-in theaters, PIC for mosquito's, tank tops, Paul Revere and the Raiders hats, 3-speed bicycle 
• Eric_Hill: Pong, 5 1/2 floppy
• souligacapt: cork soled shoes, suit jackets with no lapels and Sassoon hair styles
• JimCandD: Dial-up Internet, PF Flyers, streakers
• GaKaye: slitting the legs of a pair of pants and inserting a gusset of a contrasting fabric to create the ultimate bell-bottoms
• TravelHat: CB Radios
• sxmsandbum: athletic tube socks, converse tennis shoes, Calvin Klein jeans, smocks with hip hugger elephant pants, izod shirts, steering wheel knobs, pop rocks, tang
• mprevo: "Moon Boots" with the Wonder Bread bags around your feet to help keep them dry, Looney Tunes, Woody Woodpecker, Tom & Jerry, Yogi Bear Speedy Gonzales

Cassius Clay

Remember most of the things listed?  I know they all weren't fads, but they still were part of our childhood from the 60s to the 80s.  And, I'm sure you could probably add a few more if you were living in the era's I listed.  Thanks to all the TTOL members for sharing their memories from the past.  Actually, for me the 50s to the 60s were my childhood, but that would be an entire different post.  Things such as Beatniks, TV Dinners, Tupperware, The "Twist", 3-D movies, coonskin hats, and frozen food were part of my childhood.  Wow, that was a long time ago!!  Enough of this reminiscing stuff!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.