1970s Items That Failed!

I'm 60 now and I always think back to the seventies with a mixture of pride and embarrassement. The silliest songs, clothes, fashions, hypes, gadgets but also endlessly innovative, fantastic music, iconic products. Great times!

The beta max was awesome at the time. My Dad paid $450 for one and still recorded TV for 20 years on that thing.

I loved Herbal Essences, Lemon Up and Body on Tap! Though it's not food inspired, I also loved Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific.

I remember this weird rubber gel in a tube that came with a straw. You could make your own balloons by squeezing out some toxic tar and blowing up a bubble that became rigid very quickly. I am fairly sure it was toxic! I think it was called super elastic bubble plastic from Wham-O. If I remember the song correctly...

The original Herbal Essence shampoo smelled so wonderful. Later versions didn't smell anywhere near as good and were a big disappointment.

The 1970's were a fun time to grow up in!

Whenever I watch one these throwbacks to the 70's and 80's I can't help but think how much the internet changed everything, I grew up in the 70's and as much as I loved and often miss it, I wonder how we got anything done back then. :) At least we had real social lives and appreciated the simple things. I wonder if the new generation will look back and remember their own throwback days of sitting with each other with their heads buried in their phones on instagram or tick tock while their kids likely end up living their lives inside virtual reality.

I too loved the smell of the original Herbal Essence shampoo. I also loved and used Lemon Up shampoo. I had forgotten all about that one. Your hair felt squeaky clean after being washed with it.

I was born in 1956 and attended high school and college during the 70's. Started teaching in 1979. People were much nicer back then. Kids weren't totally messed up due to crack. We've been on a steady decline since then and too many people are a-holes today.

Anyone remember those clacker ball things? The 2 balls on string that you clacked together? I don't think they lasted long due to kids seriously injuring themselves.

Those quadraphonic stereos sounded better than modern surround-sound stereos do because tone and midrange were not pushed through small satellite speakers while the bass has a huge sub. They were better-balanced. Also in between the laserdisc and the DVD, there was the really-short-lived VCD, which put movies on CD. Japan got a lot more VCD movies than America did.

One of my college roommates (fall 1980) had a quad sound system. The people across the hall had a very powerful stereo. You can just imagine what Saturday nights were like in that dorm.

Just to add to the Betamax, it was actually a hit in Asia. I grew up in the Philippines and all we had was Beta at the stores and all. Rarely did I see VHS.

My dad, who was an engineer, tried to revive 8-track cassettes and players back in the 90’s! Never mind what he was thinking!😕 My family were the first in our neighborhood to get a VCR- and it was a Beta Max! 40 people crowded into our living room that first night we had it just to see it work!

Laserdisc wasn’t really a failure. It offered better resolution than broadcast, VHS or Beta in the age CRT televisions, offered cinephiles movies in their proper aspect ratio, offered bonus content in the form of still frame libraries, audio commentaries, and offered digital sound (PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS). Towards the end, combo players would do LD, CD and DVD. what killed it was the price.

I remember borrowing my cousin's laser disk machine! We watched The Black Stallion! I also remember watching movies at his house on his betamax! He had a tendency to spend money on stuff that looked flash, but didn't last.

You really got me with the baby food for adults LOL! I've never heard of that before... awesome and hilarious.

oil rain lamps, and big round plastic terrariums on a white pedestal

I used to own a vinyl video disc player. It was similar to a phonograph and used a record needle and a corded remote. The discs came in a plastic sleeve and were prone to scratching. These scratches caused the picture to skip. By 1980 they were so commonplace that the public library had them available for lending. Laser discs were far superior because they were scratch resistant.

5:00 I remember the discussion about getting VHS or Betamax, and a big point was that Betamax ONLY had high def, where VHS could record in 3 modes ranging from Low to mid to high, allowing you to choose, and this also meant a single tape could be 2, 4 or 6 hours long. I remember this (having more options) being the major part of my parents choosing a VHS system.