The 1970s and 1980s have been the stars of numerous throwback films and idiot box show with estimable reasonableness . The two decades have a lot to fete — Saturday morning sketch , " Schoolhouse Rock , " crimper skating and Michael Jackson ’s " Billie Jean " — to name a few highlights .
But nostalgia be damned , there was good deal to dislike about the ' 70s and ' 80s too . The pair of decades kicked off at the pinnacle of the Vietnam War and included the Watergate scandal , a gas famine , a surety crisis , the growth of theAIDS epidemic(and the hurtful answer from the regime ) and then capped off with the Exxon Valdez oil spill .
While GenX will proudly keep heed to our Duran Duran track record and can still enjoy clear a Rubik ’s Cube , here are 10 feature of the ' 70s and ' LXXX we ’re rejoice got left in the past ( in no specific order ) .
1. Food and Drink Fails
2. Interior Design Disasters
Although the geological era has plenty to recommendstylewise , the ' 70 and ' 80s admit a few grace fads they can keep . How aboutLEGO - like Interior Department , not - so - groovy waterbeds , too much ' LXXX mauve and wall - to - wall shag carpet ?
3. Dot Matrix Printers
Today printer are gaudy than their ink cartridges . And in the digital long time , we do n’t really have to print at all , which meansnobodymisses the lack of nuance indot ground substance impression . For one , the noise was unbearable , but not as painful and challenging as line up those dang holes in the composition and printer roller .
4. 8-Track Tapes
Admittedly , it must have seemed like quite a leap forth when car manufacturer first installed 8 - track playersin carsin the mid-1960s . The advanced technology founder drivers the freedom to listen to euphony of their choice . The tapes , which often got dishevel andcould not be rewound , persist democratic during the seventies but were quickly replace by the introduction of the more efficient cassette tape .
5. 1-900 Numbers
In the 1980s , we got tocall our favorite celebsand male child band on the headphone using a number with a 900 area codification . Pretty impressive , correct ? These , of course , were pay - per - call experience ( recorded just for you ) that also offeredinformational options , as well as more villainous activities like drawing games and sex lines . The pattern was still going secure into the nineties ( rememberpsychic Miss Cleo ? ) , but now we have the internet and societal media to satisfy these type of needs .
6. Leaded Gasoline
Since the 1920s , companies had been adding lead to gasoline , with the automobile industriousness and oil color companies take the low levels were not harmful . It turn out that they were and in 1973,the Environmental Protection Agencystarted an effort to phase out leaded gasoline . The form - out continued through the 1980s , although the EPA did n’t to the full ban leaded gasoline for passenger motorcar until the next ten .
7. Fashion Fads
We ca n’t consider the ' 70s and ' 80s without drop an middle to fashion and there are plentifulness of retro styles we still love . There are also enough more that are better off buried in the yesteryear , admit leisure time suit , parachute knickers , loony toons wash jeansand big ' 80s shoulder pads . gratefully , men exposing their hairy chests and wearing theirshirts unbuttonedto their navels is totally passé too . What was that all about , guys ?
8. Awful Family Photos
Who does n’t bed a bad family photograph meme?Entire websitesare build on the premiss . We have the ' 70s and ' 80s to give thanks for many of them . What family did n’t have a photo take at Olan Mills ? And count your lucky stars if you have an awkward school pic or a 1980sGlamour Shotsmisadventure . Big tomentum was wholly a must .
9. Cabbage Patch Kids Craze
It was 1983 andriotswere said to have broken out over the sighting of , not Michael Jackson orPrincess Diana , but dolly . Not just any doll , though . Cabbage Patch Dolls . These adoptable , yarn - hirsute youngster " became the most popular toy fad of the year , " according toAntique Trader . That meant there were not enough to go around , quickly lead to black market trading . For dolls .
10. Indoor Smoking
We now recognise thedangers of secondhand smoke , but it was n’t until 1964 that the Surgeon General first put out a report card linking smoking with lung Crab . In the 1970s , there was a enceinte move todivide national public spacesinto smoking and non - smoking section , and it was only in 1986 that field officially noted thecancer risk of second - hand smoke . Even so , indoor smoking bans still varystate to state .
