1970s Fads & Fun

--------	1970s Fads & Fun
	Groovy Stuff Fads Recreation Video Games Toys

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________	__	_____________________________	_______
Groovy Stuff Billy Beer Billy Carter (the President's brother) had a beer named for him. Forward-thinking collectors hoarded cases of Billy Beer, thinking it would someday be valuable. I understand today you can't give the stuff away... Billy Beer clackers A set of clackers consisted of two acrylic balls hanging from a ring. Maneuvering the ring made the balls swing around and click together. Newton's Cradle was a desktop version utilizing Newton's laws of momentum and energy. Clackers were pulled from the market in 1971 because of numerous reports of injuries. Clackers Newton's Cradle mood rings A mood ring used liquid crystals to detect changes in body temperature. This would supposedly indicate the wearer's mood. As the ring warmed up, the colors changed from black (a foul mood) to green and finally to blue. Liquid crystals have a limited lifespan....after a few years, my mood ring was no longer able to make it past the dirty brown stage. Mood Rings Virtual Mood Ring collectibles Holly Hobbie was a charming little girl dressed in a large bonnet and patchwork apron. She was created by an artist and children's book author whose real name also happened to be Holly Hobbie. The character was featured on greeting cards and collectibles, and a line of dolls was launched in 1974. In 1973, Betsey Clark's whimsical Hallmark illustrations were transformed into a line of figurines and collectibles. That same year, her artwork was featured on the first set of collectible keepsake ornaments. The first Precious Moments illustrations appeared on greeting cards in 1975. The Jonathan & David Company introduced a series of porcelain figurines in 1978. Wacky Stickers lampooned popular products of the day. It was fun to collect them and display them on your school notebook or lunch box. Holly Hobbie's Page Precious Moments Betsey Clark Wacky Stickers pop rocks My first experience with Pop Rocks was in 1978. At the time, you couldn't even buy them in Illinois. A bunch of us sat in Biology class with strange looks on our faces as the little crumb-sized morsels fizzed and crackled in our mouths. (....and no, Mikey from the Life cereal commercial did not die when he ate Pop Rocks and drank a Coke!) Pop Rocks Candy How Do Pop Rocks Work? more groovy stuff Lava Lamps Pet Rocks Sea Monkeys		Betsey Clark Wacky Stickers

_________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________	__	_____________________________	_______
Fads pyramid power Some people believed that the triangular shape of a pyramid channeled the positive energies of the universe into the space beneath it. For believers, placing objects under a pyramid enhanced them....food wouldn't spoil, razor blades wouldn't dull, and plants would grow quicker and stronger. Living in a pyramid-shaped house or having a pyramid nearby would improve your health and well-being. Pyramid Power Self-Empowerment: Pyramid Power streaking Streaking (taking off your clothes and running naked through public places) was one of the biggest fads of 1974. Streakerama "The Streak" by Ray Stevens CB radios Class D Citizen's Band radios were introduced in 1958. In the 1960s, truck drivers began using them to communicate with each other while on the road. As the units became smaller and more affordable, their popularity increased. When the government reduced the national speed limit to 55 MPH in 1973, the general public latched onto CB radios as a way to keep informed of speed traps. Around 1975, they became wildly popular for drivers and non-drivers alike. Choosing a clever handle (nickname) and talking anonymously with other users had the same appeal that chatting online does today. CB Slang Citizen's Band Radio more groovy fads smiley faces UFOs genealogy beer can collecting

_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________	__	_____________________________	___________
Recreation do-it-yourself crafts In 1978, President Carter signed legislation making it legal to brew beer in your home for personal consumption. Home brewing became a popular hobby all across the country. Making wine at home first became legal when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. latch-hook rugs macrame embroidery crochet string art sand art God's Eyes pop-top fashions ceramics quilling (coiled paper) candle-making decoupage home brewing Don't Throw It Away! hot air balloons Sales of hot air balloons doubled every year from 1971 to 1977. When the Windy City Balloon Port opened near my home in 1974, it wasn't unusual to see 20 balloons a day in the summer. If you were really into it, we called you a balloonatic. fun & games foosball Springbok jigsaw puzzles Ouija Boards word search puzzles Mad Libs paper fortune tellers Cat's Cradle air hockey Play Air Hockey Online active fun skateboarding snowmobiling racquetball horseback riding frisbee tennis baton twirling hopscotch tetherball Little League Baseball		In the 1970s, if it could be done with yarn, people did it! Foosball

_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________	__	_____________________________	___________
Video Games arcade games The video game revolution began in 1971 with the introduction of the first electronic arcade game, Computer Space. The Atari company released their first game the following year, an arcade video tennis game called Pong. The popularity of this game set the video game industry in motion. By the end of the decade, electronic arcade machines were also being manufactured by Bally, Midway, Vector, Chicago Coin, Exidy, Ramtek, Cinematronics and Sega. New arcade innovations in the 1970s included the first light gun (1974), the first trackball game controller (1978), the first high score display (1978) and the first enclosed cockpit cabinet (1979). The 1970s also gave us the first games based on movies (Jaws) and celebrities (Fonzie). Computer Space Pong Breakout Football Space Invaders Space Wars Asteroids Gran Trak 10 Gotcha One On One Tank Shark Jaws Hi-Way Heavyweight Champ Dominos Fonz Monaco GP home consoles Video game consoles allow you to play video games on any standard television set. The first home console was the Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972. Atari produced a home version of Pong in 1975, and introduced their hugely successful home console in 1977. Atari games were also sold by Sears as part of their Tele-Games brand, and the Atari consoles were sold by Sears as the Sears Video Arcade. The Odyssey was programmed by inserting circuit board cards into a slot. Other early consoles arrived from the factory with the games already built in. A huge step forward was taken in 1976 when the first cartridge systems were introduced. From that point on, the game possibilities were endless. Magnavox Odyssey Atari VCS Coleco Telstar Odyssey 100-4000 Series Fairchild Channel F Odyssey2 Bally Professional Arcade Sears Video Arcade Play Pong Online Handheld Football Games handheld games Small handheld electronic games were also popular in the late 1970s. They included tennis, driving and football games made by Mattel and Coleco.		Breakout Atari VCS

__________________________________________

________________________________________________	___	______________________________________________	________
Toys Toy Encyclopedia fashion dolls Barbie Dawn World Of Love Rockflowers Dusty Blythe celebrity dolls: ----• Charlie's Angels ----• Cher ----• Donny & Marie Osmond ----• Dorothy Hamill Dinah-Mite Tiffany Taylor hair & makeup dolls Crissy Velvet Cricket Tressy Barbie Styling Head Aimee 1970s Dolls 1970s Mattel Dolls --- arts, crafts & modeling Lite Brite Spirograph Spin-Art Etch-a-Sketch Knit Magic Fashion Plates Magic Slates weaving looms crayons & coloring books Silly Sand Thingmaker Creepy Crawlers Play-Doh Monster Models Aurora Models Shrinky Dinks Easy Bake Oven Virtual Lite Brite Virtual Etch-a-Sketch Virtual Spirograph other toys Colorforms Stretch Armstrong View-Master Silly Putty Slinky Magic 8-Ball Silly String Breyer Horses Snoopy Autograph Doll Super Elastic Bubble Plastic Slime Virtual Magic 8-Ball		other dolls Liddle Kiddles Flatsy Dapper Dan Baby Alive Dressy Bessy Baby Thataway Holly Hobbie Dancerina Sunshine Family Happy Family Baby Beans games Trouble Twister Mastermind Battleship Cootie The Game Of Life Simon Toss Across Yahtzee Stratego Mystery Date Perfection Operation Mousetrap Connect Four Gnip Gnop Stay Alive Ants In The Pants Rockem Sockem Robots Ker-plunk Super Jock Football Don't Break The Ice Electric Football Headache Play Mastermind Online Play Simon Online --- action figures & playsets G.I. Joe Weebles Fisher-Price Play Family People Micronauts Jane & Johnny West Playskool Holiday Inn Playskool McDonalds Legos Sesame Street kicking Kung Fu figures media & celebrity figures: ----• Star Wars ----• KISS ----• Star Trek ----• Battlestar Galactica ----• Six Million Dollar Man ----• The Rookies ----• Emergency! The Mego Museum Marx Toy Museum vehicles Hot Wheels Matchbox Cars Smash-Up Derby Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle Kenner SSP Cars sports & action toys Slip 'n Slide banana seat bicycles Inchworm riding toy punching balls Pitchback Baseball Trac-Ball Wizzer tops Nerf Paddle Balls Duncan Yo-Yo Big Wheels Socker Boppers Hippity Hop Balls Sit & Spin Wiffle Balls Dangerous Toys From My Youth

__________________________________________