5 Things I Miss from the 70’s
Written by Suzanne on August 1, 2008
I was a kid in the 70’s and although I don’t miss the rabbit ears on my parents TV, getting up to change one of our 5 channels or polyester pants and shirts with starched collars, I do miss a few things. Here are five of the things I miss most from the 1970’s.
Marathon Bars
Whenever I got a chance and a few coins in my pocket I’d get on my bike and ride to the nearest corner store to pick up this delectable candy treat. These days, I’d have to go to the United Kingdom or Australia for a Curly Wurly which has the same braided chocolate caramel but I’d miss the cool ruler on the side of the wrapper.
The Marathon Bar I’m talking about should not be confused with the Marathon Bar that is what’s now named Snickers. Love the Mork suspenders on this UK ad for Snickers when it was called Marathon.
Gum Without Artificial Sweeteners
My favorite gum was always Fruit Stripe. The sweet burst of flavor, the bright striped colors, and of course the cute zebra, made this the perfect gum for kids. Luckily you can still chew Fruit Stripe and it’s really one of the only gums that doesn’t have an artificial sweetener. Next time you stand at the check out line browse through the gum ingredients and even if you see sugar on the label you most likely will find phenalynaline, sucralose or aspartame.
I know Jack LaLanne would say no to gum all together but I say no to gum with artificial ingredients. It’s a start anyway.
Glass Coca Cola Bottles
Alright I know first sugar in gum and now sugar in Coca Cola. The sugar is the least of my worries, ever since my first taste of Sweet Tea I’ve loved that bold caffeine flavor, not to mention the slightly hyper effect it gives me.
There was something so wonderful about carrying around a big glass Coca Cola bottle, especially on a hot summer day. I consumed enough of these to stunt my growth at least a couple inches.
I saw the old school bottles being sold at Costco but they were imports from Mexico made with pure cane sugar and were very expensive. What the world needs now is Coke in a glass bottle, and more apple trees and honey bees.
Rollerskate Rinks
Oh how I loved my roller skates. I’m not a great roller skater now but I could roll with the best of them back in the day. I watched The Facts of Life just so I could live vicariously through Tootie being allowed to skate inside the house. Check out this great 8mm clip from YouTube user alecwally23. His sister made it in the 70’s for a class project in high school.
Disco
Ahh how I loved doing the hustle in my bedroom lip synching to my K-Tel records. I really believed I would grow up to disco the night away at Studio 54 with the Solid Gold dancers and Miss Piggy. Unfortunately by the time I was 18 disco was dead and I couldn’t afford a ticket to NY anyway. Instead I was in Tijuana, Mexico dancing to Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
For those of you who don’t think you can dance disco, feel free to practice at home along with this video:
Posted in The 5 on Friday
August 1st, 2008 at 9:18 am
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August 1st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
THANK YOU HONEY FOR POSTING YOUR 6 SASSY THINGS ON MY BLOG…I FEEL SO SPECIAL…OOH AND I AM SO SORRY I SPELLED YOUR NAME WRONG..I FIXED IT WITH YOUR WEB ADDRESS AS WELL…HEY I HAVE A GAP BETWEEN MY TEETH AS WELL..I KNOW SUCH A FUNNY THING TO WRITE BUT YOU GET IT!!! CAT
August 1st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I had tons of those K-tel records. Geez. I never liked fruit stripe gum because it lost flavor so fast. I liked those big fat pieces of Hubba Bubba. LOL I remember a Snickers commercial exactly like that where they sliced it in pieces showing all the peanuts. How weird. I’ve never heard of them being called Marathon bars. I wonder if that was a regional thing. I grew up with certain soda that didn’t exist when I moved to CA or it did but by a different name. Never had my own skates but spend many weekends at the local rink ages 10-14. After that it was “lame” and big kids didn’t go, well, only highschool boys looking for easy scams on the 8th and 9th grade girls. LOL
August 1st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
@Mel those were the same boys that grew up and went to Tijuana looking for 18 year olds when they were 30. LOL
Loved Hubba Bubba too and Bubbalicious for big ol’ bubble blowin’ fun!
I guess the Marathon bar had a special 15″ version only sold in Southern California at 7-11 stores.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I miss the 70′s because I was 30 some years younger! But oh I remember the Marathon bar and gum with no artificial sweeteners. They have come back with Coke in glass bottles but you pay an arm and a leg for them and they are hard to find. Nice blog bringing back good memories.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I miss my pogo stick and i REALLY miss my gun belt with dual holsters!!! i used to wear it around the house and practice quick drawing and shooting, pretending to be roy rogers or the lone ranger. i know i know. i’ve ALWAYS been a geek. always will be a geek. one of these days, if i get so brave, i’ll show you some of the pics that my grandma has of me in my cowboy get-up. lol…
er…maybe not. lol…
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Well one thing I remember about the 70′s is wearing a couple of different blond wigs cause I colored my hair too much and got it cut real short. They were pretty but those synthetic ones and then I got a red one that I thought was cute and looked like Clarabelle the Clown.
July 31st, 2009 at 12:58 pm
We still have skating rinks. I think they still have the same skates they had the 70s too. lol
July 31st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
While fruit stripes was was favorite, I was always sad when it lost it’s luscious flavor after about 2.5 minutes of chewing. Also, I have a wonderful pair of sneaker roller skates with sparkley wheels. Not quite like the original blue sneakers with the triple white stripes down the side….but they are a great homageto those skates I loved so much as a child.