1970s Items That Failed!

[@stavrosk.2868]

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!

[@davidpar2]

Any time you’re embarrassed when looking back, remember this: Unlike today, no one outside of an insane asylum thought there were more than two genders then.

[@ItsJustLisa]

Same!

[@teijaflink2226]

Yeah I still can't get over those 70s pants and ridiculous looking collars. But it seems like a fun time with lots of great music and films specially.

[@rainbow2710]

Yeah, especially the music. Can’t beat it.

[@conniebaker1958]

I think we had the best cars best music great hair 😊

[@AlBundyPolkHigh.]

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

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

That was cheap. My father bought a used top loading VHS recorder off a neighbor for $700, in the late 1970s. Bought our second VCR, in 1983, for a bargain $300, new. The 1983 unit didn't die until ~2007.

[@AlBundyPolkHigh.]

@@michaelmoorrees3585 The $450 was actually cost, my uncle owned a video store. My first one even had a plug-in remote that only was about a foot long. We both got our money's worth 🤣

[@arejaycee5704]

I was told years ago that Beta max was the better of the two systems

[@AlBundyPolkHigh.]

@@arejaycee5704 Yes beta was definitely higher quality and the tapes were smaller and took up less room.

[@4loops43]

Yes Beta was better than VHS but Sony owned Beta max and everyone else chose to go VHS for that reason…cheaper than paying Sony fees

[@skokian1able]

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

[@JF-ym8gm]

Me too!

[@sabrinacansino5969]

Body on Tap! Totally forgot about that one! Smelled so good!

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@sabrinacansino5969 It has beer in it! But dooon't drink it!

[@jeannehall6546]

Lemon Up is still available through The Vermont Country Store.

[@skokian1able]

@@jeannehall6546 good to know, thanks!

[@auntwestley]

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

[@bobblowhard8823]

Yes! When my girlfriend at the time used that shampoo, and I smelled her hair, I thought I was in heaven! Also, remember "Love's Baby Soft" perfume?

[@brianarbenz1329]

I can’t believe the maker would put “Yogurt” in bigger letters than “shampoo” on the bottle, then be shocked that some people ate it.

[@NorseGraphic]

I wonder if the original recipe still exists. 🧐 Could be interesting to see how it compares with modern shampoos.

[@nickimontie]

@@NorseGraphicgosh I’d love to have some!

[@sherryluce5780]

@@chairman-jenkem-yogurt Lol

[@Darth.Shredder]

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.

[@MazichMusic]

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.

[@DAJ2000]

I was taught as a kid to obey my teacher or else 'get it' when you get home. And today's kids...well, you know.

[@INKOSK4114]

I concur! I was born in 1961, and loved being a kid! Kids today have no idea what it’s like to ride your bike all day, play in a stream, or stay out till the street lights came on. Remember freeze tag? Boy, times have really been dumbed down.

[@gregh9975]

Got a few years on you but we kids did exactly the things that you describe in my old neighborhood. At a tender age I learned to repair a flat tire on my bike using one of those little tube patch kits. Fond memories. Today's kids seem too occupied with their 'devices' to care much about bicycles, etc.@@INKOSK4114

[@vmobile890]

So many negative comments on youtube people feel they need to project their personal hate for something and someone . All generations had their positive or negative . Being a teen in the 1970’s we talked worked with many that were in military service in WW2. Seniors in the 1970’s built companies in the 1930’s . I grew up in Oakland California and seen endless job options with factories in California most all gone forced out .

[@PREPFORIT]

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...

[@craigmclean8260]

Ahh, yes! "Super Elastic Bubble Plastic! I think it was toxic; something akin to some kind of PVC mixed w/ rubber cement, as I recall...One could produce these rather flaccid "balloons" w/ the stuff...About the same era as "Kabongers" or "Clackers"...

[@Jreb1865]

I remember that stuff well...lol

[@freyashipley6556]

That stuff was great! I loved the insanely toxic smell. 🤪

[@chairman-jenkem-yogurt]

@@craigmclean8260 That stuff was always lame because it was half dried out or worse, even before it was purchased. It made the lamest bubbles not even close to bubble gum.

[@andrewp7509]

​@@freyashipley6556lol

[@Nelle-uj3eg]

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

[@3Storms]

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.

[@sebastienbolduc5654]

I totally agree with you. There is definitely no comparison! Pink Floyd were the first band to us quadraphonic speakers live in concert during their Darkside tour. I got to hear them used live by Waters, a couple years ago, during an intermission. They played a bunch of sound effects such as police sirens, crowds of people in the street, radio transmissions, etc. It was trippy AF! Up to that point, I never heard them live like that in a huge venue.

[@MarkLada]

I have a sansui hifi receiver and a pair of AR11 tower speakers that my dad bought new in the 70s.. I've been using them since the late 90s.. I still use them almost every day, and they sound better than most of the modern stuff available today.. I plugged a Bluetooth dongle into the mic input, and I can stream audio from any of my devices to the receiver.. I will continue to use it until it no longer works, and then I will probably get it fixed instead of replacing it..

[@3Storms]

@@MarkLada It's 100% about balanced sound. Good speakers produce a huge room-filling midrange while tone and bass support the midrange. Thanks to rap, the tastes have changed, and speakers now are designed to focus on bass. I even saw a new Mcintosh home stereo speaker cabinet that had FOUR 12" bass subs with a single 4" speaker for both mid and tone. They're poorly-balanced for every form of music except rap.

[@WinterInTheForest]

@@3Storms As someone that has been producing music for over 30 years I will say that rap is also the least complex form of musical composition and really doesn't take much talent to make. I have subjective opinions about it as well. The only reason it has become so popular is because the industry heavily promotes it.

[@MarkLada]

@3Storms Yeah, I agree.. Everyone is all about the bass these days.. I like bass, and you definitely need good woofers to hear the music like it's meant to be heard.. If you want to run 4 12" subs, that's fine, but then you have to run mid range drivers that are just as loud as the subwoofers and tweeters that are just as loud as your mids.. All of these portable bluetooth speakers that have come out in the recent years have the opposite problem.. They are using 3.5" and 4" "subwoofers" that won't play under 200hz, and there's absolutely no bass at all.. I believe my AR11 speakers have a 10" woofer, a 6.5" midrange driver, and a 1.5" tweeter in each box.. You can hear everything from 30hz all the way up to 30khz.. The balance is absolutely perfect and there's still enough bass to shake the windows..

[@penbucket]

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

[@RhettyforHistory]

Definitely not the best idea. Thank you for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this one.

[@MrDibbons]

When I moved to Alaska in 1990, my first room had no toilet, shower, kitchen, or refrigerator. I survived the first few weeks on crackers and real baby food, which required no refrigeration or cooking. I made me feel like a little kid again.

[@ferretyluv]

I think I read about that once.

[@ItsJustLisa]

I remember them introducing that stuff, but we never bought it.

[@roxannehargis3482]

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.

[@georgiasmith64]

I used fabrasea wheat germ and honey shampoo, and I told two friends and they told two friends and so on and so on😐

[@marciwhitman3513]

I used to use lemon up shampoo and conditioner. I grew up with that and I used it all throughout my childhood and I loved it.

[@01FozzyS]

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.

[@dawnelder9046]

Actually better quality.

[@jmemusic]

Yes, it was also popular in South America. All video rental stores offer only that and VHS was unknown. VHS came late when the DVD players were arriving.

[@lp-xl9ld]

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.

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

September 1980. BOMP ! BOMP ! BOMP ! Another one bites the dust. BOMP ! BOMP ! BOMP ! Another one bites the dust !

[@VickiCampbell-1216]

It took me many years to "relocate" these items from the 70s that are no longer available. I loved them so much!! 1. Libby's Spread N Heat pizza. This came in a tiny can and was basically a pizza-flavored paste you put on toast. 2. TastiFries. Vertically ribbed fries that cooked to perfection in my opinion. I wish they'd make a comeback. Thanks, Rhett!! 😊

[@Lemmon714_]

I want Choco Lite and Marathon candy bars again.

[@VickiCampbell-1216]

@@Lemmon714_ I remember the Marathon candy bars. Loved those. ❤

[@richiehoyt8487]

​@@VickiCampbell-1216 In the British Isles, Snickers bars used to be called Marathon (up until sometime in the '80's). But then, what we call the Mars bar is, I believe, known as the Milky Way, your side of the Pond, while our Milky Way, you guys call the, I dunno, the 'Dreamy Whip', or some such! So, guessing the Marathon may have been a different thing to what I got in mind...

[@VickiCampbell-1216]

@@richiehoyt8487 Oh yes, right. I dated a guy from Liverpool years ago and he tried explaining to me how different, yet the same, some of our candy bars were. Sweets from the UK seemed to taste much better than ours in the US.

[@richiehoyt8487]

@@VickiCampbell-1216 Interesting... It's hard to say; I think it's complicated by "the other man's grass is always greener" phenomenon. The first time I tried a Hershey's bar, which I suppose would be the nearest equivalent to a Cadbury's 'Dairy Milk', I did notice it had a distinctively different taste to British chocolate which I quite liked. However, I've noticed that a lot of people trying Hershey bars for the first time say it "tastes like _sick!_ " I mean, I've seen them spit it out! And though I like them, I kind of know what they mean - there's something in there that's not a million miles different from that hard cheese you grind up onto pasta. Still, given that's what it brings to mind, it ought to be disgusting, but, I dunno, I think it gives Hershey chocolate a certain 'piquant' quality? I've read that it goes back to when Hershey were first trying to bring a milk chocolate bar to market, but, intent on a 'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' strategy, their recipes were proving prohibitively expensive until someone came up with an inexpensive way of treating the milk so that it - and the chocolate - wouldn't spoil in transit. The bad news was that the method left the chocolate with a certain _'tang'..._ The _good_ news was that most of their working class customers didn't know chocolate (especially milk chocolate) was supposed to taste any different! Mind you, if you want a source, I'm going to have to plead 😕🤷..! I expect that's probably not quite the way Hershey tell it. I remember when this shop opened in the city where I live selling imported American candy, breakfast cereal, junk food, etc., about 10 or 15 years ago. This was the real deal, not one of the sketchy, money - laundering outfits that have taken over high streets since around the time of the pandemic. Of course my sweet - toothed (late) American born wife was rapturous, and dragged me down there. Given that the stock was shipped in specially, in relatively small amounts, the mark~up (margin?) was eye~watering, but no matter, we must have spent a good share of a weeks wages in there, just on that first visit, on swag. My God, the _variety!_ They didn't just have, say, the fabled Reece's Peanut Butter Cups -- they had them in _milk,_ they had them in _dark,_ they had them in _white..._ ALL sizes, from delicate morsels, to saucer sized! Kripes! You guys don't know you're born, lol! Of course, it would have been a bit puritanical of me not to join my beloved in her 'Golden Ticket' spree... from the preceding, you'll not be surprised to know I was quite smitten with the Reece's Nutrageous bars. I'm actually more of a chocolate (and candy) dabbler rather than a true chocoholic, so I can remember only a fraction of the treasures before me... Charleston Chews, Baby Ruths, Butterfingers... the 3 Musketeers bars I liked, and the Paydays - a chocolate~less 'chocolate' bar there, if there can be such a thing! (Actually, there can - bow your head in shame, Scottish manufacturer, Tunnocks! Ever wonder where the Scots got the mostly unfair reputation for being skinflints? Now you know!) All manner of other stuff too, that I'd frequently heard of, but never previously seen - Mike & Ike's, Swedish Fish, Pez's, Nerds, etc - Hot Tamales (or am I confabulating those ones?) and these dental nightmares made of 99% corn syrup that came in the _shape_ of little corn cobs! I would make a couple of observations about the riches to be found within this vault of treasures, though. There was certainly some stellar finds to be had, some of which have become semi - regular indulgences... but much as I -like- *love* Nutrageous bars (and their other Reece's brethren), are they, in fact, nicer than the broadly similar Cadbury's 'Star Bar', or Nestlé(??) 'Catch'? That is _such_ a tough call. Maybe. Marginally. It's more a question of _different._ 'Separate, but equal', if you like. I have noticed, the American offerings generally seem to be sweeter; but there's more

[@XianHu]

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.

[@4loops43]

The Beta tapes allowed quality selections but the overall tapes just didn’t get as many minutes as VHS

[@fluffysheap]

I know what you mean, but none of them were anywhere close to "high def"

[@bwise7739]

The nail in the coffin for beta as I recall was that beta tapes weren’t long enough to record an American football game but vhs could.

[@XianHu]

@@bwise7739 Yup, that'd do it

[@ChrisRoth1972]

Same here,my Dad wasn’t going to spend 80.00 per movie,he wanted to record off HBO in the SLP mode,so we could fit 3 movies one one tape depending on how long the movie was.

[@jayalexander3356]

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.

[@RhettyforHistory]

I had a set of those and luckily nothing ever happened to me. i loved playing with them but my parents hated them. Thank you for watching Jay!

[@zekesgirl100]

Still have mine!

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

Yeah it's hard to believe they thought making the first ones out of glass was a good idea. The cracking glass was hurting so many kids they had to make them out of plastic then.

[@turokforever007]

They were fine, the issue was other companies made fake ones that is when things went wrong

[@craigmclean8260]

Yes; one of the trade names was "Kabongers", IIRC; they were a colored, clear acrylic; I guess a few did shatter, and I'd even heard of fires started as the things made pretty good magnifying glasses when in sunlight...

[@girlgamergear3260]

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.

[@arnbo88]

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.

[@ChrisRoth1972]

I think you’re talking about the RCA Video Disc?

[@donwyoming1936]

I remember those. My next door neighbor had one and an Atari 2600. I thought they were the richest people on the planet! I loved watching movies on that thing. It was so innovative. 🤠

[@PhantomMortuary]

I still have one of them and a bunch of discs

[@spaceghost27]

thanks Rhetty! i have a lot of fond memories going to my cousin's house to watch my aunt's laser disc movies like Jaws and Clash of the Titans.

[@videoplusdvd]

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.

[@donwyoming1936]

Back in the 80s & 90s, friends would buy their favorite movie on Laserdisc just to watch it at my house on a largescreen TV, in wide-screen, with surround sound. I got a lot of movies free that way. 🤠

[@mildredpierce4506]

A few years ago I saw a bunch of laser disc in a thrift store. I started to buy them to sell them eBay but the prices they were selling for weren’t very much in comparison to how much they were selling for at the thrift. I didn’t count but there were at least 20 of the laser disc. I didn’t want to take the chance of buying all those discs and they not sell.

[@PREPFORIT]

The lazer discs sucked.

[@lukeclifton4392]

Did Sony have anything to do with laser disc?? Cause usually when a format is a flop… Sony had something to do with it!🤔

[@SelfRighteousNewAgeLightWorker]

@@PREPFORIT You have an anime/manga character avatar, yet you say that "lazer discs sucked"??? A big part of my anime collection are LaserDiscs imported from Japan, and they are *BEAUTIFUL*.

[@girlgamergear3260]

Oh goodness! I remember the twist and tone! LOL! I never knew it was for adults! It ended up in my friend's toys!

[@leesashriber5097]

Loved my Polaroid camera!!! Getting all excited for the film to develop. 😊 Thank you for the memories my friend 😊

[@RhettyforHistory]

Did you have the polavision one?

[@leesashriber5097]

@@RhettyforHistory , no. Just the instant camera. I think James Garner did their commercials. 😊

[@RobinMarconeCassidyRN]

If I was a betting woman, I would bet those toaster eggs probably tasted like cardboard 😨 Thanks Rhetty, your the best! As always, another real fun video!

[@brianarbenz1329]

Today you can buy vegetarian egg substitutes that say they can be toasted. I’ve never toasted them, but they taste great microwaved.

[@Jreb1865]

I don't remember them, but the very idea sounds absolutely horrid...

[@johnw2026]

Looked like something you could freeze solid then use as a hockey puck! 🏒 😂

[@RobinMarconeCassidyRN]

@@johnw2026 Or you can sit on them and slide down a very slippery hill😂 See, you don't have to eat them! LOL!

[@joeyjamison5772]

How do you know what cardboard tastes like?

[@marleyboy7732]

That advertisement for lazer discs & a picture of Ray Charles was too much LOL

[@ProudCanadian1959]

I'm old enough to remember some of them. Thanks for the memories and laughs.

[@chuckpoore]

When I was a kid in the 70s my mom had a pair of those ridiculous "hot pants", I remember her wearing them while cooking dinner and vacuuming. It was all I could do to not laugh. She gave up on them in a few days though. They were ludicrous!

[@leftylou6070]

Did she give up on them because she had a lot of cellulite?

[@RedRoseSeptember22]

Cellulite is not a flaw! It's a natural part of the human body and not something anyone needs to get rid of. @@leftylou6070

[@sharksport01]

We'd wait till mom got hers on then ring the front doorbell, watch through the windows as she freaked out. It took quite awhile to deflate those things.

[@richiehoyt8487]

​@@sharksport01You monsters! 😜

[@annainspain5176]

They're basically back, girls now wear short shorts that show the curve of the buttock where it meets the thigh. Funniest thing I ever saw was this past Sunday, a girl wearing super short shorts, a long sleeved hoodie and a big wooly scarf! It was a cold windy day.

[@salemslotandmore8278]

Thank You for the List and Video (and the memories) 😀

[@jeannehall6546]

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!

[@ArtamStudio]

I'd add Kodak's 110-format film cameras. While the cameras themselves were compact and looked cool, the 110 film was so tiny that even 4" x 6" prints looked fuzzy. As if that wasn't bad enough, then they came out with a similarly-small image disk-film format, but I think that was in the 1980s.

[@robertknight4672]

In defense of the 110 cameras, many of the later models with built-in flash had the flash just far away enough from the lens to minimize red eye which which plagued many 35 mm cameras of the 80s and 90s. I know some of those cameras with red eye reduction that fired preflash butt that's not really ideal if you want to take a candid shot.

[@chrisantoniou4366]

Some of the 110 film cameras were quite sophisticated SLRs but the film format let them down - just too small with less variety of film available. The Disc cameras suffered from the same problem, too small a format and even less choices of film stock than 110 - they were however quite sophisticated for their time in every other way.

[@edfallon5356]

I remember being a kid and a lot of the adults had the mood ring! Which would change colors based on the mood you were in!

[@willhorting5317]

I had a mood ring, as a teenager in the '70s. (It was a Christmas gift from my grandma.) Loved it. Only wore it at school though, because I was a farm kid, and was afraid of getting my finger caught on something while doing chores.

[@shannondore]

I still have mine. I loved my mood ring but it always stayed blue.😊

[@MW-rn1vg]

I just bought one 😄

[@pegs1659]

I loved mine. I noticed not long ago you can still buy them.

[@patrickdurham8393]

It's a temperature sensitive liquid crystal.

[@LISA.R.2112]

My mom had one of those vibrating belt weight loss machines. Cant remember the name. What a waste 😆 thanks as always !! 👍❣️

[@laupernut]

I See those available for sale in health shops opposite the military hospital in Ghana, West Africa, and used by health clinics around the country. Strange how some things are old tech in one country and new tech in another, the scam lives on.

[@billycox475]

I remember seeing those in public places. Nickel or dime for a few minutes. I got nauseated just looking at them.

[@dawnkindnesscountsmost5991]

My aunt had one of those machines in the 70s, too. She demonstrated it for us kids; her voice shook when she talked while using it, which made us kids giggle. I don't know how often she used it.

[@deirdre108]

Do you mean "what a waist"?😂

[@LISA.R.2112]

@@deirdre108 hee hee love it !!! 🤭👍

[@kirkmorrison6131]

I had a Quadraphonic sound system. It was great. It was a great idea but a bad execution on the sales side

[@pegs1659]

My brother did too. I don't know the brand or anything, but the music sound it put out was awesome.

[@daveh7720]

I started working in the repair shop of an appliance store in 1978 and there was a GE quad system in the shop for us to listen to. There weren't any quadraphonic radio stations in the area but we had the 8-track demo tape which had a pretty decent recording of The Girl From Ipanema.

[@kirkmorrison6131]

@@daveh7720 I had a few records and a bunch of quad reel to reel tapes big speakers it took up room but sounded great. I had a couple of stereo systems plus the Quad I found out the Quad in a certain mode would reproduce Quad sound from the list information in the tracks. It was great

[@snowrocket]

I bought a used quadaphonic stereo system from a friend's dad in 1984. Really nice sound quality as far as I was concerned. Some Beach Boys records were in quadraphonic and you could hear different tracks in each corner of my bedroom. I'm not an audiophile but that stereo was a good purchase!

[@kirkmorrison6131]

@@snowrocket I loved Quadraphonic systems, you could get great sound from the passive recovery mode. It wasn't as good as the active but it beat plain Stereo.

[@KroovyMonsoon]

Wow you brought back some big memories with the Twist & Turn ! My grandmother had that it hung around her house into the '80s. I used to love to play with it when I was little. I used to sit on it and spin back & forth like a makeshift Sit & Spin. Thanks for bringing back a fun memory !

[@kenstrauss5841]

I was 9 years old when my parents took me to the 1964 NY worlds fair. I remember talking to and seeing my dad in the other room on the tv phones.

[@XianHu]

That's so cool!

[@EphemeralTao]

Laserdiscs were much more popular in Japan than in the US and Europe, and remained so well into the 2000s.

[@travelingwithmikeandpam9074]

I remember those products! Love the memories, thanks Rhetty!

[@christaverduren690]

The Wonder Body Exerciser!!! Ropes and pulleys that you hooked to the door knob and then were supposed to be able to exercise on the floor or standing up and in other positions. I think my Gramma may have tried it once, then gave it to us kids to play with! I wonder how it could be used now a days???

[@orbyfan]

There were so many products like that, "As Advertised on TV," that looked great in the ads but were often difficult to assemble, were used once, and then abandoned. I recall "20/20" doing a segment on such items.

[@XianHu]

I remember those

[@awwrelic]

I still have a LaserDisc player and around 75 discs for it. The format lasted up to around 1998, which is a decent run, but the LaserDisc, much like the old reel-to-reel players for audiophiles, were principally for videophiles who wanted the best going. But when DVDs came out and showed it was the superior format, LaserDiscs were eventually put out to pasture. But believe it or not, there were, towards the end, dual LaserDisc/DVD players. I remember going to a church sale and one was selling for around $20. If I had the money to spare at that time, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat. You want a real fail? CED Videodiscs. Those, instead of using a laser to play the disc, it used a needle cartridge that actually touched the 12" disc, which required you to stick the hard cover in the system, then when the mechanism caught the edge of the disc, you pulled out the cover. And like LaserDiscs, it needed to be flipped over after around an hour. And the video quality was little better than a standard VHS or Beta tape. CED died out pretty quick.

[@johnw2026]

Your comment reminded me of something else that was short-lived: two sided CDs and DVDs. You could watch or listen to a whole side, then you had to turn it over. I think those flopped at least in part because with the disc 2 sided, they couldn't put a label on the disc, both sides had to be playable. But with a one sided disc, they could label them, and if more space was needed, they could stick it to the consumer by adding a second disc and charging more. Do you remember the 2 sided discs?

[@lkrball8125]

OMG!! Thanks for letting me know how the CED Videodiscs work. I remember my neighbor had one (RCA) and during a family party everyone was watching Planet of the Apes. Then there was an awkward silence since the host was outside and nobody knew how to flip the Videodisc to continue watching the movie!

[@lkrball8125]

And yes . . . I do remember the 2 sided DVD. I think the first movie I bought that had to be flipped was Goodfellas. Most of the other two sided discs was the option to watch it in widescreen or standard format.

[@redline1916]

4:25 "People tried eating it" I swear to god we're always going monke brain when we see something like this, if it looks like food its probably edible lmao Be right back while I order some aquarium pebbles to eat

[@johnlopez3996]

I just remember how bulky the BetaMax players were. It looks like the sauna pants kind of survived when they became parachute pants minus the weight loss gimmick. Thank you for your video presentation. Take care.

[@jons.6216]

My late roommate got a Pioneer Laserdisc Player in the early 90s and aside from them being bulky they really did have an exceptional picture quality. They would even take old Cinemascope movies and put them in letterbox format.

[@commodoresixfour7478]

Pioneers last video disk player also played dvds

[@4loops43]

The downfall was the price of movies and selection available. No you couldn’t record unlike VHS.

[@coachrobwille4176]

I still Have to laser disk players and about 100 movies

[@cedricliggins7528]

May your roommate RIP

[@themoviemaniac8416]

@@coachrobwille4176 I still repair LD players, have about 20 of them right now and about 5K movies and programs. It's a niche but still viable,

[@monikameza4107]

Most of the items are new to me because only few of them were available in Germany. Thanks Rhetty for sharing this interesting, great video 👍👻🎃🎃🎃👍

[@rmshanahan]

Thanks for the video, liked some of the items I forgot about. I have to add that Laserdisc was very successful (and even outlasted Beta). It was a niche product for videophiles and I myself had a huge collection of disks and watched them up to and past the release of DVD. I don't think it was a failure at all. It filled a gap for 20 some years until DVD.

[@johnw2026]

My cousin had a Laserdisc player in the 90's. I remember the first movie I watched on that thing was Hook. It was very good quality....but if you got the slightest scratch or piece of dust on the disc, it could foul up the whole thing.

[@van3158]

People looked great in the 70’s compared to today… Clearly society took a wrong turn and we’re worse for it.

[@Mark-yy2py]

Looked healthier and wholesome, even though a vast majority of adults smoked.

[@teptime]

You're joking, right? I lived through the 70s, and people were never more awful looking. The clothes/hair were hideous, makeup was little to none, men wore bushy facehair, and few went to the gym. People today look better than ever, because they put some effort into it. Everything about the 70s was ugly...people, cars, clothes, architecture, commercial design, fine art...it was a bottomless abyss of bad taste, especially pre-1977.

[@teptime]

@@raychristy5027No, not really. Why?

[@bobblowhard8823]

I agree. We weren't plastered with tattoos and piercings everywhere, and we weren't surgically attached to cell phones and other devices. And it seems there were a lot fewer obese people back then.

[@bobblowhard8823]

@@teptime I disagree. I too, lived through the 70's. Young people weren't plastered with tattoos and piercings everywhere. And we weren't surgically attached to cell phones and other devices like everyone today is. I thought the hair styles and the clothes were pretty cool. To each his own.

[@swk38]

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

[@DeidreL9]

Oil rain lamps were beautiful…and they are worth a mint now.

[@outlawflyer7868]

I love how they made baby food for adults and how it didn't take off. Yet it showed up in a different form. It's called a "vegetable smoothie" 🤮.

[@gregorycampbell694]

Today adults drink products meant for babies like Pedialyte

[@markhewitt4307]

I was born in 74' but I can remember how hot it was playing outside in black corduroy pants..😂. Our drinking fountain was the hose.

[@markhewitt4307]

@@raychristy5027 😂

[@DeidreL9]

Seriously, the seventies were fun. Lots of innovation and the best music and clothes!

[@RhettyforHistory]

It really was a great decade to experience. Thank you for watching Deidre!

[@DeidreL9]

You’re welcome! I’ve subbed. Lots to watch now!

[@epowell4211]

I remember a Wheat Germ, Milk, and Honey shampoo that smelled delicious. I begged parents for a video phone: one set of grandparents, I only saw in person maybe 5 times in my whole life, and I thought we needed to see them lol

[@vikker8274]

Shampoos with balsam (from trees?)… wella, Alberto, flex, etc. they all smelled great. If you went to an actual beauty shop they used a shampoo called “apple pectin” . Smelled even better!

[@johnw2026]

I had an aunt that had a bottle of shampoo with real gold flakes in it, very expensive stuff. Does anybody remember that?

[@AbbyNormL]

The main failure I remember from the 1970s was Disco.

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot8041]

Love the content!

[@seikibrian8641]

Super-8 movies in the '70s did not have sound. Sound wasn't common in "home movies" until video cameras replaced film cameras.

[@RhettyforHistory]

Super 8 originally was released with no sound only but later on they did have an audio option available thar began in 1973. It's pretty interesting to see. I have a couple reels of it. Thanks for watching.

[@swansfan6944]

I got a laugh 😂 out of this one Rhett. Those wonder sauna pants were so funny 🤣 Thanks Rhett, enjoy the rest of your weekend. ❤️Jodie🇦🇺

[@paulstan9828]

Ha!!! Those sauna pants were pretty interesting. 👋😁🇦🇺🦘🚙

[@swansfan6944]

@@paulstan9828 👍

[@RhettyforHistory]

I can't imagine wearing those around, They look uncomfortable and ridiculous. Thank you for watching Jodie and I hope you have a great weekend too!

[@brian70Cuda]

I still have a Sansui, love it and came from a garage sale or the dump (can't remember) very nice piece of odd stereo parts you get over the years. Thank you Mr. Rhetty for another trip back in time:)

[@RhettyforHistory]

You're welcome Brian. Thank you for watching and sharing what you still have!

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

I have a Sansui TV. It's a flat screen and I've had it a LONG time, and it's still going strong.

[@unicornmadness6286]

Love this channel ❤ Hey, I love baby food to this day, my favourite is the spilt pea and banana.

[@JF-ym8gm]

I still eat baby cereal. Yum!

[@laurenmp7486]

Wonderful video! Nice to see a things I'd never even heard of before, like the yogurt shampoo.

[@peterlutz7191]

Beta Max also had the same tape breakage problems that 8 track audio tapes did, which was tape rubbing on tape and wearing it out.

[@maggie2936-q1m]

The sauna pants gave me a good chuckle. 😂

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching Maggie!

[@TheLionAndTheLamb777]

Sansui was some good stuff. When I got married my wife decided we didn't need my Sansui 771 anymore. I left it go as it was only a mid range receiver but it was a really good sounding unit. I am not a audiophile but I do appreciate good sound. I just have a set of Kenwood LS-V720 (Non B). They're not special, but they are a bit rare being Japan only models. Somehow I ended up with them through the grapevine of a military friend.

[@jelkel25]

I can remember the Betamaxes being quite common up until the 80s but usually only with rich people and places like public libraries. A real shame they made the mistake with licensing as it was a better system than VHS. Seem to remember a craze for shampoo with beer in it in the 70s too but I think that one took off.

[@kimnach]

I still have Betamax machines (specifically ED Beta). You mentioned that media outlets continued to use them; however, you confuse Betacam with Betamax. The only thing the two had in common was the tape & shell size. The recordings were completely incompatible.

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching and sharing a little more about them with us.

[@BruceKnight-so6bm]

1970s had some great fashion wear 👌🏼 we need to bring it back

[@bobblowhard8823]

There was also 8-Track tapes, and "Clackers". Remember those?

[@RhettyforHistory]

Absolutely! Thank you for watching bobblowhard8823!

[@bobblowhard8823]

@@ZombiedustXXX Yes! I remember a story in "The National Enquirer" that told of one pair of clackers exploding and killing several people in a fifty foot radius! Total mayhem and pandemonium!

[@Ginalopez7877]

Lol 2 of my uncles owned pintos one was baby blue the other yellow wich we called it big bird 😂😅

[@Bobster986]

I can’t believe you forgot The Who that had an album call Quadrophenia. 😂

[@RhettyforHistory]

There were a bunch of artists that recorded on that technology. It really was a big deal. Thank you for watching Bobster986!

[@ptorq]

Anybody remember the Libbyland frozen dinners? It was like a TV dinner for kids, but there were several kinds, each with a "theme" (like "safari" or "pirates"), and they came with a packet of milk flavoring ... like Nesquik, but in weird flavors like grape or root beer.

[@LeeBrasher]

The haziest foggiest fringes of my memory seem to resonate with this.....

[@mytube-vm3ft]

Yes, remember Space Food Sticks? I believe they were created by Pillsbury, but not for sure. They were highly nutritional snack that went on the market for about a year then fizzled. I know because I always a believer and bought them. Maybe to pricey was one of the factors involved.

[@snowrocket]

Maybe they would have been better off to make and sell Soylent Green, a "protein rich food". LOL

[@davidmccann9811]

We had a laser disc player and the picture quality was far superior to VHS. However we only had the 4 discs that the player came with (including Star Wars and Raise the Titanic) because as explained, they were ridiculously expensive to buy.

[@AmalgmousProxy]

Fun fact: PBS used a commercial version of Beta for recording shows like Mr Rodger's neighborhood.

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching and letting us know AmalgmousProxy!

[@patrickcoughlin-qj9uk]

That would be the U matic betas big brother 1" tape .

[@donwyoming1936]

Laserdisc was rather successful. I was still buying movies as late as 2000, when I finally could afford a decent DVD player. I still have my Laserdisc collection and both Sony players. While most people were happy watching VHS on a mono player, we had gorgeous digital video and surround sound. It did blow people's mind watching movies in wide-screen. Those black bars were quite a conversation piece until the 2000s.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

AT&T invented The Zoom Call before it was even a thing decades down the road

[@J-Rad_moderndaypirate]

i was born in 1978, thanks for tthe retro vid...lov it

[@RhettyforHistory]

You're welcome and thank you for watching J-Rad_moderndaypirate!

[@BrettsHistoryClub]

The Pinto? The car that'd BLOW UP if it was barely touched in the bumper?

[@hollypierce3076]

😂😂 you my mom had a pinto, I believe it was the only car she ever bought cash out. Needless to say it didn't last long.😂😂

[@peterlutz7191]

A friend of mine had a pinto for over 10 years, never had an issue with it.

[@lmb1962]

I remember back then a horrible accident on 95 down here in South Florida. Woman and young child died after being hit in the back and the gas tank blowing up. The attorney who successfully sued Ford still has the Pinto in his law office parking lot. He had it brought to the courthouse during the trial. He kept the vehicle because it was the first big case he ever won.

[@glennso47]

And the Chevy Vega was another failure because of the engine that was an aluminum block and a cast iron cylinder head.

[@billycox475]

Unsafe at any speed

[@0therun1t21]

I remember the time I stepped into the quadraphonic sweet spot in a store my dad took me to in the late 70s and it blew my mind! It was definitely a whole new dimension but you have to set it up perfectly and be right in the sweet spot of 4 speakers, a foot in any direction and you lost it. I haven't heard anything like it since, is surround sound capable of that effect? I don't know the difference unless it's in EQ settings and recording techniques.

[@stanleycostello9610]

I was in a small college in the mid-'70s. There was a female student who was studying ancient Greek literature. She ate baby food. That's it, except for a glazed donut with she cut into eight pieces for dessert.

[@mikeb359]

LOL... Did she put the donut cut into pieces on a plate and have the nerve to say "Desert is served"?

[@tomryan914]

She went 'Greek Style' ?

[@richiehoyt8487]

I'm guessing that regardless of how they advertised it, the real market they were after was (if I can be real, here) elderly people who, for dental reasons, or whatever, couldn't manage 'regular' food... and maybe the odd person who took nostalgia for their childhood way too far. But basically, old people. They probably figured anything after that was a plus. But blenders were a thing in the 70's, and certainly nobody with a degree of self respect who didn't absolutely have to was going to be seen eating baby food!

[@Mike-gc9ih]

I had a 1970 mustang Mach 1 with a 4 speed when I was 16 in the 70s

[@mikeb359]

I remember those grass roller blades. The blades looked similar to tank treads. Those things looked like an accident waiting to happen.

[@XianHu]

Oh yea; I also remember a few ski resorts had longer versions to try to get people grass skiing during the warmer months.

[@svenlabots1869]

@@XianHu excactly! It was on those ski resorts that i tried that double steering bike! 😉

[@snowrocket]

I remember seeing a piece on Evening Magazine (TV show) about "grass skis". I thought it was a great idea but never ever saw them anywhere.

[@bobblowhard8823]

The third photo shown at 0:08 looks like the 70's R&B group "The Three Degrees", who's hit was "When Will I See You Again".

[@shannondore]

I thought you'd mention the "On tap" beer shampoo while you were talking about the yogurt shampoo. I remember my mom using it. I didn't know about the Singles adult baby food. That's wild!! I remember a baby food diet trend in the late 90's/early 2000's where women were eating actual baby food to loose weight. Equally as weird.

[@katjay3125]

Lose*

[@maggiegarber246]

Baby food in their original jars would be great for portion control.

[@annainspain5176]

Yes, my SIL was on the FormuThree diet for a while. She was always buying baby food! Constant yoyo dieting was her thing.

[@davidcollver6155]

That's why the 70s were so fun didn't have any outside interference on any level of anything we wanted to do to enjoy ourselves. Including talking on landlines that was fun to do if you were into anybody you knew it was only between the two people not everybody around the world. Yeah that was the one thing that was precious to all people around the world with privacy that wasn't a failure that was just something that was taken away from us.

[@alanbailey5621]

BRING BACK CD's ! Why mess with the best ?

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching Alan!

[@vincentlussier8264]

I was in my teens in the 70's and what a great time to be a youth! So many new trends and new evolutionary consumer items flooded the market chains. Everyone was getting thier first color tv sets. Earh shoes ,lava lamps, fiber-optic lamps, blacklight posters, fondu sets, mackrome', wall to wall shag carpeting, bright colored kitchen appliances, tv dinners and so many other things made the seventies so cool and we all miss that decade !

[@dennislogan6781]

You know what failed in the 70's? Fashion!

[@AdrianaLaCerva126]

Every decade had it’s fails. 80s,90s let’s not even get into anything further 😊

[@mikeb359]

Oh yes! Bell bottoms - Paisley shirts with gold medallion necklaces worn by creeps who come up to girls in bars asking "Hey baby, what's your sign" and who could forget turtle neck sweaters...

[@XianHu]

@@mikeb359 You forgot to mention collars that could put an eye out

[@mikeb359]

@@XianHu True! Or those Jeffrey Dahmer glasses that had the darker lenses that made guys look like a creepy pedophile.

[@dennislogan6781]

@@XianHu You could hang glide with those collars on a windy day.

[@marcse7en]

07:48 I really dig the kinky blue PVC inflatable shorts! ... I'm gonna get me a pair of those, an' look cool, like a 70s dude! 👍🤣

[@maxpayne2574]

I had a Quadraphonic car stereo it sounded so cool. I wired the speakers so the rear L R were reversed so you could really hear it jump between speakers.

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching and sharing what you had. That would have been a cool set up in the car.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

1970s: Tried eating yogurt shampoo 2020s: Actually eating liquid laundry soap

[@notofthisworld5267]

Lol

[@ThePolaroid669]

Laserdisc didn't fail, it was hugely popular well into the mid 1990s.

[@kevinogracia1615]

Thanks for making me feel old. Kiddin'. I had an 8-track recorder in my turntable from Sears. Fun times. Peace on earth.

[@anitaschuloff2557]

I had one in my car glove compartment. I taught high school and the auto shop kids installed it. Bring back shop!!

[@kevinogracia1615]

@@anitaschuloff2557 Yea... we're geezin'... But I could record records on to 8-tracks. ... fun days. Peace on earth and VOTE.

[@karenrussell2091]

I remember a metal disk that was actually 2 disks connected in the center somehow with ball bearings in a ring track around the outer edge that you stood on & twisted to lose weight or inches in the belly & waist. There was also something called the Slim-Gym. It was like a taught hammock that bent in the middle & you supposedly could do different exercises to lose weight & tone up. Anyone else remember these items?

[@nickimontie]

I remember the twisty thing, but not the hammock thing.

[@greyhoundmama2062]

Twister! We had one.

[@D4RKxHOR1ZoN]

I remember, the gremlin, pacer and pinto 😂 ugleyyyyyy!!! Especially when they came in electric booger green 😅

[@4Fox5ake]

0:08 Hey now, those are my girls, The Three Degrees. We're not not calling them failures right? Only a big dummy would do that.

[@chairman-jenkem-yogurt]

The Three Degrees, guest stars on Sanford and Son. Awesome!

[@RhettyforHistory]

Nope, they were not failures. Thanks for watching!

[@DeidreL9]

Those hot pants! There were flatter ones as well. Hilarious. Some of these products would have been cool if the price and capabilities were better. Such fun.

[@paulstan9828]

To this day I’m still upset I went with the betamax in the 70’s. At $600 a lot of money at the time. I knew it was going to beat out the VHS. I remember the telephones were taking on all different shapes in the 70’s. Hi Jodie!👋😁🇦🇺🦘

[@pamelas1002]

I had a round, donut shaped phone! 😊

[@swansfan6944]

Hi Paul 👋😁 🇺🇸 🦅

[@RhettyforHistory]

That really was a lot of money back then. They were good players and it's interesting how one made it while the other didn't. Thank you for watching and sharing your memories Paul!

[@jackpine1033]

What I don't miss from the 70s is DISCO!

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching jackpine1033!

[@oldmanwood5011]

In 1975 I bought a full quad system from a work buddy of mine who wanted to go back to stereo. He threw in a pair of quad headphones. The only quad LP I can remember having was Joe Walsh: The Smoker you Drink, The Player You Get.

[@RhettyforHistory]

Thank you for watching and sharing your memories of what you had oldmanwood5011!

[@lexxluthor2166]

Why the hell are things always called "fail", a lot are so-called re "invented" a few years later with better technology and considered "successful"? 🤨

[@a8f235]

7:47 Wonder Sauna Hot Pants 😂 Oh my, what the hell were they thinking lol

[@RhettyforHistory]

No telling. Just sounds like a sweaty mess with a lot of rashes. Thank you for watching!

[@InglouriousBradsterd]

Of course this decade had some "fails." Which decade didn't? I'll see my way out......

[@calebwilliams7659]

"The 1970's was a decade that had a lot of style". Me, "Yeah, if tacky & atrociously ugly is a style then the decade was very stylish".

[@notofthisworld5267]

Ppl will one day make fun of the styles and how things are today. Lol I can't imagine what they'll say about the man bun...lol. I have one myself, but things trend out....

[@calebwilliams7659]

@@notofthisworld5267 Yeah, but you look back at the 80's, and while a lot of it was over-the-top, it wasn't gaudy or ugly like the 70's. You could wear a lot of 90's stuff today and still look good even 30 years later w/o looking dated (watch "Friends" and realize those same clothes today seem perfectly normal for 2023). A lot of it had to do with hairstyles. Options for haircare products improved a lot in the 90's which is why the styles 30 years later would still work today.