DO YOU REMEMBER these top sellers…1950s - Life in America

[@Barbarra63297]

I had a Matchbox collection, loved it. Then, when I was a bit older, in my early teens, I had a friend who really admired them, his family wasn't poor but they couldn't afford to buy even the small luxuries. He was a few years younger than me so I thought I should pass them on to him and maybe someday he could pass them onto someone too. I will never forget his face when I said 'Well, I'm getting a bit too old for these, would you like them?' He actually teared up, he almost reverently took the wooden case filled with all kinds of Matchbox items and he just looked shocked but happy too. I often wonder where that collection ended up, I hope someone is still enjoying them, the vintage ones were, in my opinion, the best. Great video RR, as usual! :)

[@jakevendrotti1496]

What a priceless memory and life-changing act of kindness. Glad you shared this story, thank you

[@joefaller4525]

What a selfless act. I am sure you feel glad to know that the cars are likely still giving pleasure.

[@jamesmiller4184]

Nice recounting of thoughtful kindness, Barb. It is likely, I think, that your former treasures were treasured equally, by their grateful receiver.

[@toinimoore3463]

You were Very kind and you were rewarded and I am sure that boy kept them!

[@stephaniemontor1567]

That was so nice of you. That meant a lot to him.Kindness is the best character to have and you had a lot!

[@incog99skd11]

So many things were the result of the WWII experience in the 1950's. It was pervasive. When I was a kid everyone's Dad fought somewhere in WWII. My Dad fought at Guadalcanal and my best friend's Dad fought at Iwo Jima. That war influenced the entire decade from Zippo lighters to "From Here to Eternity". It was a very special time. I don't think Americans today can even imagine the sacrifice we made in WWII. They have no clue. They think war is a video game to be watched on TV.

[@christianoliver3572]

And now we're about to give it all away! Everything my grandparents my parents and myself... Adios to personal freedom!! Adios to folks who love each other if they happen to be gay. Adios to them, her, him, This current world is

[@christianoliver3572]

Nobody had any fun any more

[@CharlieJapan]

Sadly Americans have fought many wars since then... Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. There has never been a generation of Americans that did not know war.

[@christianoliver3572]

@@CharlieJapan That's not a fair comparison - Who calles you Charles??

[@matrox]

Exactly ...my father was in ww2. All my friends fathers were ww2 or Korea. Lots of toys in the 50s and 60s were WW2 related. GI Joes, My brother and I got "Battle Ground" Army man set for Xmas in the early 60s. Also we got Mattel Tommy Burst Machine gun.

[@josephgaviota]

That distinctive "Click", "Claump" sound of the Zippo lighter ... NOTHING else sounds like it.

[@scottmcwave9479]

Yeah and your pocket would smell like lighter fluid!

[@summerrose4286]

We used to light my grandad's cigarettes. (until he quit smoking)

[@summerrose4286]

@@scottmcwave9479 i loved that smell!

[@saminaneen]

@@summerrose4286 My doctor, recommended I smoke a pack a day, in 1976, I did exactly that, and I am in the best shape, of my life, thanks to Camel's cigs, I recommend ALL young people, start smoking, as soon as possible, you will thank your doctor, remember, your doctor knows BEST

[@garytaylor4345]

Sorry to tell you but James Dean is wearing a pair of Jack Purcells that’s what we were in Southern California in the mid 60s I love Jack Purcells

[@vitosanto3874]

In 1956 I went to see the Family Doctor because I had Severe Chest cold and cough ,while seated in the Doctors office as he was writing out a prescription ,he noticed my Lucky Strike cigarettes in my shirt pocket, he smoked Camels , we each smoked each other’s cigarette he commented on how mild my Lucky was and I didn’t like the camel it was to harsh. I haven’t smoked in 45 years ,Hard to imagine this took place in the Doctors office.

[@julienielsen3746]

So glad to hear you quit that long ago and stuck with it. My dad smoked Lucky Strike cigarettes until his first heart attack in the 1970s. He lasted 10 more years.

[@judyfenske1429]

My dad liked Camel. Glad you quit. Dad died at age 45, from hypertension, high blood pressure.

[@stephaniemontor1567]

Yes no regulations.

[@Cassxowary]

Is it? Many still recommend products from fellow animals so it’s hardly difficult to imagine… recommending things that are obviously bad for all…

[@justinhackstadt6677]

Jesus, you must be like 90 today. One can only hope to get as old. You truly lived sir! ❤

[@ewmhop]

AS A 50S. KID, WE GOT OUR MATCH BOX TOYS FROM MRS. CARROLL HOBBY SHOP IN SLIDELL LA. GOOD TIMES TO BE A KID.

[@ammo8713]

THE 50'S WERE A GREAT TIME TO GROW UP...... HAD A GOOD TIME WITH MANY FOND MEMORIES... THANKS FOR TAKING ME BACK @👍🏿🤓❤

[@edwardparkhurst9804]

I remember many of these that you have shown. Thanks for sharing this with us. Well done video sir.

[@Roy-ji7bg]

I remember the TV Guide having stories inside when I was a kid and I would read them a lot like Reader's Digest but just not as long or as many

[@marilyntaylor9577]

Lots of good memories, and don’t forget TV trays!

[@jamesmiller4184]

Yep! A whole THING that grew-up around TV!

[@Sungodv]

back in the day, Swanson actually had turkey meat like you would get at Thanksgiving....for a while now, turkey has been more like a lunch meat

[@vitosanto3874]

Spot on, Basically now it’s sliced lunch meat.

[@karenstrycharz1499]

How right you are & not only Swanson’s but even restaurants are serving “sliced Turkey deli meat” instead of the “real home cooked “ Turkey meat! You received “real Turkey meat” in the Swanson’s dinner, in this very special era( no “mystery meats” 🤣in their dinners or any others frozen dinners/products that is unfortunately common today, everywhere.

[@GS-zc4sk]

Yeah. I keep dreaming I'm gonna find a slice of whole turkey. Somewhere someday. So far only at a nicer buffet with a carving table.

[@lagodifuoco313]

Well, that is the same family that created Tucker "tuck it" Carlson.

[@GS-zc4sk]

@@lagodifuoco313 That doesn't make him a turkey

[@alandickerson3379]

I remember most of these! Thank you!

[@ammo8713]

WHAT A GOOD LAUGH.... NEVER COULD GET THAT HOOLA HOOP TO GO...... GUESS THAT WAS BECAUSE II WAS ABOUT CO- ORDINATED AS A TURKEY ON A SURFBOARD ! 👍😁

[@jons.6216]

Loved those Matchbox cars! My brothers had several of them and the boxes they came in were long gone by the time I was playing with them! I remember several British work vehicles like a fire truck and a couple of the cars that stood out in my memory most were the turquoise 1964 Lincoln Continental and the 1964 Studebaker Station Wagon with the sliding roof in the back! I've looked up some and all I've found has been in a lovely blue color but I swear the one we had was yellow!

[@gregggoss2210]

I had quite the collection of Matchbox cars and trucks. I had both the regular and king size versions. I still have a few floating around my house somewhere along with some Hot Wheels and Corgi's. Man I miss those days 😪.

[@harrybriscoe7948]

Matchbox made a Vauxhall wagon in yellow during the 1960s

[@LifeIsThePrayer]

My favourite and the last Matchbox I ever got was a sports car. A most glorious shade of purple/pink. I swear it looked a lot better than it sounds. 😁

[@richardcoughlin8931]

I remember that we had these little folding metal tables for eating TV dinners. Each person in the family had their own tray table that they would set up in front of their TV viewing chair as the large console television played on and on. Every night the tables were folded up and stacked against the wall like folding chairs used in school and church halls are today. TV dinners and the little folding tables were not American society’s finest hour.

[@tomstiyer657]

We got our "TV Trays" with Top Value stamps.

[@leesashriber5097]

Awesome as always 🙂 Thank you!!

[@pianomaly9859]

Remember Mom picking up a new TV Guide every week at the grocery store. Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 in southern Ca. Also a couple of UHF channels.

[@josephgaviota]

As a fellow So. Cal. boy, I'm totally with you on that memory 👏

[@scottmcwave9479]

Channel 13 had great shows like Felix the Cat and Soupy Sales!

[@incog99skd11]

@@scottmcwave9479 Didn't channel 11 have the "Million Dollar Movie" at 11 PM??

[@pianomaly9859]

@@scottmcwave9479 Watched both after school.

[@JohnShinn6078]

2,11 and 13, that's all and our set didn't have uhf.

[@thereseember2800]

I remember Bristol-Myers “Mum” cream deodorant; White Shoulders perfume; Schick razors; Old Spice Aftershave; Brut cologne; Stetson cologne; Mercurochrome; Geritol; Brew 102 beer; Schlitz beer; Paint-By-Number Art; and Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap w/ a washboard. A lot of kids made rope-can walkie-talkies. My Aunt mailed us typed letters from her Royal typewriter that had 1/2 black & 1/2 red typewriter ribbon.

[@RJ-hx5nb]

Campho-phenique, and Carter's little liver pills.

[@glennso47]

I remember when Schlitz had a oriental spokeswoman who sounded like she was saying “Schits” 💩

[@summerrose4286]

Mercurochrome had it's cousin Merthiolate....not sure if i spelled that correctly. We didn't have either, but i remember neighborhood friends with the red medicine on cuts.

[@thereseember2800]

@@RJ-hx5nb: Yes!

[@thereseember2800]

@@glennso47 😂

[@OHIOSIGMA2024]

Hey, I’d like to say that you’re videos are great, it legitimately feels like going back in time. I saw you’re Burma Shave road sign video & bought a Burma Shave brush because of it.

[@suem6004]

Grandpa loved his Camels. All my grandparents smoked. My parents smoked. My generation were the first non smokers. It is hard to describe to others how pervasive smoking and smoke smell on people's breaths, clothing. After two weeks home at Christmas, my college suitcase opened to cigarette smelling clothing. Glad that time is no more.

[@summerrose4286]

One set of my grandparents smoked. He smoked Lucky's. Don't remember what Grandma smoked.

[@theoriginalbridgetconnors]

My dad smoked the unfiltered Camels for decades, my mom smoked Kent menthols. I'm the only one of us four kids who never smoked.

[@bobcourtier4674]

Hospitals had a cigarette cart that went to each room. My Dr. had a cigarette burning on the counter as he examined me.

[@michaelwascom62]

Today (7/6/22) I was at a supermarket, then later a nearby drug store. I recall during my growing-up years (1950's thru very early 1970's) when entire aisles would be dedicated to tobacco products and appurtenances. There would be 500 or more cartons of various brands of cigarettes, in addition to cigars, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco! I'm glad many folks have wised-up and quit tobacco. My patients' ashtrays would fill up till the cigarette butts were spilling over to the counter tops!

[@karenryder6317]

My father's twin sister and her husband both died of lung cancer from heavy smoking. My parents died relatively young of heart disease but if they'd survived I wouldn't have been surprised if cancer didn't get them too. Women had negligible lung cancer deaths up to WWI but the flappers not only initiated social equality, they also caused lung cancer deaths to grow to equal rates for men and women.

[@bridgetmccracken1381]

So many memories of my Dad with the Zippo lighter :)

[@sherryhannah9262]

Bridget McCracken wow you got a lot of pictures of your dad huh??????!!!

[@sherryhannah9262]

Bridget McCracken oooops wrong item that good but smoking is a bad habit I not being rude

[@matrox]

I got my first pair of Chucks around 1966 in 4th grade after graduating from wearing US Keds and PF Flyers.

[@buickinvicta288]

We called our Keds "skippy's" I don't know why, just a nick name.

[@harveyabel1354]

@@buickinvicta288 Maybe something to do with the comic strip character of the same name?

[@kirkmorrison6131]

A friend of mine at work had a Zippo all bent out of shape. He carried it as a "Good Luck piece" it had stopped a German 8x57 R round in his breast pocket during the " Battle of the Bulge" Zippo sent him a new one when he sent a Photo to them a few days later. He carried both until the day he died. The German bullet was trapped in the folded metal.

[@douglas_drew]

Kirk, if you are ever in Bradford PA you can visit the Zippo factory and museum and get a new Zippo directly in the gift shop. Though few are sold to smokers these days, a Zippo is a valuable pocket campfire starter when staying and hiking in the nearby Allegany State Park (NY) and Alleghany National Forest (PA).

[@kirkmorrison6131]

@@douglas_drew Thanks for the tip, I carry Zippo for that reason. I keep it topped off in Winter just in case.

[@sandraolson1022]

Wow! What a great story, thanks for sharing it.

[@kirkmorrison6131]

@@sandraolson1022 You're most welcome. I love the story two the bullet had to be almost spent but it still could have killed him. The lighter saved his life.

[@jamesmiller4184]

A terrific recounting! The lucky Zippo!

[@joemackey1950]

My father brought a Polaroid camera in the late '40s. He was offered stock in the company for $1 a share. He turned it down, saying it was just a fad. Of course he said the thing about radio and television, among other things. A businessman he wasn't. :)

[@PaulTesta]

Thanks for the Al Hirschfeld tribute in the TV Guide segment: Lucille Ball, Sid Caesar, and the regulars from "What's My Line?"

[@footballlvnlady]

My dad smoked Winston cigarettes and had a silver Zippo lighter. He had that lighter until he quit smoking in 1988. We didn’t get TV dinners in our house until the 70’s. When my Mom went to work FT. My grandkids have the little instant cameras. They didn’t last long as they took pictures of everything. Went through film like crazy. I had a transistor radio in the 70’s. It wasn’t a Sony. Didn’t get many clear stations until late at night. 😁

[@getoffmydarnlawn]

My dad was a Winston + Zippos guy, too. We only got TV dinners as a treat when mom and dad had a date night, having turkey and dressing in a month that wasn't November or December seemed almost subversive.

[@glennso47]

I guess it is hard to believe that you don’t need film to take pictures anymore. With the digital photos nowadays.

[@glennso47]

My parents had a transistor radio in the late 50s . It was a GE as I remember.

[@karenryder6317]

@@glennso47 Yes, my dad worked for GE in Schenectady, heard of the new technology and bought me one in 1956 I believe. The metal speaker grill was plaid. I loved it.

[@toinimoore3463]

We had one ashtray from Goodyear tires That one I was crazy about it was neat looking a rubber tire with glass ashtray inside it was nifty as us 50s folks would say!!

[@1mespud]

I happen to possess my dad's old Polaroid Land camera, case and all. A lot of old memories captured in black and white.

[@matrox]

I still have my old Poloroid Colorpack II Land Camera I got for Xmas in 1970.

[@1mespud]

@@matrox Wow! What a great Xmas gift!

[@matrox]

@@1mespud Its because my uncle bought a Poloroid swinger when they first came out in the mid 60s. He lived with us and was taking a lot of pictures. The novelty was the 15sec developent time. I wanted one and a few years later got the upgrade that took B/w and color photos. 15 sec for B/W and 60 sec for color. The camera was like $29. But the color film was like $7 or 8 a canister of 8 sheets of film. That was expensive film back then.

[@1mespud]

@@matrox You know it!

[@tootsiebabe3555]

I do too!! Can you even get polaroid film anymore?

[@jamesslick4790]

I have been carrying a Zippo BEFORE I even started to smoke! (For fireworks!!!) My oldest IS from the 50's and my newest one is from 2021! (Minor collector, But actually more of a daily user). Goes off to light a Pall-Mall with a solid Brass cased Zippo....

[@lanacampbell-moore6686]

Thanks RR😊

[@terrygraham1226]

Yes indeed, the 50s were certainly a cigarette smoking decade! My parents had ashtrays throughout the house. They would also smoke in the car with the windows closed depending on the weather. Restaurants also had ashtrays available for dinners. My brother, 6 years older, asked me to swear with him to never smoke. Unfortunately, he became a heavy smoker during college. 😞

[@jagboy69]

Hell, I fly an airplane built in 1979 and it still has the ashtrays in the cockpit! We used to say, Gear up, light up!

[@cheryalhussain975]

I caught my brother smoking behind the refrigerator. All I saw was smoke and thought there was fire, so I threw a vase of water behind the refrigerator and he got soaked. He never took a puff again in his life.

[@cynthiamurphy3669]

I used to clean my grandmother's house for her nearly every Saturday morning almost throughout high school. She and grandpa were fairly heavy smokers. I never could get the windows or mirrors truly clean in that house because of the smoking. Grandma died at 63. What amazed me is that grandpa lived to 78 and also worked for years in a GM factory. He was always active, stayed slim, didn't ever have that smoker's cough, looked healthy and lived to 78.

[@glennso47]

I remember seeing people come into a parking lot and dump their car ashtrays on the ground next to the trash receptacles. These days people throw away their used Covid masks on the ground. 😱

[@douglas_drew]

@@glennso47 My Dad died in '54 @36yo and Gramps in '59 @59yo, both heavy smokers. As a kid then I saw the dumped ashes and butts and have had a deep hatred for litter ever since.

[@lightmarker3146]

My nieghbor had the English Matchbox cars . They were perfection . Not long ago I came across a letter my aunt who was a teen , wrote my sister . She said I'm listening to the Dr. Kildare song on my transistor radio, he is just dreamy ! Ah! The good old days .

[@vickiem.6096]

My brother had several matchbox cars and later collected hotwheel cars too. We always had a copy of TV Guide on the coffee table. One year my husband received a zippo lighter with the logo of the company he worked at on it. My grandfather used to always smoke camel cigarettes. My husband used to collect pez figures as a kid.

[@MrTPF1]

My Dad had one of those early Polaroid cameras. It was big and bulky, and you had to pull out the picture and put gooey fixer on the shots yourself once they developed. Later, the Polaroid cameras were more automated and the colors were better. It was like a miracle to watch those pics develop in front your eyes.

[@jamesmiller4184]

Remember Tom, the fixer coat was only for B&W ones; the later color snaps not requiring it. Any places on the B&W image that got skipped, have now deteriorated; the ones that weren't, are fine-still.

[@andrewbird57]

Also a product of the '50s - James Bond. Ian Fleming - a British naval intelligence officer in WWII and editor for the London Sunday Times after the war - created Bond in his first book, "Casino Royale," published in 1952. The book was a success and the publisher asked for more. Fleming published six more Bond novels in the '50s. The Bond movie series began early in the next decade, with "Dr. No," released in 1962.

[@glennso47]

In 1954 CBS had a teleplay of “Casino Royale.” It seems to have been filmed before a studio audience. At the very beginning you could hear a gunshot and someone in the background screamed, possibly someone in the studio audience. The video is somewhere else on KZbin and can be seen.

[@kathypellette2509]

I wasnt aware of the matchbook cars and etc. Very cool! I do fondly recall the Swanson TV dinners. Not often, but now and then mom would buy them. Thereafter, i have been a loyal fan of TV dinners. One of my favorites was the Morton ham dinner. For years i enjoyed the Healthy Choice.

[@elizlikethequeen]

I remember ashtrays on planes. Crazy how people can't imagine that now.

[@hearttoheart4me]

I remember they allowed smoking inpatients rooms, doctors offices and even remember floor ashtrays at the end of the aisles in the local Safeway.

[@glennso47]

People can’t imagine ash trays in cars nowadays. Either.

[@sims717]

In high school (70's) we had designated smoking areas. and wasn't just tobacco being smoked in there.

[@JohnShinn6078]

@@sims717 🤤👍

[@julenepegher6999]

@@sims717 yea, we would smoke in the bathroom between classes. I don’t ever remember getting in trouble. 😄

[@johnhawks5035]

Thank you! (Really, thank you so much), for narration in a NATURAL human voice.

[@joshuabrande2417]

There was also PF Flyers and KEDS. Whit Buck shoes that was stated by Pat Boone

[@RJ-hx5nb]

Sadle oxfords

[@randydellinger2996]

And Blue Suede shoes O

[@loveisall5520]

I'm old enough to remember, and no, transistor radios were NOT everywhere in the fifties; they were too expensive. It wasn't until the Japanese transistors started coming in, in volume, in the early sixties before teenagers like me could afford them...

[@matrox]

True...by the 60s the price of a TR was about $7.00. Not $49.00

[@bobcourtier4674]

One of Stan freebergs 12 days of Xmas gifts, a Japanese transistor radio.

[@Thomas-uw1gq]

Agree!!!

[@glennso47]

@@Thomas-uw1gq I remember that the first transistor radios had really tinny sound quality.

[@douglas_drew]

@@glennso47 I loved the sound back then as it was so like the speakers at the drive-in movie theaters!

[@kellymarsh3956]

Loved this! I wasn't born till 1968 but my parents and especially my grandparents spoke about the 40's and 50's a lot. My grandfather was in WWII and would tell me stories about those years. Growing up hearing that I understood perfectly why they were called the "GREATEST GENERATION".

[@edwesby5752]

The part about PEZ candy brings back memories and you should do a video on just all of the "penny" candy that was available in the 1940's and 1950's.

[@jamesmiller4184]

The dentists' DREAM! (All-the-while objecting, of course.)

[@reb1050]

The "penny" candy I remember the most were Kits (chocolate and banana being my favorites).

[@user-vm5ud4xw6n]

I remember the TV dinners so well . For some reason I got hooked on the turkey entees when I was pregnant. It was during the summer and I was heating up my gas stove to 400° to cook one of those things. Maybe that’s why now my son loves turkey and I can take it or leave it. When I was in Germany you bought a Zippo lighter and after turning it upside down, you whacked the lid on the edge of the table creating a dent in the top. Don’t know why. We just did. I never cared for Pez but the kiddo did. I remember transister radios but never had one. I guess I lived a deprived life!! Thank you for the great videos. Like our man Bob Hope said “thanks for the memories!!”

[@LawyerCalhoun1]

You forgot Hula Hoops and S and H Green Stamps. Even in the 1950s, we knew cigarettes were bad for your health. One brand, Raleigh, included coupons on every pack that could be redeemed for rewards. We used to say, 10 thousand Raleigh coupons would get you a hospital bed.

[@mistiinseattle]

I watched this for over one minute and it was still in a commercial.

[@overworlder]

Converse were still the standard sneaker when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s.

[@marilyntaylor9577]

And Keds for girls

[@richardlee1092]

Great memories as usual. And a chuckle now and then. At least the tray tables had the family eating together. We used to watch Big Time Wrestling, with Lord Layton, his announcer table was sure to get broken!😂

[@karynroeseler2652]

When my first child was born in 1980 you could smoke in your hospital room!

[@matrox]

😆

[@julenepegher6999]

I remember late 80’s flying to California. We were smoking on the airplane.

[@saminaneen]

@Karyn Roeseler,,,My doctor, recommended I smoke a pack a day, in 1976, I did exactly that, and I am in the best shape, of my life, thanks to Camel's cigs, I recommend ALL young people, start smoking, as soon as possible, you will thank your doctor, remember, your doctor knows BEST

[@stevedeleon8775]

I caught the last year of the 50's Born 1959 but I remember alot of these items & especially the cigarette commercials in the 60's growing up..

[@jamesmiller4184]

Well you got in-on enough of it to have sampled it's essence. I've fourteen years on you, Steve, and even more-so as you mentioned things then were. There was at that time a great deal that was left-over from the Twenties, people not very old too! Back then, adults were fixated on 'following the rules'; now it seems rather the opposite, lying, dissembling, bearing false-witness and now open criminality being abided and not checked. NONE of this awful progression (regression) from then to now, could have been possible without the 19th Amendment -- THE mutual suicide pact of we stupid way-too-soft human males. We just could NOT resist their bleatings pleadings. Garden stuff -- no question -- leading right into the Mouth of Hades, via the River Styx!

[@Tiberius291]

I was a latchkey elementary school kid in the 1960s so i was home alone for a few hours before my parents came home from work. I loved to play around with my father's Zippo lighter and didn't burn the house down thank goodness. 🚬 🔥

[@summerrose4286]

😂 My mom was a stay at home mom and then started working in the late 60's. My brother and I walked home from school and then he tortured me with Dark Shadows.

[@incog99skd11]

Well I set the house on fire. I was a difficult child, LOL.

[@summerrose4286]

@@incog99skd11 seemed like that was somewhat common back then!

[@MisterMikeTexas]

There were times when I could have set our house on fire. I played with my mother's lighter once. It was a trigger butane type. It burnt my fingers, so that cured me quickly. Also, Mom put a stop to it on the spot. I was probably around 5 at the time. When I was 3 or 4, I was sitting at the breakfast bar, part of the island between our kitchen and dining area. The cook top range was just inches away, and one of the electric burners facing me was active with a pot on it. Bright person I was, I stuck a paper towel on the burner, and it immediately ignited. I thought it was neat watching it burn. And I casually walked off. But my grandma (my mother's mom), who was living with us at the time and was cooking our breakfast, caught it and put it out immediately. No damage at all to the Formica.

[@matrox]

Our father had some lighters from the WW2 era, the non flip that you push down with your thumb. He gave them to my brother and I to play with. Buth they both had no fluid in them.

[@rtrout57]

I wish Swanson's would put out a limited edition of TV dinners with foil trays. Seeing the roast beef one has got the craving going.

[@luisreyes1963]

They would have to be warmed in a conventional oven, since you can't put them in a microwave oven. 🍴

[@jamesmiller4184]

Good idea! Back then tho, such things did not contain all sorts of stuff not good for one -- GMOs and the like. What the corporations have DONE to us in the pursuit of aggregated gain. Now, billionaires rule, and We the Peasants suffer! (Time for a REAL "re-set," sans law.)

[@subliminalphish]

This was before my time but I remember having a pink transistor radio back in 1964. It was my mother's but I begged and begged her to allow me to listen to it as p walked in our yard. She gave it to me. I was so into music that I felt it was the greatest gift I could have. Of course I broke it about a week in. One drop from 2 feet high and that was all she wrote. Dang plastic crap....same as today. But way more expensive.....

[@tj921able]

That was so interesting, it went by quickly. I will need to see more of your videos. Thank you for sharing this one.

[@tommunyon2874]

My friend and I scooped Hot Wheels by years. We made a channeled track using the cardboard from board game lids that started at the curtain rod, ran to the top post of the bunk bed and continued to the floor. We sent our Matchbox cars zooming down the track. If only they had taught patent law in grammar school.

[@harveyabel1354]

AND if only video cameras were available back then!

[@melissabibby7310]

Great Video! Thanks for sharing.👍

[@matrox]

You Welcome.☝😁

[@AllieJ123]

I have a picture of my grandmother taken with that Polaroid camera

[@dflf]

$49 for a transistor radio was a heck of a lot of money in 1958

[@hazcat640]

$475 in 2021 money!

[@JohnShinn6078]

When VCRs first came out they cost $1,000+.

[@JohnShinn6078]

@Paulie Pavarowtee And then at the time when dvd/vhs combos went obsolete they cost about $150.

[@chuckinhouston9952]

$505 in 2023 dollars.

[@christianoliver3572]

When I was a kid in the late 70s I had horrible debilitating earaches in both ears so bad that they gave me Tylenol with Codeine cherry flavored elixir somewhat regularly and it was decided I needed ear tubes. I don't remember anyone smoking in my pediatrician's office but in the waiting room of my Ear Nose and Throat Doctor smoking was most certainly allowed and they had several of those black canister ashtrays that had those buttons or levers on the side so you could push it when it was full of ash & butts and they'd fall into the canister.

[@summerrose4286]

If everyone around you smoked it probably contributed to your earaches! 😱

[@christianoliver3572]

@@summerrose4286 Probably do but I just think it was funny as hell you go to the best (at the time) ENT Doctor in San Antonio Kerry Stratton BTW and it's not just about smoking indoors but when you're a kid & your ears are all stopped up & your stomach isn't.... Happy Then was seemingly the only place to sit in the waiting room right next to those ashtrays? I smoked cigarettes for years & I still have a really good cigar from time to time but I'll tell ya one thing for damn sure: I'm glad smoking is banned in the places where folks who don't want to deal with tobacco smoke go. Makes sense? And it was up to you to press that button or lever to dump those cigarette buts to go down into the canister on the floor... Of your doctor's office...

[@summerrose4286]

@@christianoliver3572 i definitely remember them!

[@michaelwascom62]

It is bizarre how so many children's medicines, in the 1950's thru mid-to-late 1960's contained opium and cocaine derivatives (e.g., paregoric and codeine-based cough syrup). It seems almost unbelievable that doctors would prescribe and advise using these addictive products. Also include barbiturates and amphetamines.

[@Crymeariver227]

@@michaelwascom62 Makes you wonder what was taught in medical school. These products were the slick marketing that created our current “sick-care” system.

[@nicidevine6670]

I still buy them for Christmas gift for my grandchildren

[@vitosanto3874]

That was not unusual, my father used to send me down to the drugstore on the corner to buy a pack of cigarettes. This was about 1951 I think the cigarettes were 18 cents a pack. One night I dropped the pack just as I got into my building I was halfway down the hall when I realized I dropped the cigarettes, just as I turned around to pick them up an elderly woman saw them on the floor ,beat me to them and wouldn’t give them back, she threw them down the sewer. Boy did I catch hell over that one.

[@LifeIsThePrayer]

As a child we didn’t go to the city very often. But Mom knew she could keep us occupied and out of trouble by placing us in front of the Matchbox toy display. For us the motivation was that if we were good she would buy us each one. I still remember that display case, each car or truck displayed with its own number.

[@TheHeat55]

Every day I walked home from school at lunch time and mom had the folding table out in front of the TV ready for my Swanson TV dinner. Mom was not a great cook and really appreciated this. That's 60 years ago.

[@tizfrreecharm]

ENJOYED IT, A LOT!

[@jamesslick4790]

I was a TV Guide subscriber for years Late '70s- early '00s when built in guides on TVs became a common "thing". Once they sent me a TV Guide branded....Gym bag! I'm not sure THAT'S the thing for a dedicated "couch potato", A TV tray or a universal remote may have been more "on brand", LOL. P.S. I STILL eat more than my share of "TV Dinners", Just had one an hour ago, But it was a Banquet brand.

[@glennso47]

TV Guide is still sold at news stands but it is a different format. The pages are much larger than they were years ago.

[@luisreyes1963]

@@glennso47 Sadly, it's more of a celebrity rag, rather than it's former self as an actual TV listings magazine.

[@sherryhannah9262]

@@luisreyes1963 it’s not sad mi amigo I like reading about celebrities I hope you will reply to this

[@Mexicano1768]

soo relaxing, gracias! 🥱

[@andreperrault5393]

Matchbox cars, my mother’s AM transistor radio, Swanson TV dinners, my father’s camel cigarettes (walk a mile in his shoes), so many of these went into the 60’s

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

I grew up in the 60s and Matchbox Cars were still a big thing. I loved em and kept my collection going even after Hot Wheels took off later in the decade. I also had a James Bond special, a scaled down Aston Martin complete with ejector seat. Dad brought home matching pairs for me and my brother then took pictures of us with his Polaroid. Dad loved that camera. Most of the pictures were lost over time though. Like my Matchbox collection they just sort of faded away.

[@jamesmiller4184]

Hope you pass them down to your young-in's (assuming you have any) with full run-downs on their histories. Sorry to know of the loss of those snaps, I-P, images being really important to retention of memories.

[@harrybriscoe7948]

The Austin Martin was a Corgi or Husky Same company Changed names

[@photoman4692]

I so miss those Swanson TV dinners. Wish someone would bring them back.

[@garyb4929]

Yes, remember some of this, great trip.

[@timroot4207]

Thank you!

[@glennso47]

Kodak tried to sell a knockoff of the Polaroid camera. They soon had to remove it from sale because I think Polaroid sued Kodak.

[@luisreyes1963]

Polaroid did sue Kodak due to patent infringements for their instant cameras.

[@glennso47]

@@luisreyes1963 I remember that my parents had one of the Kodak instant cameras. They had to destroy it and send some part of it to Kodak for a refund.

[@61rampy65]

Anybody ever overfill their Zippo with Ronsonol lighter fluid, then feel the burning sensation when it leaked thru your pocket onto your leg? I loved Zippos, but a Bic lighter was so much easier.

[@hazcat640]

Better question might be ' Is there anybody who has NOT overfilled a Zippo and had their leg burned,' :)

[@61rampy65]

@@hazcat640 Good point!

[@robertbritton7556]

68 and thanks for the memories of A lifetime. God bless America and our Veterans 🇺🇸 Remember God cares ✝️

[@joannamcpeak7531]

He does indeed

[@franditri7185]

My parents both were heavy smokers. We also had ashtrays all over. My dad drove a station wagon, he would put the back down and we would sit on the back, yikes, no seatbelts. My parents drank, I do not know if they were drinking when we went out but now in 2022, it’s seat belts, car seats, booster seats, my kids were born in the 80’s. We always had them in car seats, then seat belts. Today we drive a Tesla, who would of thought of that car in the 70’s when I learned to drive.

[@sergebourbon829]

The Zippo lighter...have 4 of these! legendary and so unbreakable,a "must have"if you 🚬🚬

[@jayhobson7797]

I LOVE this site!!!!! 😊

[@toinimoore3463]

Those matchbox cars I never saw! Loved TV guide, and my trans.radio,still have TV dinners Swanson roast beef was beef !

[@henryhorner3182]

That great era. When you could go weeks, even months without hearing about murders, rapes, assaults. And DIVERSITY was not even a distant threat back then. Now we have all that wonderful, lovely diversity and violent crimes a daily news item.

[@julienielsen3746]

@Mark rapacki So what. It wasn't as publicized and pushed on everyone as much back then. Plus in smaller towns like I lived in, we didn't have any murders, or maybe very few if any. Now in that same town, every once in awhile there's a murder publicized on the news.

[@julienielsen3746]

@Mark rapacki Does what you said even make sense considering what I said? Sounds like you have you head stuck someplace else.

[@dhyde9207]

At 5:44, those aren't Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars that James Dean is wearing. Those are Jack Purcell tennis shoes.

[@lwv6966]

I proudly own more than a dozen Zippo lighters, including a 1961 slimline. I won't use anything else! :)

[@meganruchwatercolors7186]

Amazing lighters!!!!

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Cigarettes + lighters = coffin nails.

[@jamesabar207]

@@JudgeJulieLit being born = coffin nails

[@JudgeJulieLit]

​@@jamesabar207 That is a cynical polar inversion of the true value of all life. From its start, everyone should be let to build value, grow their talents and competences to make life ever better for all, without the need of addiction crutches to get through life.

[@jamesabar207]

@@JudgeJulieLit it is not cynical to simply state that those that are born are going to die. Now wether we want to go into what dies exactly is a different story. I agree with the rest that you said kind of. Not all that smoke are addicted and use it as a crutch. Sure, most do but not all. Just to clarify .

[@thomastrout9997]

The first Swanson TV dinners were turkey because a division had wound up with a lot of unsold birds the previous Thanksgiving. With no place to store the tonnage, the birds were loaded into refrigerated boxcars for preservation. At that time, the freezing only worked while the train was in motion so, the birds crossed the country and back several times before their ultimate destination, your freezer.

[@susanprice7202]

The vision of trains filled to the brim with turkeys crossing across US made me laugh out loud! Thanks for the chuckle!!🤣

[@franditri7185]

Woops I lost my page lol. I was saying I even made my wedding dress in 1977 and my veil. Veils were popular then, I was going to buy both, we paid for our own wedding. I was 21, hubby was 23 , I was a nurse and worked part time in a decorator studio ( discount) for first house , I’m no one’s fool, I worked fri sat sun graveyard shift, but with premium I ended up getting a really good check, almost like a full time. Back to wedding dress, I had been sewing since I was 8 so I had confidence in myself. I must admit, no one would have guessed I made it. Veil was so easy, In 77, I was looking at one that was 65.00 dollars. For 10.00 worth of tulle I made a floor length one, bought some silk flowers , and sparkling stones for about 6.00. Hot glued onto a clear headband. Piece of cake. Oh the cake trick, we had 150 people at our wedding, we had a 3 layer chocolate cake, with banana cream filling and whipped cream icing. Of course people were wondering where our cake was, it was Feb . But we had to keep it in walk in frige until we were ready to serve. It was not a big 3 layer as most of the wedding was DIY. The lady that made the cake made a matching sheet cake to serve from. Great hack! I had no clue. I think the whole wedding was 3000.00 . I don’t know what got me started, just looking at old things from 60s and 70s. PS we are still married…going on 47 years. Time flys when you are working, raising kids, and buying houses. Best thing we ever did was buy a house, then save money to move and keep house for rental. Who would have guessed in the 2021’s prices would skyrocket.😊

[@calbob750]

Converse Chuck Taylor “All Star” basketball shoes. For those of us who couldn’t afford the $3.75 for the shoes, shoe stores sold Converse “rejects” for less.

[@northover]

My dad worked for a school supply company. They also sold sporting goods and that included the Converse shoes. We got them at cost and grew up wearing them in the sixties. The sales rep was former LSU star basketball rep and later LSU AD, Joe Dean. My dad knew him well.

[@morganm9040]

Check out 1950s game shows on KZbin...many of those panel show celebrities and including the host smoked and lit up during the show. "I've got a secret " with Gary Moore is the best example.

[@tennissir1986]

Recollection Road does Dirty Business ! ! ! That coffee scam business is sleazy.

[@drusmith3480]

I have a few pairs of CONVERSE ALL☆STAR. They're my favorite shoes for my days off work.

[@RichardinNC1]

Matchbox cars, transistor radios, and Swanson TV dinners were still big for me in the 60s. My grandfather smoked filterless Camels and I bet every smoker I knew had a Zippo lighter!

[@AZHITW]

I remember going to the doctor and the doctor smoked the entire time, and every hospital lobby had ashtrays on a metal stand, ah the good ol' days.

[@QuintTheSharker]

Remember ashtrays on the tables at fast food joints? I still have one from Taco Bell!

[@josephgaviota]

@Johnny Rep Please, try not to be so delicate.

[@josephgaviota]

@@QuintTheSharker _Remember ashtrays on the tables at fast food joints? I still have one from Taco Bell!_ WOW, I can't believe you have one from Taco Bell. Too Cool! My first job as a teen was at an ashtray factory in Burbank, CA. I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as an ashtray factory any more ... [Mastercraft Glass]

[@jamesslick4790]

@@josephgaviota Ashtrays are STILL made, But like EVERYTHING else, They are mostly made in China.

[@jamesslick4790]

As a kid (late 60s) My pediatrician was a chain smoker. It didn't seem odd then, just about EVERYONE smoked. I remember smoking and having coffee with my father at Kmart cafeteria in the late 1970s while my mother chased the Blue light Specials, LOL I still smoke, but I know I'm in the minority today.

[@clintcountryman4849]

260 tons of extra turkey?!?! That's quite a miscalculation!!

[@BladeStar-uq6xe]

I was born near the end of 1957 so I don't remember anything about the 1950s except what I have seen on movies and TV. I still am trying to get DVDs of old TV shows. I finally got all the seasons of the George Reeves Superman and the complete I Love Lucy. Even though I grew up on I Love Lucy reruns I kept thinking maybe I hadn't seen some episodes, turned out the only episodes I missed where the Lucy and Desi episodes. Man, I never got a taste for Coffee. Except for my years in the Navy, I didn't drink it. It's probably been 40 years since I drank coffee. I remember Matchbook cars. That was one of my few toys. Hot Wheels didn't come out until 1967. So, being poor, about all I ever got was Army Men and Matchbook Cars. I was playing with Matchbook cars when Kennedy was shot. I would turn the footstool upside down and the bottom had a black ring that I could use as a racetrack. I still have that footstool! It's still in great shape! No rips or tears or even fraying. They made things to last in the 1960s!

[@rootssixtysix]

Even with cigarettes, I still think people in the 50s were healthier than today.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Not surprising, since Mama cooked and cleaned all the time and did laundry. And Dad mowed and kept up the yard. Many Dads also maintained the family car (and second car) as well.

[@monicaqueenan9985]

People ate smaller portions. There was less dining out, unless on a road trip or a date. Snacks were a treat at the movies, not an everyday thing in front of the TV. There was more walking and bike riding. Mom didn't chauffeur the kids everywhere. People were slimmer, but don't think they were healthier. Cigarettes and alcohol did a number on those who indulged.

[@buickinvicta288]

I used to go down to the corner store to run errands for a neighbor. 2 packs of Pall Mall's. She lived well into her 90's.

[@tomloft2000]

debatable- but healthcare was in the dark ages compared to today.

[@saminaneen]

@@tomloft2000 My doctor, recommended I smoke a pack a day, in 1976, I did exactly that, and I am in the best shape, of my life, thanks to Camel's cigs, I recommend ALL young people, start smoking, as soon as possible, you will thank your doctor, remember, your doctor knows BEST

[@johnandersen8998]

The TV guide would come in the mail along with Life magazine and others. We’d scan through the whole upcoming week and circle the shows to be watched. Now it’s just channel surf and pre-record.

[@reb1050]

My father was given a Polaroid camera for being the nation wide #1 Polaroid salesman of the year. I still have the camera (with flash attachment and 2 rolls of film) and a photography magazine that has an article about him. I don't remember the brand of my sneakers. I do remember having U.S. Keds high top black sneakers at one time or another.

[@clairepierson15]

i remeber a few of the comercials great video

[@terrygraham1226]

Oh, my parents would ask me (less than ten years old) to go to the nearby liquor store in our small Nevada town to buy a carton of cigarettes for them at $2.50 a carton. If my memory is correct, they smoked Lucky Strikes.

[@matrox]

I used to walk to the store down the street when I was 8 to buy a pack of Roi Tan Cigars for my father. No one bothered to ask questions back then, and no restrictions on who did what. Back when America was free.

[@elmerreed6048]

Wow, Rod Tan. Been ages since I’ve heard that. I too got sent on cigarette duty for my Dad back in the day. I think his camels were .25 cents per pack. No note needed.

[@saminaneen]

@@elmerreed6048 My doctor, recommended I smoke a pack a day, in 1976, I did exactly that, and I am in the best shape, of my life, thanks to Camel's cigs, I recommend ALL young people, start smoking, as soon as possible, you will thank your doctor, remember, your doctor knows BEST

[@saminaneen]

@@elmerreed6048 ,Your comments are irrelevant, no facts are in evidence, you are cautioned about "improper thinking", and all your comments will be stricken from the record, thanks for playing, you lose

[@harveyabel1354]

Do you remember "L.S.M.F.T." ??

[@justinhackstadt6677]

Bob Hope was already in his 50's in 1950. He lived to be exactly 100 in 2003. That still blows my mind. 🤔🤯

[@OofusTwillip]

I'd add the Parker 61 fountain pen, with its hooded nib and its capillary filling system. Just unscrew the barrel to expose the capillary cell, then put the capillary end into a bottle of ink. The ink creeps into the nooks & crannies of the cell, like a paper towel absorbing water. When it's full, remove the pen from the ink, and replace the barrel. No need to wipe off the cell, because its exterior is teflon-coated, so nothing clings to it. I have my dad's Parker 61, that served him well all through university, more than 60 years ago. It still glides over the paper incredibly smoothly, and you don't have to press hard, as you do with a ballpoint pen.

[@jamesmiller4184]

NEAT! Had one too.

[@diegoterneus2250]

My father smoked Chesterfields and he lit them with his Zippo lighter, engraved with his signature. Memories

[@jeffreyhickman3871]

I remember those heavy equipment toys 🧸, but mine came by the name “Big Job”. The stereo seemed to be a mandatory 👨 piece of equipment in our house 🏠. Always remember, those pocket radios 📻 were very expensive, at $49.99, even during the 1960’s, and 1970’s. The LED digital watch was a very popular 1970’s item. The Hewlett Packard LED watch was $800.00. There was also a second brand, which was still $700.00. I think 🤔 the Hewlett Packard watch also came with a pen 🖊. Speaking of $800.00, these watches are that, again, due to them being vintage, on the inflation calculator. Them TV 📺 dinners were REALLY GOOD 😊!! They were made of REAL ingredients, no artificial ones. I’ve had them in my days. Not thought 💭 of then, but the aluminum tray could be recycled ♻️. Your friend, Jeff.

[@jamesmiller4184]

GRRREAT list here, Jeffrey! Very few remember Tuna Pies -- just like beef and chicken, but with tuna instead. My portable radio worked with miniature tubes! It had two batteries in it, an "A" and a "B", one for filaments and the other for the rest. It also must have originally cost plenty but I never knew. THOUGHT: why not retain some of those aluminum trays for both the dinners and the pies, and make our own, recycling them, thus cutting-out the big cheating corpse(orations) from the cycle? Your friend, Jim.

[@jeffreyhickman3871]

@@jamesmiller4184 You’re right. We liked life back then. It was a lot simpler, with no technology of today. We had true privacy back then, too. I know I used a lot of emojis, but I find life fun 🤩 with them. Also, a lot of yesteryear’s foods 🍱 went out of production. I still can remember the very taste 👅, and very smell 👃 of butter 🧈 rum 🍹 flavored Life Savers, as well as all the fruit 🍉 flavored ones. That was 1978. Too bad things have changed so much. It’s pathetic. If I saved all those aluminum TV 📺 dinner 🥘 trays throughout the years of production, I probably could have sold a basement full of them for a pretty 😍 penny. Those trays are now plastic. They’re only recyclable in select places, it seems, since they’re made of seven or so types of plastic. Your friend, Jeff.

[@edenyan7237]

French fine lighters like the S.T.Dupont and Cartier were SOOOOO expansive back in 50s (well, still expansive today, but a lot less people smoke nowadays, it becomes more or less irrelevant) and plastic lighter haven't been in production yet, Zippo was THE go to lighter in 50s, it is relatively well made, has all the basic functions and it is save to use, and since the U.S. is rich in oil and pioneer in petrochemical industry, refilling is also very cheap. It was the right product meets the right market at the right moment.

[@kevinlong9254]

Still to this day, smoking cigarettes is one of the best things in life and I'm 74 years old.

[@josephgaviota]

I don''t smoke, and I don't like smoking. HOWEVER, I'm super happy you enjoy it! Life is to be enjoyed !! (you can tell my politics by the simple fact I want others to make their _own_ decisions.)

[@joeheid4757]

You're like a soccer game then. The 90 minutes are up and you're in extra time. The whistle will blow shortly.

[@kevinlong9254]

@@joeheid4757 not sure what that means. Was that a criticism ??

[@joeheid4757]

@@kevinlong9254 Not at all. At least it wasn't meant to be. Just saying that with the health risks regarding smoking and the average age for men moving on being 76 or so, you're not putting yourself in a good spot to live much longer. Not trying to do anything but be realistic. I have never known a smoker live to 80. May be just me. I hope you live til 100. Seriously. But like I said, you're on borrowed time.

[@kevinlong9254]

@@joeheid4757 My mother lived to 102 Joe so there are no easy answers and I don't want to live much past 80.

[@Nan-59]

$50 fir a transistor radio 📻 in the 1950’s seems CRAZY EXPENSIVE!