What modern conviniance didn't exist when you were born?

[sneri13]

Originally Posted by StewiesMom

My parents always told me about party lines. LOL. That sounds so funny. My stepdad used to get in trouble for listening in on his neighbors.

I'm not sure if they existed, but we never had a remote control until I was a little older. You'd better believe that my parents watched the same channel for hours and hours bc they didn't want to get up and change the channel

LOL with a WHOPPING 7 channels not like you had much of a choice!! And I think the TV repair man just came to your house everyweek for the Heck of it.

[DianaB]

I was born in 1957 and I remember having a water cooler as an air conditioner. The air was blown through water and cooled off. It didn't cool much except the room that it was in and it was a very humid kind of cool. I can remember standing in front of it and how good it felt.

My grandparents lived in a huge old house when I was little. I can remember sleeping on their sleeping porch under a big ceiling fan after a bath and in the heat of the summer. Oh, it felt so good!! It was years and years before ceiling fans became popular in our houses.

Color TV wasn't around when I was born, but we were the first in our neighborhood to get one. I remember everyone coming in to see it. I was in about the 4th grade.

Such simplier times and we didn't have to have so many gadgets. Nobody sat in front of the tv playing games, but were outside playing with the neighbors. We had play houses, tree houses, kick ball in the street, caught fireflies and kept them in a jar!! Great times!!!

[Bonnie's Mom]

Originally Posted by DianaB

Such simplier times and we didn't have to have so many gadgets. Nobody sat in front of the tv playing games, but were outside playing with the neighbors. We had play houses, tree houses, kick ball in the street, caught fireflies and kept them in a jar!! Great times!!!

Yep....I have those memories also! Awesome times! We would catch lightning bugs (southern fireflies ) for hours!! I remember sneaking the jar into my grandmother's house after we had been told to leave it outside , and they all got out somehow

[LuvtheCooper]

This is a great thread!! I was born in 1963. I remember the formica table we had. We had the washer and dryer, but my mom always hung clothes outside on the line to dry..I helped fold sheets. I remember playing at friends houses and you would see bras and underwear all hanging out. LOL

Remember those toys too? Remember those glass balls on string that you would make go really fast and they would clack against each other? Everyone I knew had one. No toy safety recalls then I guess. Also that metal thing that the wheel would go up and then around and then down, kinda spinning, you held it up and then upside down. Also big bounces.that big ball you sat on and bounced with the handle..those are still around I think, but I remember that as being one of my fav toys, I could do that for hours. Also another fav was my "Chrissy" doll. She had that long pony tail of hair that could be short or really long.

Great thread...keep em coming..memory lane is fun!!

[Bonnie's Mom]

Originally Posted by LuvtheCooper

Remember those toys too? Remember those glass balls on string that you would make go really fast and they would clack against each other? Everyone I knew had one. No toy safety recalls then I guess.

Yep...they were called Clackers and I don't know about a recall but after the balls started breaking and glass would fly everywhere they were banned from all the schools in our town. But before that..everyday on the playground at recess and lunch...you'd see those clacking all over the place

[rrosenberry]

Originally Posted by DianaB

Such simplier times and we didn't have to have so many gadgets. Nobody sat in front of the tv playing games, but were outside playing with the neighbors. We had play houses, tree houses, kick ball in the street, caught fireflies and kept them in a jar!! Great times!!!

And a normal water hose, we could play for hours with that.. and noone worried about the water bill either.

[DianaB]

And Barbies!!!! I loved my Barbie and would play for hours with her. I still have her and all her clothes (I didn't have any sisters to ruin mine!!) My Barbie would date my brother's G.I. Joe because I didn't have a Ken doll!!! At least he was a rugged kinda' guy!! LOL!!!!

We rode bicycles EVERYWHERE! Mom didn't take us to the swimming pool across town. We had to ride our bicycles to it. We got twice the exercise that day!! We lived in a small town so you didn't worry about being abducted or worry about strangers.

And the dolls that I had were PLAIN dolls. They didn't walk, crawl, talk, or eat. They might have went WAAA when you turned them over and they probably would wet!!! LOL!!! MY Mom wouldn't buy me a Chatty Cathy because she didn't think that they would work very good. I still wish that I had a Chatty Cathy!!! I guess that some people never grow up!!

This is fun!!!

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by sneri13

LOL with a WHOPPING 7 channels not like you had much of a choice!!

At least you had 7 channels to choose from!!! We only had 2!!!! Talk about limited on what you could watch!!!

We grew up watching Gilligan's Island, Bonanza, Disney, Get Smart, I dream of Jeannie, The Man from Uncle, and so many more. Oh, and Jerry Lewis movies!!! We just loved all of them!! It was a real family night when one of his movies was on!! And cartoons were only on on Saturday morning and maybe one or two after school was out. We had it soooo rough!!!

I'm sorry! I got off thread, but I'm really enjoying reminiscing!!

[magnolia]

I totally forgot all about the clackers!!! Gosh, what fun we had with those things!! Of course, my mom "banned" us to the yard with them because of the noise - LOVED those things. I too had a Chrissy Doll (still have her with original dress but lost the shoes) - mine is the "Movin, Grovin Chrissy". And Barbies - had literally a TON of stuff - the tent, big yellow camper, the airplane, convertible that had to tow behind pop-up tent, clothes galore and dolls as well. Man, I am so enjoying this trip down memory lane!!

[teri88]

Originally Posted by rrosenberry

I remember when I was little.. early 70's, telling my mom, " When I grow up, I'm gonna have a phone in my car." who knew...
I loved the Jetsons,, and now we have most of the stuff we thought was so cool on that show, still waiting for those little flying cars though,,now that will be cool.

An MIT grad student just invented a flying car! It goes on the road, then it can open it's wings and take off also. Might be a while till we see them around though! And, you would have to have a pilots license too!

As for me '59, so lots of stuff! Microwave Ovens, for one. Couldn't live without that!

[YorkieRose]

I remember life before TV...I think I was 5 yrs old when we got one..NO one had more then one phone, one bathroom, one car, one Sunday best outfit..LOL
AND we thought we lived in the modern age..LOL...but we could go anywhere in the town, day or night and never worry about anyone hurting us. We could go to a strangers house and ask for a glass of water when we were hot..and ususally got cookies with it..we could hitch a ride out of town to the creek and go swimming, bike ride to the park in the evening to catch fireflies...I was never molested, never afraid of anyone...I wish all children could feel so safe.

[bchgirl]

Originally Posted by sneri13

And I think the TV repair man just came to your house everyweek for the Heck of it.

Sneri...you already know why the tv repair man came to your house and why he left and the set was still broken.

[bchgirl]

I can't believe none of you have mentioned the modern convenience item you are using right this minute....the computer.

I remember learning to type on a standard typewriter. You had to reach up and push the typing thingy back to the left hand side. Then selectrics came along....no more throwing that top piece back...although you still caught yourself raising your hand up. I also remember loving lift off correction tape....no more eraser that tore a hole in the paper you were typing.

On television I remember when NBC had a program in color....they would advertise it with the peacock....ding, ding, ding. Televised in techno-color.

When my nephew was small...he asked me if I watched the Nickelodean channel when I was little. No Nick, there wasn't a nickelodeon channel...to which he promptly asked...what'd ya tape on your VCR then? Nope didn't have that either....one TV with 3 channels...on a good day...you got 5 and you had to get up to change the channel.

Do you remember the Jim and Tammy show? That show was taped here. I was an audience member of the Jim and Tammy show.

I remember my parents console stereo and oh, was gonna have one of those when I grew up.

And the year 2000 was a thousand years away....but by the year 2000...we'd all have Jetson cars and live in space.

[Bonnie's Mom]

Originally Posted by DianaB

And Barbies!!!! I loved my Barbie and would play for hours with her. I still have her and all her clothes (I didn't have any sisters to ruin mine!!) My Barbie would date my brother's G.I. Joe because I didn't have a Ken doll!!! At least he was a rugged kinda' guy!! LOL!!!!

We rode bicycles EVERYWHERE! Mom didn't take us to the swimming pool across town. We had to ride our bicycles to it. We got twice the exercise that day!! We lived in a small town so you didn't worry about being abducted or worry about strangers.

And the dolls that I had were PLAIN dolls. They didn't walk, crawl, talk, or eat. They might have went WAAA when you turned them over and they probably would wet!!! LOL!!! MY Mom wouldn't buy me a Chatty Cathy because she didn't think that they would work very good. I still wish that I had a Chatty Cathy!!! I guess that some people never grow up!!

This is fun!!!

Chatty Cathy was my favorite favorite doll..my Mom saved her for me and after she died I now have her at my house! You're Mom was right, she did break, I remember crying and crying and my Grandad came over and almost had a heart attack because he thought I must have been badly injured or hurt...I was crying so hard I couldn't tell him what was wrong! I year a cousin and I got the same doll for Christmas, don't remember the name but she had long blonde hair and could walk and to this day I remember my uncle's just cracking up laughing watching that doll walk...for some reason they just thought it was hilarious!

Yeppers...rode bikes everwhere also! And loved playing Barbie's with all the other girls on my street!

Edited to add: Just read another post and I think the blonde haired doll was name Chrissy...did Chrissy dolls walk???

[Bonnie's Mom]

Originally Posted by teri88

An MIT grad student just invented a flying car! It goes on the road, then it can open it's wings and take off also. Might be a while till we see them around though! And, you would have to have a pilots license too!

As for me '59, so lots of stuff! Microwave Ovens, for one. Couldn't live without that!

Loved loved loved my Microwave oven...still have it in my attic! I would make cakes for my older brother...he loved it when I would get the Easybake out!! I have 3 boys, and did not want any girls, but everytime I would see an easybake in the store...I was so tempted to get it for my boys and that was the only time I regretted not having any daughters!