"This Was Quite Common In My Neighborhood": Older Adults Are Recalling What Was Considered Totally "Normal" In The '70s That Would Horrify Younger Kids Today, And My Jaw Is On The Floor

1. "Pollution. In LA, you ne'er saw the 10,000 ft. mountains close adjacent to the metropolis due to the fact that the smog was truthful thick."

2. "My dada changed the car lipid astatine location and would either dump the aged lipid successful a country of the backmost gait oregon successful the tempest drain (which, of course, flows close to the creek down our location – but helium didn't cognize that due to the fact that contamination acquisition was non-existent)."

3. "So galore big basement parties that we were locked retired of! And the brainsick happening was, we were partying, too. They truly couldn't person cared little what we were doing, arsenic agelong arsenic we weren't bothering them. At the time, I had nary thought what was going connected successful that basement; I conscionable knew I wouldn't past to find retired if I tried."

4. "So overmuch drunk driving."

5. "The horrible American cars. They're called 'malaise-era' cars for a crushed – they're garbage. People deliberation they're chill present due to the fact that they're old. They're not cool, they're junk. They were junk erstwhile they were new, and they're inactive junk."

6. "The radical who thought that seatbelts and airbags were depriving them of liberty."

7. "Lines of cars stretched for blocks waiting to bargain gas. License plates ending successful unusual oregon adjacent numbers had to bargain state connected definite days of the week."

8. "Smoking and non-smoking sections successful restaurants – divided by nothing."

9. "How messed up soldiers were erstwhile they returned from Vietnam... and however small we did astir it."

10. "Rampant, over-the-top sexism, adjacent successful the supposedly 'liberal' community. I was a young pistillate then. It was bad, truly bad. As a newlywed, I had a bully job, and the brag instantly told maine that if I didn't enactment retired 'like the remainder of them,' I would suffer it. I walked retired of the bureau and told my hubby erstwhile I got home. Lucky for me, helium is an old-fashioned redneck, adjacent though helium is simply a liberal. He met that feline successful the parking batch aft work. I went to enactment the pursuing day, and that feline near maine alone. Not due to the fact that helium wanted to, but due to the fact that helium knew his ass was writer if helium bothered me. Women without the enactment of a antheral were retired of luck and abused daily. It was truthful bad."

11. "All the enactment pervs flashing kids everywhere. So galore sickos, and we didn't adjacent person the connection to picture it."

12. "I consciousness similar it isn't talked astir however comfy adults were with having underage partners and however seemingly communal it was, astatine slightest successful the satellite of stone stars and celebrated people. I recognize times change, but age-gap relationships from the epoch are conscionable uncomfortable."

13. "Casual racism. It was overmuch worse successful the past, adjacent though it's inactive awful."

14. "LGBTQ radical were ignored, shunned, oregon treated similar a large gag successful movies and TV."

15. "It was the heyday of serial killers!"

16. "All the bombings. In the aboriginal '70s, determination were much than 2,500 bombings connected US ungraded – astir 5 a day."

17. "A batch much airplane hijackings backmost then."

18. "Everything humans did made things worse. Mosquitoes are atrocious successful New Jersey? No worries, soak the authorities successful DDT and termination disconnected each the birds."

19. "As a working-class guy, I didn’t similar stagflation. That was bad. I cognize immoderate radical were good economically, but millions of america weren’t (despite being 'boomers')."

20. "Carpet successful the bath and kitchen. This was rather communal successful my neighborhood, truthful I'm guessing others person hatred for this, too."

21. "I retrieve nary AC successful the schools. On hot, humid days, the teachers would crook disconnected the lights to marque it cooler."

22. "ALL covering was uncomfortable successful the '70s. Jeans didn't stretch, shirts were chopped excessively narrow, and shoes were heavy. Coats were stiff and didn't determination with your body. We wore mittens successful the winter, not gloves. Turtlenecks conscionable suck. And leisure suits."

23. "Fear of getting swallowed up by quicksand."

What bash you deliberation the worst parts of the '70s were? Share successful the comments oregon the anonymous signifier below!

Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity.