12 Things Every American Household Seemed To Have In The 1970s That Younger Generations Barely Recognize Today

Walk into almost any American home in the 1970s and you would have found a surprising number of the same things. A coffee maker with a famous pitchman, an appliance in a very particular shade of green, a stack of magazines with the week’s television schedule.

Mental Floss put together a list of 70s household items every family had, complete with dates and numbers. We pulled the best details from it into a dozen items that younger generations may never have seen in person.

Read it as a quick trip back, and see how many you can say you owned yourself.

Mr. Coffee Arrived In 1972 With Joe DiMaggio As Its Pitchman

According to Mental Floss, Mr. Coffee was the first automatic drip brewer for home use, launched in October 1972 with Joe DiMaggio as its pitchman. About a million units sold by 1975.

By Christmas 1977 the brand held half the U.S. market, a huge change for the American kitchen counter in just five years.

A Fondue Pot Was Part Of A National Dish Campaign From Switzerland

Mental Floss says the Swiss Cheese Union, founded in 1914, promoted fondue as a national dish. A kickback scandal, a WTO ruling that it was a cartel and the end of federal subsidies finished it off in 1999.

If you still have a fondue set in the cabinet, you own a piece of that story.

The Aluminum TV Dinner Tray Went To The Smithsonian In 1986

In 1986, Campbell Soup retired aluminum trays across all 61 varieties of Swanson frozen dinners and switched to microwave-safe PET plastic, according to Mental Floss. The original tray went to the Smithsonian that year.

Avocado Green Appliances Followed A Color Plan From General Electric

Mental Floss lists General Electric’s colors as Coppertone (1964), Avocado (1966) and Harvest Gold (1968). Fresh Avocado and Harvest Wheat were reissued in 1976, and GE went all-white in the early 1990s.

The Popcorn Ceiling Has An Asbestos Chapter

Mental Floss reports that the EPA banned spray-applied asbestos surfacing for fireproofing and insulation in 1973 and the rest in 1978. The Consumer Product Safety Commission banned asbestos patching compounds in 1977.

If you own an older home with a textured ceiling, the rules for testing and removal depend on your state and local requirements. A licensed professional is the right call before scraping anything.

About 55 Million Rented Telephones Were Still In Use In 1984

Mental Floss says roughly 55 million leased phones were still in use in 1984. The FCC’s July 1977 certification program allowed outside manufacturers to connect equipment, and after the 1984 AT&T breakup, customers could buy or return their leased phones.

TV Guide Hit A Circulation Of Nearly 20 Million In 1970

According to Mental Floss, TV Guide’s circulation peaked near 20 million in 1970. The magazine ran about 140 regional editions until October 17, 2005, then switched to one national edition, and by 2007 circulation was under three million.

A Set Of Encyclopedias Was Once Sold Door To Door

Britannica’s U.S. sales peaked in 1990 at 120,000 sets, Mental Floss reports. Microsoft’s Encarta launched on CD-ROM in 1993, and in 1996 Britannica laid off its North American sales force, ending 60 years of door-to-door selling.

The 8-Track Player Peaked In 1978

U.S. sales of the 8-track format peaked in 1978, Mental Floss says. Most retailers stopped carrying it by 1983, while Columbia House and RCA Music Service mailed cartridges to subscribers until 1988.

The Kodak Carousel Projector Lasted 43 Years

Kodak introduced the Carousel in 1961 and produced some version for 43 years, ending in October 2004, per Mental Floss. That run covers most of the family slide shows many of us remember.

S&H Green Stamps Once Outnumbered The Post Office’s Stamps

Through the 1960s, S&H issued more stamps than the U.S. Postal Service and mailed 35 million catalogs a year, according to Mental Floss. By 1999, only about 100 U.S. stores still gave out the stamps.

The Glass Fever Thermometer Contained Mercury

Per the EPA, as cited by Mental Floss, a standard oral mercury thermometer holds about 0.61 grams of mercury. At least 13 states restrict retail sales of them, and NIST stopped calibrating them in 2011.

Whether you can sell or dispose of one in your area depends on your state, so check with your state environmental agency and the EPA before tossing an old thermometer in the trash.

What To Do If You Still Own Some Of This

Several of these items are now collectibles, and others are simply memories. A Kodak Carousel or an old fondue set can find a home with a vintage shop, while safety-sensitive items such as a mercury thermometer should follow EPA and state guidance.

Notice how many of these items have a clear date attached. Mental Floss gives peak years, launch years and end years, which turns each object into a small piece of history rather than just a thing in the closet.

The best way to use this list might be to read it aloud with someone younger. Ask them which items they have never seen, and tell them what each one meant on a Saturday night in 1975.

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