1970 Survival Ideas for Now

1) smoking area in high school
mostly so other students would not have to suffer from your addiction.

2) Vietnam draft at 18, but could not vote till 21
Does not seem fair right? Voting age changed a few years later, AFTER the draft ended.

3) watched sci-fi on TV or movies
from Star Trek to eventually Star Wars, sci-fi as big box office.

4) hot pants, miniskirts and birth control
sexualization of women was big business

5) slide rules at school or work
soon pocket calculators would come out, but still rare and slide rules were cheap.

6) mechanical calculator for addition/subtraction
ee above. Not portable though.

7) used a mini computer with punch cards/paper tape
ad to use existing code or write it yourself. Debugging was a real pain.

8) physical encyclopedias and huge dictionaries
very library had them, most homes (World Book Encyclopedia was common)

9) used a card catalogs with the Dewey Decimal system in libraries
the Wikipedia of the time, but shower though

10) legal to ride in the back of a pickup without restraints
mazing we survived right?

11) typing classes, home economics and shop classes (wood, metal, drafting)
good idea if going into the trade or college.

12) transistor radios and tape decks
gotta have your tunes right?

13) "organic" food as response to pesticides
Rachael Carson’s “Silent Spring” made a big impact on our thinking.

14) worked in a fast food restaurant as a first job
a right of passage, sometimes got a free meal though.

15) used a manual transmission in a car
manual transmissions are arguably better, cheaper and easier to service.

16) B&W TVs at standard def
color TVs were for the rich. 640X480 resolution.

17) been backpacking and camping
another right of passage thing for the time, part of the back to nature and could you survive without help.

18) ran slot cars and rented time on larger tracks
a teenager hobby along with model trains, skate boards, and custom ‘stingray’ bicycles.

19) used a black and white film camera and kept images in an album
Go into your grandparents closet and you will still often find these albums of family images and vacation trips. Now digital all fits on a tiny chip. Not as tactile and can't be seen without a viewer. The 'old' print images can be viewed without any external device. I always developed my own B&W film, learned from my father, who recorded images of the Korean conflict.

20) saw the first moon landing live on TV
From the first powered flight to people on the moon in fifty years. Jet airlines for normal passengers was common too.

21) bought a house for less than $25,000
Why are their so many homeless you ask? Really, you need to ask this? Greed and scarcity.

22) luggage had wheels
Convenient, but we are losing muscle mass in the process. How about pack less stuff instead?

23) served actual meals on airplanes
short flights it was more of a snack, but it did happen.

24) fallout shelters and bomb drills (as in WWIII, not crazy people)
Till the Internet and email, this was the cheapest way to communicate. Telephone and telegrams were out of reach ($$$) for long distance unless it was an emergency.

25) ash trays in cars, planes, restaurants
Starting to see separate smoking sections at least.

26) used a film camera with flashcubes
Made it much easier for the photography illiterate. No separate hot flash bulbs to deal with.

27) had to lick stamps to mail a letter
Done with that at least, though some envelopes still need to be licked.

28) sting ray bikes and paper routes at age 12 or above
First job for most was either baby sitting or a paper route (sexist times)

29) pledge of allegiance every morning in school
Complete with the ‘Under God’ part. There was push back from the ‘hippies’ of the time. Being drafted does that to you.

30) watched movies in school using a 16mm projector
And film strips and slide projectors. Being tech, was often drafted by teachers to load the devices.

31) can read and write in full handwritten cursive script
Old people secret writing. Schools are starting to teach it again, because, it really does help with essential hand-eye coordination and ultimately makes you smarter. Go figure.

32) used a rotary phones to dial long distance (expensive)
They charged by distance and length of call. Only in emergencies.

33) navigated by charts, compasses, etc. (slide rules helped)
GPS came out later and at first was only for the military. Good idea to learn this skill, as we have seen, GPS is jammed by the enemy in a time of conflict.

34) used leaded gas and lead in paint
Nothing like the smell of good old poison in the morning.

35) equal time for anti-smoking advertisements
Starting to catch on that smoke in general, but nicotine (1st insecticide) is not good in your lungs, even as a bystander (2nd hand smoke)

36) used old grocery bags to make book covers
Not optional. Could get detention if your books were not covered or turned back in damaged in anyway. In college you could potentially resell your books if in good condition. Not a disposable culture yet.

I was alive during this time, high school. Strange time. Older people either embraced the changes or actively rejected them. Generational conflict was high. No internet or social media yet and that might have saved everyone.
Draft for Vietnam War ended in June 1972, and the threat of being drafted affected everyone (yourself or a loved one could be next!)