Ah, the ’70s: a decade of disco, bell-bottoms, and choices that would make modern safety experts faint. While we can chuckle at the fashion and groove to the tunes, some ’70s norms are better left in the past. Let’s take a nostalgic yet eye-opening journey through these relics of yesteryear.
#1. Smoking Like Chimneys Everywhere
Lighting up in hospitals, planes, and offices was as common as bell-bottom jeans. Clean air was for squares, apparently.
#2. Lead-Based Paint in Every Rainbow Shade
Homes were slathered in lead-based paint because who doesn’t like a side of neurotoxins with their wall decor?
#3. Asbestos: The Miracle Material
Asbestos was the go-to for insulation, celebrated for its resistance to fire, not for its tendency to cause lung diseases.
#4. Seatbelts: Optional
Cars came with seatbelts, but using them was more of a personal choice than a safety mandate. Flying through windshields was just another ‘70s thrill.
#5. Tan, Don’t Burn… Or Just Burn
Sunscreen was an afterthought, if a thought at all. A deep tan was worth the future wrinkles and skin cancer risks.
#6. Casual Sexism and Racism on TV
TV shows and ads were rife with sexism and racism, played for laughs or just casually inserted into the plot.
#7. Lax Drunk Driving Laws
DUI laws were more lenient, making the roads a much more dangerous place after dark. Cheers to the designated driver not really being a thing.
#8. Freely Roaming Kids
Children roamed free as birds with little supervision, because apparently, safety in numbers meant you and your imaginary friend.
#9. The Diet Plateau
Diet and health fads included things like the Sleeping Beauty Diet, where sedation was used for weight loss. Because who needs exercise when you have tranquilizers?
#10. Disco’s Deafening Decibels
Concerts and clubs cranked the volume to ear-damage levels without a thought for hearing protection. What?
#11. Unleaded Gasoline? What’s That?
Leaded gasoline powered cars, poisoning the air while they powered our lives. Progress smelled like exhaust fumes.
#12. The Joy of Junk Food
TV dinners and processed foods were the height of cuisine, loaded with preservatives and MSG. Mmm, tastes like childhood.
#13. Lawn Darts: The Flying Menace
A family game that involved throwing sharp metal objects through the air, aiming near people. What could go wrong?
#14. The Hitchhiking Craze
Hitchhiking was seen as a viable mode of transportation, not a true-crime podcast waiting to happen.
#15. Toy Safety, or Lack Thereof
Toys weren’t exactly designed with safety in mind. If it was fun and only mildly dangerous, it was fair game.
#16. No Bike Helmets
Biking without helmets was the norm because fashion often trumped safety. Head injuries were just part of growing up.
#17. The Wild World of Workplaces
Workplace safety regulations were more guidelines than rules. Hazards were just part of the job description.
#18. Paint Stripper in Your Soda
Soda contained brominated vegetable oil, a chemical cousin to paint stripper. Refreshing and potentially toxic!
#19. The Normalization of Bullying
Bullying was often dismissed as kids just being kids, with little intervention or support for those on the receiving end.
#20. Environmental Ignorance
Pollution was a sign of progress, and environmental protection was an afterthought. Earth Day was just getting started.
Looking Back, Moving Forward
While it’s fun to reminisce about the quirks of the ’70s, it’s clear that we’ve come a long way in terms of safety, awareness, and social progress. Let’s laugh at the past, learn from it, and make the future even brighter. Who knows what we’re doing today that will make future generations squirm?
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