re: What was life like in the 1970s as an adult

Movie seats were crammed together with no reclining. If you were a tall man you’d sit on the aisle so that you could stick your legs out into the aisle. The floor only had a slight incline. Short people couldn’t see the entire screen.

Drinking at business lunches was extremely common.

When we say smoking everywhere we mean everywhere. Ashtrays were everywhere.

The highways were strewn with garbage in the early 70’s. Littering was a major problem. People threw fast food garbage out of their car windows.

Movies were special. If you missed one in the theater you’d never have the chance to see it uncut again.

When you left home no one could find you. If your adult friends went out drinking you’d have to hit every bar until you found them. If you were a kid you’d ride around and look for your friends’ bikes outside of the neighborhood houses or outside of convenience stores.

Porn was a valuable commodity. If your dad had an 8mm porno film and a projector you were the Hugh Heffner of your school.

Seeing a music act perform on TV was a huge deal. American Bandstand, Soul Train, Midnight Special, and In Concert had huge followings.

Kids rarely had allergies. They didn’t run around with epi pens. You might have one kid in class with asthma. If a kid got sick or hurt at a slumber party, his parent would apologize, they wouldn’t blame the host for having peanuts in the house.

Deodorants didn’t work that well. A lot more perfume and cologne back then.