Household Products That Were Popular in the ’70s

1975 was the year that America became infatuated with their new best friend. Ad executive Gary Dahl, a millionaire at the time, conceived this fantastic idea for a new toy, a Pet Rock. Sold for around $4 each, over a million of these were very quickly sold as people flocked to see the novelty. The fun was in the clever marketing, selling them like real pets, as they came in a cardboard box with “breathing” holes and care instructions.

First appearing in interior design in the late ’60s, conversation pits were all the rage in the ’70s. They were the way to go when looking for a place to kick back with guests and relax, and while they certainly aren’t as popular nowadays, there’s a hot debate as to whether they should return. With only a few steps separating the sitting area from the rest, it always felt like stepping into a new room.

Fondue has been popular for many decades, but these at-home kits peaked in the ’70s. They were often considered a dinnertime staple in the ’70s, especially in the South, and people would use them for all manner of foods. Melted cheese, hot oil, or sweet chocolate are still popular choices, making dinnertime a novelty in many households. One idea as to why it was so popular was the marketing – which was quite excessive.

8-track tape players were sold for around $30 apiece in the ’70s and were popularized by the likes of Sony, Panasonic, and Pioneer. While they may have begun to fade away stepping into the ’80s, these were the precursor to the CD and how people listened to their favorite tracks and albums. Part of the reason for their popularity was that, in the ’70s, motor companies were installing 8-track tape players in their cars so people could listen while on the road.

TV dinners started in the ’50s and rose in popularity and affordability until their peak in the ’70s. They lost interest in the ’80s as people slowly realized their health detriments. Before then, though, they were devoured with reckless abandon as people fell in love with the convenience of heating something up quickly without needing to prepare anything beforehand. Even today, people still love their frozen dinners.

Wood paneling is one of the greatest decor trends people remember from the ’70s. Nowadays, most people opt for more modern and sleek interior decor, with wooden elements often hidden or highlighted in small ways. It’s rare to find a room that’s primarily wooden nowadays. Wood paneling is considered to bring down the value of homes today, with many articles and videos online on how to cover it all up.

After starting her acting career in 1969, Farrah Fawcett became the it girl of the ’70s. She was a name everyone knew, amassing six Golden Globe awards, Four Emmys, and international fame after becoming a Charlie’s Angel. One of the most sold posters of the ’70s is a classic photograph of the actress in her red swimsuit, selling over 12 million copies. At one point, everyone had likely seen one of these at some point in the ’70s.

Atari was the video console that forever revolutionized the gaming world for many. When 1977 rolled around, every kid begged for the Atari Video Computer System, which was priced at $190 at the time, or $850 today. However, despite their domination of the video game market, Atari eventually struggled against its competition as other developers came out with their own consoles. Nowadays, Atari is synonymous with retro, as they never made it out of the era.

Coming out of the early ’70s was the Presto Hot Dogger, the electric hot dog cooker. Nowadays, most people grill or boil their hot dogs, but when Presto came out with this, everyone opted to electrocute their hot dogs instead. Sold mostly in department stores, these would use an electric current to cook up to six hot dogs in just one minute. Supposedly, they didn’t taste too different from the regular hot dogs people knew then.

With the Space Race sparking many different Space Age designs in the ’60s and ’70s, many examples of eclectic and era-specific design choices exist. The famous—or infamous—Ball Chair was one such example, originally coming out in the early ’60s. This famous design ended up making its way into many films and series, which sparked its popularity in the coming decade. However, it was incredibly expensive, and so many opted for cheaper copycats like the Egg Chairs.

Another strange toy from the ’70s is the famous Sea Monkey. These guys were among the most popular novelty toys and were known for their weirdness and uniqueness as far as designs go. They were a type of brine shrimp sold as eggs that would hatch and grow when added to water. Sea Monkeys would cost around $1.25, which included postage from the “Sea Monkey Aquarium,” and eventually grow to be around half an inch.

Wood was one of the staples of the ’70s and was implemented in many different pieces. One of the tried-and-true combinations was with liquor, another staple of the era. Bar cabinets could be found in just about any household that enjoyed their drinks, designed to provide easy access to ample storage of your favorite booze. Entertainment was often in mind at the time, so they often had fun butterfly doors that slid open to reveal the treasures inside.

“The Woodie” was a popular station wagon body in the ’70s. By this time, cars weren’t using any wooden components in their construction, but many enjoyed the look of wooden trim, accentuating the exterior of the vehicles with it. These became so popular, in fact, that several motor companies competed to make sales. Ford, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, and Jeep are among the most popular brands offering wood trims for their cars.

Slow cookers are still popular today, as it’s pretty convenient to throw some ingredients in and leave it to cook while you do something else and have some food ready for dinner. However, the famous Crock-Pot is a trademarked name created by Sunbeam, and these were The slow-cooker to have in the ’70s. Following WWII, many women weren’t stay-at-home wives anymore. Over several decades, these became the popular option for families to have a meal ready by the evening since now everyone would be working.

Another classic toy that took American families by storm was the View-Master. Trademarked by William Gruber for Mattel, these toys first came about in the ’30s and were a staple until the ’70s, when the new version finally dropped. The Talking View-Master included audio with its 3D images, and it also came with the View-Master Rear Screen Projector, a tabletop projector you could get with the toy. Those were the days!

In modern homes, you might be hard-pressed even to find a household telephone anymore. But looking at any series of films from the ’70s or set in the ’70s, there will likely be multiple shots of people answering their wall phones. Hooked to the wall with a long cable that connects to the handset, these wall phones are a look into the history of our portable smartphones. Motorola made one of the most popular options at the time and was the first actually to innovate and make a portable option.

With the rise in popularity of the famous frozen TV dinner trays, many people were now moving from enjoying their dinners at the dining table to in front of the TV. With no proper dining table to eat at now and a hot tray of food ready to be eaten, there was the problem of where to place the tray. Tray tables became the new thing, as people now had something to place their hot trays on and still enjoy their meals from the comfort of their sofa or chair.

Looking back at popular ’70s decor, there are two things to note: wood was trendy, and so was the color orange. The ’70s was a time of significant cultural shift post-’60s, and many were adopting the environmental movement and switching to earthen tones. Because of this, you’ll find many homes splashed with yellows, browns, beiges, and, perhaps most popular, orange. The term “earth tones” emerged in the ’70s because of these movements.

Kids in the ’70s heading to school would have likely gone with their lunch inside a metal lunch box. Often decorated with band, cartoon, comic book, and movie characters that were popular and beloved at the time, these were the hits. Kids showing off their lunch boxes to each other was the norm, but nowadays, they’re not quite as popular. King-Seeley was among the most popular brands at the time.

Clackers were one of those popular toys that many loved and remembered fondly, and then look back on under a more mature lens and realize how dangerous the toy could have been. These toys were two balls strung together with some string, meant to be whirled around and thunk together for a satisfying “clacking” noise. The original toy had to be discontinued as the balls would occasionally shatter against each other, showering kids in shrapnel.

The original Sony Walkman came out in 1979, costing around $150 – or $613 by today’s standards. These portable audio players quickly became the most popular option for anyone looking to listen to music on the go, becoming one of the most recognizable gadgets of the era. These were so popular that Walkmans became synonymous with portable audio players. By the time Sony stopped production in 2010, they had made 200 million of their Walkmans.

For around $500, a family in the ’70s could get a massive color TV console. These are considered behemoths compared to the modern TV, sitting easily at around 100 lbs in your living room. Despite the size of the TV, the screen itself was also tiny, which is often why you’d find many ’70s sitting areas so closely packed together. The technology simply hadn’t caught up at the time to make TVs a more practical household item for the era, making them clunky and difficult to work with.

The classic combo of short shorts and tube socks came out when summer came around. Everyone, men and women, had at least one of these pairings in their wardrobe. This outfit was the choice, especially for active people who enjoyed being out in the sun. Sports stars like Pele, Dr. J, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Bjorn Borg all helped popularize the outfit. However, like many fashion fads, these wouldn’t last and would eventually be mixed with other clothes.

Wood was one of the most popular materials in the ’70s, featuring many different decorative options. You’ll find it almost anywhere, from wood paneling to wood-frame furniture. Finding a piece of furniture that doesn’t incorporate some wooden components is more challenging. Beech, mahogany, birch, and white ash were among the most popular, with oak, hard maple, and American elm being standard for framing furniture.

The transistor was invented in the ’40s, and the technology was adapted into many other inventions, leading to the transistor radio that was popular in the ’60s and ’70s. At the time, they were the most widely used electronic device for communication, with millions sold worldwide. At the height of their popularity, stores ran out of stock multiple times, even with the then-hefty price tag of $50 (which is pretty pricey by today’s standards too).

Platforms are a type of shoe that has had a massive resurgence in the last decade, but the height of their popularity was during the disco era of the ’70s. The shoes had been around for quite some time, with the first designs being sold in the 1930s, but they were nowhere near as popular as they were 40 years later. Advertised in many magazines as The shoe to own, there were hundreds of different designs.

In the late ’70s, Simon was another popular toy that took the world by storm in a big way. Milton Bradley, the creator, made a ton of money after debuting this hit at a release party at one of NYC’s most elite discos, Studio 54. The playground game inspired this toy, Simon Says, and lets kids test their memory by hitting the buttons to repeat a sequence the toy gives them.

More often than not, you’ll most likely encounter photo booths as fun novelties at parties or rarities when going out. They’ll often be hired out so people can get together for fun group photos. But in the ’70s, these were in just about every mall one could think of, and taking pictures quickly was easier than ever. Today, photography is as easy as pulling out your smartphone, but it wasn’t as easy or affordable back then.

Vinyls had reached their all-time high in popularity in the ’70s and were the way to go when you needed music for a party. Most people had a record player back then, as tapes were still on the rise and hadn’t quite caught up yet. Unfortunately, these would eventually come to phase out as people would move on to tapes, floppy drives, and CDs. Some of the most popular music of the era still can only be found on vinyl, with many collectors eagerly looking for them.

The ’70s is largely considered to be the last time Arcade Games were the dominant force in video games. In the following decade, companies like Sega would move to create household consoles. As these came out, arcade games became less and less popular, though you can still find them at arcade centers. Pac-Man is a classic that is still a famous brand today and was easily the most popular arcade game at the time.

Tiger Beat was a teen fan magazine that started in 1965 and grew in popularity in the ’70s. This magazine ran for decades until 2019 when they issued their final magazine. Published by The Laufer Company, Tiger Beat featured all manner of celebrity gossip, collages, and coverage on films, music, and the latest fashion trends. While this magazine has been discontinued after its declining popularity, older issues have become collector’s items, as these have become quite rare nowadays.

Not many nowadays realize that Polaroid is the name of the brand that created the famous camera. First released in 1972, it forever changed the world of photography. By making photographs more accessible to people with no professional training, they could not only make it quick and easy but also become a hit. The price was steep, however, selling for $180 at the time, or $1,166 today. Film packs of ten pictures would also be sold separately for $6.90, or $45 today.

A staple of American culture since it began, Fisher-Price has released many different toys that were hits across the decades. Their ’70s toy was a popular set called the “Family Camper,” released in 1972. Featuring a Play Family Camper, a toy family of four and their dog, and small accessories, including a grill, motorbike, and toilet. Like many vintage toys, these sell for quite a bit to collectors, with complete sets making the price even higher for its rarity.

Football may have surpassed baseball as America’s favorite pastime, but baseball will remain timeless with its rich history in American culture. Part of that culture is the collecting of baseball cards, each depicting different baseball players from across the sport’s history. Being quite a lucrative hobby, these cards can sell for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars and were at one point found everywhere. They could have been in cereal boxes, hobby shops, toy stores, or even ordered through the mail with subscriptions.

Tupperware remains one of the most popular household brand names, and it is trusted to keep everyone’s food stored safely. Founded originally in the ’40s, Tupperware has grown exponentially, and the name is even used for non-Tupperware products, given its popularity. Their great success came to an all-time high in the ’70s with the famous Tupperware parties, where Tupperware ladies would go from door to door selling these in a small social event.

While many still enjoy roller skates, and you might likely know someone who owns a pair, they are nowhere near as popular as they were in the ’70s, especially in their old form. Every Friday and Saturday, the roller rink would be packed with people in their tube socks and short shorts, going around in circles with their friends, making roller skating a social event. However, as the ’80s rolled around and celebrities hopped onto the trend for advertising, it wasn’t long before they started to fall out of fashion.

During the Space Age and following America’s conflicts, many were coming home and realizing they needed to modernize their homes. By getting a new kitchen, people felt that they were getting a new start, and by the ’70s, there was a heavy emphasis on kitchens with colorful patterns and practical workstations. It was in this era that stacking your oven, stove, and microwave became popular, as did separating the hot and cold sections.

While Barbie remains as popular as ever, she and the rest of her doll crew have seen many incarnations over the years. The ’70s had some of the most popular options, with Gold Medal Barbie, Ballerina Barbie, and Quick Curl Barbie. However, Barbie would start to see many changes over the next few decades as there would be a social outcry against what the dolls were teaching young girls.