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40 Pics Of The Greatest Dangers In ’70s Households That Look Nostalgic And Terrifying At The Same Time
We don’t really notice how fast time goes by. But this time, we are taking you on a trip to the past that shows how our households have changed beyond recognition since the '70s.
And trust me, in most cases, it’s for the better. Take a chip pan, for example—these crazy fire agents that produced the best chips on the planet your mom can probably still taste in her mouth would keep homes on the brink of tragedy, and yet people adored them.
Thanks to the Memorial Device Twitter page that shared this illuminating guide, we now have the full list of the 40 greatest '70s household dangers all posted in order. Both nostalgic and utterly terrifying, they make you wonder whether people back then had less of a sense of health and safety. Or if it’s us who live in an overly protective mindset. Anyhow, I prefer the latter one.
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My mum set the kitchen on fire using one of these- we first saw the flames through the serving hatch into the dining room. Luckily the local Fire Chief and his son, a fireman lived next door to us.
Making the opening smaller results in a quicker draw on the coals which gives a quicker hot fire.
Bored Panda reached out to the authors behind the Memorial Device Twitter page who shared this viral thread which listed 40 dangerous things that were casually used in ’70s households. Introducing themselves as “a band from Airdrie,” a town in Scotland, the creators said that their account was inspired “100% by the book ‘This is Memorial Device’ by the genius Scottish author, David Keenan.” They added that “You will have to read the book to really understand the account.”
Here's the bizarre video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQcGIZioqQE&t=4s&ab_channel=FunFinder
When asked how they came up with an idea to create the guide to all the miscellaneous stuff from the past, the creators said that it’s just one of many countdown lists on the “Memorial Device” account. “But it’s the one that most people seem to identify with,” they said and added that it may be because it’s “Proper working-class history.”
I nicked the red bulbs out of our and used then in my bedroom light fitting. The whole street thought my parents had started a brothel.
We also asked if they can imagine anyone living with some of these crazy household objects these days, the authors said that they in fact experienced “the bathroom ceiling heater in Whitby last week. Switched it on—nothing happened. Came back later and it was glowing hotter than the sun. And it was fitted above the bath.”
The band added that they’re “Big fans of the coal effect fire and the immersion heater, along with the working-class shower,” and found “drawing the fire as total madness.” “As is buying a full-size crossbow from the Kays catalogue on HP,” the Memorial Device concluded.
they gave out fantastic heat but the gas bottles when full were so heavy and it gradually went up in price to a ridiculous level
Ours was 70s and fortunately got a normal shower by the end of that decade.
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Why? I live in a Russian apartment built in the 1960s and it has a shower like normal. What took Brits so long to get them?
An actual British person answered this on another thread a while ago. The hot water tanks use to be in the attics of the houses, so it could be gravity fed to all the taps. Problem was they couldn't be enclosed, as such it was common for small vermin to get trapped and drown. So it was stipulated in law that the cold water and hot bathing water must never meet. Cold water was piped directly to taps, while the hot water went to the attic holding tank. (If anyone British reads this, please correct me if I'm misremembering anything)
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or would shoot off the taps and shower you and the bathroom with water
This picture caused me traumatic flashbacks, I may need to set up a Go Fund Me for therapy.
We had them too, better than no shower at all. Also the water pressure could be so low in a regular shower, that one had to play catch up with the drops coming out of the showerhead.
I never used these as a shower, but they were brilliant for hair washing.
This is what we had when I was growing up in New Zealand in the 80s. We mostly used it for washing our hair while kneeling over the edge of the bathtub.
I bought one of these a year ago to wash Ze dogs after walking in muddy spots. They are a tad frustrating getting the pressure and temp right of course, the hoses are not long enough to have them attached at shin height then stand with the shower head above your head though…
But why didn’t people have normal showers? I grew up in a piss poor ex easto country and we had a shower with amazing pressure as well, while having a bath tub was only for ultra rich people, go figure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I gave up on trying to use this and just poured jugs of water over myself instead, far easier and less mess to mop up.
I had one of these on my bath tub mixer taps until about 10 years ago. I cable tied them on to the taps to stop them popping off.
Another perfectly safe and decent product, ruined by incompetent users.
nicely mixed into a tune by the Prodigy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSTBFZ-To2E
OMG I miss these shoes. I want a pair right now!! I remember having a pair in every color they offered (tan, white, navy and black). I loved these!!!
your younger brother's urine at best. A brown submarine discovered at worst.
Only in dysfunctional families would these be used a lethal weapon. The rest of the world used them to throw them at dartboards.
Leaving a battery on an unregulated charger is something a moron would do. 1970s or otherwise.
I have an electric blanket. Try to take it and I'll attack you with my deadly manual egg beater. I didn't realize I was living on the edge.
Don't get why people feel the urge to declare a lot of these items deadly or lethal. Yes, they might not be up with our modern safety regulations, but in those days people had common sense and they knew how to handle equipment that could pose a danger. Today you even have to warn that ingesting bleach doesn't cure Covid-19.
People died, Wil. People died. That’s why we have safety regulations today.
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I never seen or heard about several products named in the article. And I am OK with that :))))
OK, will someone do a US version, now? I'll start: metal roller skates that you buckled onto your shoes. My knees looked like raw hamburger after hitting the pavement.
We had those but the UK too. And it's nice to take a trip down memory lane..
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More than half of the staff are still in use and there is exaggeration that they are so deadly dangerous! If that's so let's put on the list knives, ladders or even cars!
This was a whole post detailing the contents of my mothers kitchen in the late 80's!
I stopped halfway through. Most of the posts are 'waah I'm a sheltered rubber tile kid and can't handle anything without 99+ safety features and even then I'll sue if I manage to hurt myself with it'. Most of these items are perfectly fine. I mean, scared of a crossbow, but guns at Walmart are ok? A tool for cutting fries is dangerous? It doesn't jump at you... just don't try to cut your hand into fries? Choking on a coin in a pie when you know it's there? It's a wonder people even survived back then, huh?
Well, since people lost eyes or died, it might be nice to remember that we're much safer now than we were then.
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Who needs common sense or brains nowadays? The squealing video-posting reflex soothes and protects better.
Love this, brought up with many of those items, yes they were dangerous. People did die, falling asleep with the electric blanket on, was a real danger and happened, not nowadays though as electric blankets are safer and are designed for this,but not then. 've nearly caused several house fires 'drawing the fire' and have vivid (and regular) memories of my mum running out the back door with the chip pan ablaze. We are lucky to have survived lol
I remember all of these, and personally experienced about three quarters of them. How did I stay alive? Oh, and they missed out roller skates, which were guaranteed to cause at least one child's death annually.
I still have a "working class shower" bit messy (water goes everywhere) but works fine when needed
To hear clueless people who weren't even born yet in the '70s talk, you'd think it was a miracle that any of us who *were* there managed to survive. ;-)
Other than a few specific to the UK, I still own/like a lot of these. i survived 'em in the 70s.
I have an electric blanket. Try to take it and I'll attack you with my deadly manual egg beater. I didn't realize I was living on the edge.
Don't get why people feel the urge to declare a lot of these items deadly or lethal. Yes, they might not be up with our modern safety regulations, but in those days people had common sense and they knew how to handle equipment that could pose a danger. Today you even have to warn that ingesting bleach doesn't cure Covid-19.
People died, Wil. People died. That’s why we have safety regulations today.
Load More Replies... I never seen or heard about several products named in the article. And I am OK with that :))))
OK, will someone do a US version, now? I'll start: metal roller skates that you buckled onto your shoes. My knees looked like raw hamburger after hitting the pavement.
We had those but the UK too. And it's nice to take a trip down memory lane..
Load More Replies... More than half of the staff are still in use and there is exaggeration that they are so deadly dangerous! If that's so let's put on the list knives, ladders or even cars!
This was a whole post detailing the contents of my mothers kitchen in the late 80's!
I stopped halfway through. Most of the posts are 'waah I'm a sheltered rubber tile kid and can't handle anything without 99+ safety features and even then I'll sue if I manage to hurt myself with it'. Most of these items are perfectly fine. I mean, scared of a crossbow, but guns at Walmart are ok? A tool for cutting fries is dangerous? It doesn't jump at you... just don't try to cut your hand into fries? Choking on a coin in a pie when you know it's there? It's a wonder people even survived back then, huh?
Well, since people lost eyes or died, it might be nice to remember that we're much safer now than we were then.
Load More Replies... Who needs common sense or brains nowadays? The squealing video-posting reflex soothes and protects better.
Love this, brought up with many of those items, yes they were dangerous. People did die, falling asleep with the electric blanket on, was a real danger and happened, not nowadays though as electric blankets are safer and are designed for this,but not then. 've nearly caused several house fires 'drawing the fire' and have vivid (and regular) memories of my mum running out the back door with the chip pan ablaze. We are lucky to have survived lol
I remember all of these, and personally experienced about three quarters of them. How did I stay alive? Oh, and they missed out roller skates, which were guaranteed to cause at least one child's death annually.
I still have a "working class shower" bit messy (water goes everywhere) but works fine when needed
To hear clueless people who weren't even born yet in the '70s talk, you'd think it was a miracle that any of us who *were* there managed to survive. ;-)
Other than a few specific to the UK, I still own/like a lot of these. i survived 'em in the 70s.
