351Kviews
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.
This post may include affiliate links.
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
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!!!
They also made that great sound when you shifted them between hands. That’s it though.
Load More Replies...
You do NOT get tetanus from rust. You get it from "dirt." Stepping on a "rusty" nail only causes tetanus if it was in the dirt to begin with.
Yes, dirt and animal poop, mostly horse and beef poop.
Load More Replies... You do not get tetanus from handling rusty iron. Seems to me that some people are overly obsessed with fantasizing about the terrible things that could happen.
They originally came in metal but I never saw any that looked like that! They must have been out in the rain for years. I had one and yes, you couldn't do much with them, but they sounded great and they were way cool!
Load More Replies...
They tried to make these in plastic, but just wasn't the same. Have to have metal.
I adored my Slinky and played with it all the time. I still use it but for musical stuff. Sounds like a 50's raygun with a contact mic.
Slinkys, like most people, are no fun until you push them down the stairs.
my brother and I stretched one out to see how far it would stretch. it never went back to it's natural shape again.
Tetanus isn't actually caused by rust. It's caused by a bacteria found in soil. The bacteria sometimes gets into a person's bloodstream when a person's skin is cut or pierced by an old piece of rusty metal in the dirt, which led to the erroneous belief that it was the rusty metal which caused the tetanus.
I somehow got mine tangled around a small tree and there it stayed until my folks cut it away. I STILL don't know how that happened.
Don't know about the 1970s, but back in the 1990s, they were plastic and rainbow coloured. Guess I know now the reasons.
Load More Replies...
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.
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.
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.
