40 Things That Everyone Had In The ’70s That No One Sees Today
31. Original Sony Walkmans
Where It Was Sold: Radio Shack, Best Buy, Walmart, Electronics Stores, Mail-Order Catalogs
Original Est. Cost: $150*
Current Est. Value: $800*
When the Sony Walkman came out in 1979, it cost $150 (around $613 in today’s money). The portable audio player has become one of the most recognizable gadgets from the latter half of the twentieth century, and it was so popular that its name became synonymous with personal audio players.
In 2010, production of the Walkman stopped. By that time, Sony had made 200 million of these audio players. The Walkman brand has since expanded to include audio devices, CD players, phones, and more. Original Walkmans from 1979, unused and in pristine condition, can resell for as much as $800 on collectors’ sites.
32. Platforms
Where It Was Sold: Thom McAn, Macy’s, Payless Shoe Store, Local Shoe Stores
Original Est. Cost: $20*
Current Est. Value: $50-$100*
Platform shoes were total party shoes in the ‘70s. Though they had had some popularity in the U.S., U.K., and Europe during the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, that buzz was nothing compared to the popularity they enjoyed in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.
Platforms were advertised in Seventeen and other popular magazines, and they were popular with women in their late teens and twenties. They’d wear these shoes to the disco, often adding glitter or tiny lights to draw attention to themselves on the dance floor. However, these shoes were gender neutral, as artists like David Bowie and David Johansen rocked platforms onstage, too.
33. Colorful Tupperware
Where It Was Sold: Tupperware Parties, Direct Marketers
Original Est. Cost: $5-$10*
Current Est. Value: $10-$30 per set*
Tupperware brings in around $2.26 billion in revenue every year, and the company has had a long run in the packaging industry. It was founded in the 1940s, and it has become synonymous with storing food. The company is known for its selling strategy, which uses direct marketing to sell pieces to buyers.
People loved their Tupperware parties in the 1970s, and the brand became popular with women, especially. Tupperware ladies traveled door to door to sell these containers, turning retail into a social event. In the seventies, brightly-colored Tupperware became in fashion, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a household that didn’t have these colorful containers in its cabinets.
34. Tang
Where It Was Sold: Grocery Stores, Walmart
Original Est. Cost: $0.50*
Current Est. Value: $3.18*
Tang first came out in the late 1950s, but this orange drink wasn’t popular until NASA sent it on a space flight with John Glenn in 1962. This Space Age popularity boost worked wonders for Kraft Heinz in the commercial market, though, reportedly, the astronauts weren’t too fond of the taste (it likely got old after a while).
The same person who created Tang, William Mitchell, invented Cool Whip, Pop Rocks, and several other convenience foods. You’d be hard-pressed to find a 1970s house that didn’t keep a store of Tang in the pantry, ready to mix whenever company came over.
35. Rollerskates
Where It Was Sold: Macy’s, Gimbel’s, Walmart, Shoe Stores, Hobby Stores
Original Est. Cost: $25-$50*
Current Est. Value: $75-$200*
People loved roller skating in the 1970s, and this groovy era was the heyday of this hobby. You could find everybody at the rink on Friday and Saturday nights in the seventies, likely wearing tube socks and short shorts with their skates, if it was the summer.
Skating was also popular in the eighties, and everyone, including movie stars, pop singers, athletes, and more were endorsing roller skate brands left and right. Though hobbies have changed since then, you can still find roller rinks around most major cities. It’s up in the air whether roller skating will ever have another supernova popularity streak the way it did in the seventies and eighties.
