40 Things That Everyone Had In The ’70s That No One Sees Today | Investing Magazine (2024)

The 1970s were a colorful time in American history, both figuratively and literally. If you grew up in this era, then you remember that the ‘70s were famous for the rise of disco and bell bottoms. You also know that this era was full of cultural change, technological innovation, and, as with any time in history, unique struggles.

Though 1970s fashion has been thoroughly discussed, the unique home features of houses in the ‘70s deserve a mention, too. The features on this list are nostalgia-inducing, but they’re not all a thing of the past. You can still find these designs, appliances, and other treats at stores like Home Depot, Sherwin Williams, Lowe’s, and more – although they may have had updates! Read on to get a blast from the past.

Where It Was Sold: Radio Shack, Best Buy, Ford Dealerships
Original Est. Cost: $30*
Current Est. Value: $5-$20 per lot*

In the 1970s, brands like Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic, GE, Akai, and more sold 8-track tape players for around $30 apiece. This magnetic tape recording tech was popular from the mid-‘60s to the early ‘80s. It was rendered outdated by the CD, which would, in turn, become a thing of the past because of iPods and, later, smartphones.

8-Track Tapes @AdamRogers2030/Twitter

A big reason that 8-track players were so successful was because of the auto industry. In 1965, Ford introduced 8-tracks that could be installed right in your car by the factory or dealer. Home players were introduced a year later and, for decades, people loved the convenience and portability that these sound systems offered.

Where It Was Sold: Toys R Us, Walmart, Macy’s, Toy Stores
Original Est. Cost: $4*
Current Est. Value: $60*

In 1975, America was caught in the thrall of the pet rock. While the idea of owning a rock as a pet might seem silly, over one million pet rocks were sold for $4 each. This made their creator, ad exec Gary Dahl, a millionaire. These smooth stones came from Baja California, and they were marketed like real pets.

Pet Rocks @Rob Gallo/LinkedIn

They even came with a cardboard box and care instructions. The fad lasted for six months, wrapping up in the Christmas season of ’75. The Pet Rock made Dahl rich and famous, so much so that he said in a 1988 interview that he almost wished he never created the hit fad toy.

Where It Was Sold: Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart
Original Est. Cost: $2-$8 per panel*
Current Est. Value: $12-$40 per panel*

When you ask someone what décor trend they think of when they reminisce about the 1970s, they’re probably going to list “wood paneling” as one of their top five. Now, wood paneling brings down a home’s value, and there are quite a few how-to articles about covering up this décor mistake.

Wood Panels @plaank/Pinterest

Paneling from this era was usually made from pressed fiberboard or plywood that was designed to look expensive. And don’t forget, this wood often was covered with a glossy coating to make it look as shiny as possible. That’s why, when you’re trying to paint over wood paneling, you have to do a lot of sanding first. Otherwise, your primer and paint won’t stand a chance at sticking.

Where It Was Sold: Bed Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, Gimbels, Walmart
Original Est. Cost: $20-$30*
Current Est. Value: $20-$40*

According to Southern Living, it’s high time we brought back this polarizing food trend. Fondue: either you love it or hate it. This was a dinnertime staple of the seventies, and fondue pots hit their popularity peak during the decade.

Fondue Party @Thiti/Pinterest

People would fill these electric pots with melted cheese, sweet chocolate, and hot oil in which to cook mystery meat chunks. Cheese and chocolate are to this day popular fondue options. One reason that cheese fondue became a huge fad was because, according to Groovy History, fondue-pot-makers advertised cheese as a super-healthy food, straight from the ski-lodge-happy Swiss Alps.

Where It Was Sold: Radio Shack, Best Buy, Walmart
Original Est. Cost: $15-$20*
Current Est. Value: $25-$31*

How do you cook hotdogs? On the grill? In boiling water? In the oven? If you grew up in the seventies, your parents skipped all that and just electrocuted the hot dog. The Presto Hot Dogger was invented in the early 1970s, and it immediately took off. The Presto is one of a lot of head-scratch-inducing products from that era that became wildly popular.

Hot Dogger @SusCos/Pinterest

The Presto was sold at department stores, mostly. It used an electric current to cook between one and six hot dogs in just sixty seconds. According to people on Reddit who ate these electrocuted, shock-wave weenies, they didn’t taste too different from hot dogs cooked by any other methods.

Where It Was Sold: Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Piggly-Wiggly, Safeway
Original Est. Cost: $0.50-$2*
Current Est. Value: $3-$6*

Now, a TV dinner is pretty much maligned by the majority of nutritionists who either scorn this frozen food for having too much sodium or point out that you’re not supposed to eat in front of the TV. But, in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, there were no such naysayers. People ate their Swansons with reckless abandon.

TV Dinners @onehdhoney/Pinterest

The Swanson TV Dinner hit grocery stores in the fall of 1953. These frozen dinners were an instant hit, selling millions of units. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, their popularity only increased. When Campbell’s came out with a microwavable tray, that cut this meal prep to mere minutes in the 1980s. Still, to this day, people make frozen dinners all the time.

Where It Was Sold: Camelot Music, Sam Goody, Record Stores
Original Est. Cost: $0.50-$1*
Current Est. Value: $20-$30*

Actress Farrah Fawcett was the it girl during the 1970s. She began her career in 1969, and she amassed six Golden Globe Awards, four Emmy Awards, and a ton of international fame. Fawcett catapulted to stardom when she was on the first season of Charlie’s Angels, a TV series.

Farah Fawcett Poster ©Emily Hilton/foter.com

The actress also starred in hit movies like Logan’s Run, The Cannonball Run, The Burning Bed, and many more. The poster of Farrah Fawcett in a red swimsuit is one of the best-selling posters of all time, selling twelve million copies. The actress received quite a chunk of change from those posters, nabbing 40% of the profits from the iconic image.

Where It Was Sold: Construction Companies, Architectural Firms
Original Est. Cost: $600-$3,000*
Current Est. Value: $5,000-$25,000*

Some designers want to bring this trend back, while others fight tooth-and-nail to prevent just that from happening. Sunken living rooms are certainly not as popular now, though there has been a slight resurgence in the trend. Called conversation pits, these recessed common areas started making a splash in the 1960s.

Sunken Living Rooms @vicemag/Pinterest

They spread like wildfire, and, for two decades, they were the best way to kick back with your family and entertain guests. You’d have to head down two or three steps to get to your home’s sitting area, but those steps served as a way to define the space in which you talked and laughed with family and friends.

Where It Was Sold: Aarnio Originals (This Specific Chair)
Original Est. Cost: $943*
Current Est. Value: $12,400*

The Ball Chair debuted in 1963, and it was considered a revolutionary example of taking Space Age design and incorporating it into your home. It debuted in 1966 at the Cologne Furniture Fair, and it made its mark as a famous, classic piece of Finnish design. The Ball Chair was even in a few movies and music videos.

Egg Chairs ©Emily Hilton/foter.com

For those who couldn’t afford the steep price of the Ball Chair, there were plenty of copycats. Egg-shaped and ball-shaped chairs were spotted in lots of homes in the 1970s, and you could find them at pretty much any major furniture store as a staple.

Where It Was Sold: Radio Shack, Best Buy
Original Est. Cost: $189.95*
Current Est. Value: $60-$80*

In 1977, the gaming world changed when Atari came out with its Atari Video Computer System. This home video game console was responsible for popularizing video games, and every single kid in America begged their parents for an Atari for Christmas that year. When the Atari came out, it was priced at $190.

Atari Video Games Console ©Pit Stock/Shutterstock.com

That’s the equivalent of $850 in today’s money. Though Atari dominated gaming in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it faltered amid competition from other game developers and their consoles. Also, Atari’s management made a series of bad game-production decisions that ended up sinking Atari, Inc. and ending its era.

Where It Was Sold: Radio Shack, Best Buy
Original Est. Cost: $900*
Current Est. Value: $45*

If you watch any movie from the 1970s or around that time, chances are that you’re going to see a wall phone in a scene or two. Remember these phones? They hooked up to the wall via a long cord attached to a handset. They were the polar opposite of the sleek, convenient cell phones that we use today.

Wall Phone @BoszeEvaBorbala/Pinterest

Motorola was one of the most popular phone brands at the time, and the company took things a step further in the early 1970s when it introduced the first portable phone. A decade later, the FCC approved the DynaTAC 8000X, the first cell phone. It was huge and unwieldy, and a lot of people preferred their wall phones.

Where It Was Sold: The Sea Monkey Aquarium, Toys R Us
Original Est. Cost: $1.75* (Postage Included)
Current Est. Value: $8.99*

The ‘70s was full of strange toys, and Sea Monkeys were definitely near the top of the list, as far as uniqueness goes. Sea Monkeys were brine shrimp sold as novelty pets. They were sold as eggs you could add to water, and they cost $1.25 plus postage from the “Sea Monkey Aquarium.” Over time, these Sea Monkeys would grow to a half-inch long.

Sea Monkeys @RetroFun/Pinterest

These pets became popular because they were so small and required little-to-no attention. Sea Monkeys were marketed as an alternative pet for people who weren’t able to have a dog, cat, or anything larger and more complicated.

Where It Was Sold: Ford, Chevy, VW, and Jeep Dealerships
Original Est. Cost: $3,542-$6,847*
Current Est. Value: $1,800* (1973 Kammback)

The Woodie was a popular station wagon body type, and the appearance of polished wood on a car made it look less like an automobile and more like a piece of furniture. In the 1970s, cars no longer used actual wood construction, but they still accented the exterior with it. For example, the Ford Pinto Squire came out in the early 1970s with wood trim.

Station Wagons With Wood Trim @shadowgwm/Pinterest

Chevrolet, not to be outdone, came out with the Chevy Vega Kammback in 1973. Other cars in the seventies that used the Woodie bodywork included the Chevy El Camino Estate, Chevy Suburban, Volkswagen Rabbit, and Jeep Wagoneer.

Where It Was Sold: Macy’s, Levitz Furniture, Pottery Barn, Ashley Furniture
Original Est. Cost: $100-$500* (Armchair Price)
Current Est. Value: $200-$1,000*

Wood frame furniture was a common staple of 1970s homes, and furniture and department stores would have been remiss if they sold a piece without a telltale showing of beech, mahogany, white ash, or birch. White and red oak, hard maple, and American elm were also often used for framing furniture.

Wooden Framed Furniture @Collectors Weekly/Pinterest

When you look at an image of vintage furniture, the wood framing is often an easy indicator that the piece is dated. Even armchairs couldn’t escape this feature. As you can see, this photo is classic ‘70s, through and through, from the interesting chair pattern to the bottles of Faygo on the floor.