Inventions That Were Huge When I Was Growing Up. VCR. 70s and 80's.

There it is. The kitchen from 1979. And look at the white appliance in the corner. It's a microwave. That is one of several inventions that I remember as being a big deal when I was growing up. Imagine wanting to heat something up and you had to preheat an oven or toaster oven!! It's just a waste of my time! You kids have it too good!

And the microwaves always came with a cookbook showing these elaborate meals you could make. No thanks. I'll stick to reheating. And I'm glad I sold my stock of hot popcorn popper companies the year before or I would have lost my shirt!

Here are a few other noteworthy inventions of my childhood that brought us into the world of tomorrow...

*hazy camera waves to indicate dreamy flashback*

What have we here? That my friend is a VCR. I think they became popular around 1979 (9th grade for me) but  I could be wrong. The great thing about the VCR was that you could actually watch a movie and not have to wait for it to come on one of your five channels. When I was a kid the Wizard of Oz came on once a year. And if you missed? Tough luck. Here's a tissue for your tears. Wait till next year.

Also, it was a chance to see some skin if you know what I mean. The only skin before that was maybe some nipple on Charlie's Angels or Three's Company. And come to think of it that wasn't even skin! It was fabric. Erect, nipple fabric penetrating through the shirt of  Farrah or Suzanne Somers. Or Maude*.

Next up? The TV remote. But guess what? This ad is from 1958??? Why did it take so long for remotes to become popular?? If I recall correctly remotes weren't common until about 1975 at least because I remember even seeing a commercial for a TV with a remote and my dad pulling down his newspaper and saying, "A remote control for your television? Now who is THAT lazy they can't get up from their couch, walk over to the television and turn the channel?" Then he shook his head and went back to reading the paper.

To read about my salute to hot dog cookers click here.

*In other nipple related news I remember a friend saying, "Did you see 'The Deep' last night on the ABC Movie of the week? You could see Jacqueline Bisset's nipples through her white t-shirt!" Sadly I missed it.