Way Back When In '67

50 Things That Didn't Exist in 1967

I've been making a list of things that didn't exist when I was born.

I began to notice things that were introduced sometime in the last fifty-odd years. I used to think I had to write about each thing, but since the advent of Wikipedia (also on the list), I don't need to comment on the changes these things have made, and what it was like not to have them.

Some things may actually have been invented prior to 1967, but it could be they had not gained popular acceptance.

If you see something on this list that doesn't belong here, or if you can think of other things that do, email me.

The list:

  1. 1-hour photo (mostly obsolete due to digital photography)
  2. 3M Reflective tape
  3. Aerodynamics on Trucks
  4. AIDS, Avian Flu, Mad Cow Disease, Zika
  5. Answering machines (since replaced by cell phones)
  6. Athletic bras
  7. Automatic car windows -- and auto locks
  8. Bar codes (Also RFID tags)
  9. Blow dryers for hair
  10. Bottled water
  11. CDs (Now mostly replaced by mp3 players and digital files)
  12. Cellphones
  13. Childproof and Tamper-Resistant drug packaging
  14. Cordless phones
  15. COVID-19
  16. Crazy glue
  17. Curb Cuts
  18. Digital watches
  19. Dimmer switches
  20. Doggy poop bags
  21. dustbusters
  22. Edible styrofoam
  23. Frozen yogurt
  24. Fruit stickers
  25. Garage door openers
  26. Gore-tex
  27. GPS
  28. Handicapped parking and curb cuts
  29. Organic food
  30. Gluten free food
  31. Running shoes
  32. Bike Helmets
  33. Airbags
  34. Kale as a food and not just a decoration in a crushed ice bin at a buffet
  35. Kiwi fruit
  36. Liposuction
  37. Melamine foam aka Magic Erasers
  38. Mood Rings (1975)
  39. Mountain Bikes
  40. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear
  41. Paper or plastic?
  42. Plastic milk gallon jugs
  43. Plexiglass
  44. Post-it Notes
  45. Prescription drug ads on T.V.
  46. Pull tabs on cans
  47. Roller blades (as opposed to roller skates)
  48. Rumble strips on the side of highways
  49. Self check out lanes
  50. Self-stick stamps (the best invention for Hilo, where it is so humid). Also Forever stamps
  51. Smoke alarms. Also, Carbon Monoxide alarms
  52. Smoke free airplanes, bars, and buses
  53. Stickers on fruit
  54. Styrofoam
  55. Suntan lotion
  56. Superglue
  57. Teflon
  58. Tofu in U.S. mainland grocery stores
  59. Touch tone phones
  60. Touch screens
  61. Minivans with sliding doors
  62. VCRs, videocameras, steadicam
  63. Velcro
  64. Walkmans
  65. Walking man/hand sign (preceded by walk/don't walk sign)
  66. Weed whackers
  67. Wi-fi
  68. Wite-out
  69. ziploc bags

Also good: Beloit College Mindset List

Next up: the list of stuff that was outdated before 1967.

For example, chestnut trees.

Here's the start of a list of environmental changes we're seeing:

This MetaFilter thread discusses changes in culture for the olds