This is one for those 40+

[Neesy]

Yes to all! And my best friend's family got a Beta (before VHS) tape machine that had a remote.... attached by a 20 foot cord to the machine!

I used to go to Sears to rent a VCR and tapes (I always picked the beta rather than the VHS because the machine was smaller and easier to carry).

 

[arista]

We had the VHS tapes and we actually had to rewind them before they returned to the store.

 

[ghost19]

I used to go to Sears to rent a VCR and tapes (I always picked the beta rather than the VHS because the machine was smaller and easier to carry).

Uggh, now we are showing our age Neesy. I remember my mom and dad debating over whether to buy a VHS player or a Beta player via the Sears catalog..lol
They opted for the top loading VHS player. I also remember them paying $75-$100 PER MOVIE when they first became available to buy...lol

 

[JMR]

I am not 40 yet...still only 38..but the arcade at the mall was always fun.

 

[cat in a bag]

We had a Curtis Mathes store and that was where we rented a vcr and movies. That was where our first VCR was bought from. I remember how noisy it was! Always a huge ker-clunk noise when you pressed the stop button, especially from rewind or ff.

We had an agreement with the store that we got to keep the movies for 7 days, since we lived on the farm and weren't in town but once a week. I wonder if my parents had to pay more for that?

 

[fljoe0]

Remember how hard those first vcrs were to get adjusted? They were a lot harder than just plug in and go.

 

[ghost19]

We had a Curtis Mathes store and that was where we rented a vcr and movies. That was where our first VCR was bought from. I remember how noisy it was! Always a huge ker-clunk noise when you pressed the stop button, especially from rewind or ff.

We had an agreement with the store that we got to keep the movies for 7 days, since we lived on the farm and weren't in town but once a week. I wonder if my parents had to pay more for that?

When we moved up here in 1985 from southern Arkansas there were something like ten places you could rent VHS tapes from.....we had one store in our home town and it was the ONLY store for about a 25 mile radius that rented tapes. I can remember my and dad and I driving around Fayetteville trying to find one of those rental places that had "Missing in Action 2" in stock instead of all rented out...lol

 

[swiftdog2.0]

At the bakery you could ask them to slice a loaf for you using the bread slicer machine!

Some still do that!

 

[swiftdog2.0]

Uggh, now we are showing our age Neesy. I remember my mom and dad debating over whether to buy a VHS player or a Beta player via the Sears catalog..lol
They opted for the top loading VHS player. I also remember them paying $75-$100 PER MOVIE when they first became available to buy...lol

BETA was actually a better platform but VHS won out.

 

[ghost19]

BETA was actually a better platform but VHS won out.

That's what I always heard. My uncle with with a Beta and said he liked it better than the VHS he bought back then. I was the same way with HD DVD vs Blu-Ray..lol
HD DVDs sounded and looked so much better than Blu-rays but Sony killed Microsoft in that battle because they incorporated a blu-ray player into the PS3 which was genius. Xbox being backed my Microsoft made you buy a separate player for the HD DVDs but they were AMAZING as far as quality of the video and sound. I still have an Xbox 360 hooked up with the old HD DVD player and I bought a ton of HD DVDs when they first came out. I've played the Blu Rays side by side with the HD DVD and there's really no comparison, the HD DVDs just look better but it's all about marketing. Sony won that one fair and square..lol

 

[HollyGolightly]

Oh god -I remember all of that. Huge tvs, no remote, shag carpet, one phone in the kitchen, and before beta/vhs - did you get these

They were the size of lps and easy scratched. Hard to find. We'd rent one on snow days and a pile of movies.

 

[fljoe0]

Oh god -I remember all of that. Huge tvs, no remote, shag carpet, one phone in the kitchen, and before beta/vhs - did you get these

They were the size of lps and easy scratched. Hard to find. We'd rent one on snow days and a pile of movies.

And you had to flip them over. they were only good for an hour or so per side.

 

[wdb1124]

Console stereos. With the faux wood paneling. My grandparents had one. Those things were HUGE! Of course, I had my little tabletop record player in my bedroom WITH the little adapter to play the 45rpm singles!

 

[wdb1124]

LOL. The only time girls called me was to cry over my best friend breaking up with them and to ask me why he didn't like them anymore......hmmmmm.....

Sadly, I've had that happen too. Jeez...

 

[misery chastain loves co.]

During a week in the 1960’s I remember everyone had to go and get a polio vaccine (I believe that’s what is was for) given in the form of a sugar cube. It was a mass social event... the 'Candy Polio Vaccine.' Everyone in town had to go to the middle school to receive it. It was a real hoot for all the kids... we ran rampant.

are you sure yours wasn't a penicillin shot?

 

[fljoe0]

On George Carlin's first HBO special in the 1977, HBO ran a language warning before the show like it was going to be a traumatic event.

the show starts with a nearly two minute disclaimer from journalist Shana Alexander. In it she warns the audience about the type of language they’re about to hear, and then basically tells people to decide for themselves if you want to see it: no one’s forcing you. “We respect your decision about whether you want to see it,” she says. With all of that out of the way, the show can begin.

Then in the final segment, they put this up

 

[misery chastain loves co.]

It is taking longer and longer to get through one of these.....

 

[osnafrank]

You had to physically get up to change channels, volume. And when the dial fell off, one used a pliers to change stations. Cartoons were for Saturday morning only.

Sometimes we used a Pencil.
I always loved the Saturday Morning Cartoons.

When I was a teenager, we had one phone in the house and it hung in the kitchen. Everyone could hear your conversation. If a girl called and people were hanging out in the kitchen (my family loves to hang out in the kitchen ), I would stretch the cord as far as I could to try and get a little privacy.

Ours was in the Living Room but i had the same Issue like you

It's hard to believe we used to have to answer the phone without knowing who was calling.

Yap, especially if you waited for a call, then the phone rang, you picked up the Receiver and shouted "dang it, why do u call so late"
And the Voice answered "He-He-Hello, here is Grandma"

We had the VHS tapes and we actually had to rewind them before they returned to the store.

Same here, there was a 50 Cent Fine if you forgot to rewind them *lol*

 

[GNTLGNT]

Did you happen to live at a used car lot run by a rotund feller named Junior?

....yep, me and da fambly would shock the Flatlanders by randomly popping up in cornfields and hollering "Hooowwwwwdeeee!!"....

 

[arista]

I used to get up in the morning and eat Quisp cereal and watch cartoons. Looney Tunes and the Road Runner/Foghorn Leghorn the list goes on and on.