Like the 2003 hit OutKast song reminded us, you “gotta shake it like a polaroid picture.” A reference to the vigorous motion of air drying a freshly snapped Polaroid picture to speed up the development.
Unfortunately for all those folks back then, it was revealed in 2004 on the Polaroid website that this kind of “shaking or waving has no effect.”
Taping Tunes Off the Radio
Vintage music piracy perhaps? When you didn't have enough cash for the latest and hottest album at the record store, taping songs from the radio was the best way to go. Preparation was crucial though. You would set up your little portable cassette tape next to the radio and with your finger on the record button, you would just...wait.
It was worth it, though. Kids would record entire top 40 charts right onto their cassette tapes without stepping foot into a record store.
TV Test Patterns
Unlike today, there was no non-stop broadcast on every single channel. At around 2 or 3 am, the stations would bid goodnight to their many viewers, and vice versa, and everyone would be off to bed. The test pattern would be an American flag or even a native American symbol that would play on until the morning.
It was not until about 6 am that the broadcast would come back on.
Fearing Water
Life after Steven Spielberg's horrifying film Jaws traumatized sea-lovers for years to come. People would play that chilling that theme music in their heads the moment they dipped their toes into the water. It was a global case of aquaphobia.
People searched the oceans for that dubious shark fin peering through the waters. It wasn't until a few years later that people's memories began to fade, and they felt more comfortable in the waters.
Folks Having the Oscar Mayer Commercial Stuck in Their Heads
If you don't know the Oscar Mayer melody, then you're obviously too young because anybody who caught this catchy jingle would haver never be freed of it. The ad was simply a cute kid catching a fish while eating a sandwich, but his words would be burned in the minds of all throughout the 70s.
There have been some catchy ads over the years, but nothing quite beats this one.