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Growing up in L.A. during the ’70s and ’80s

This promises to be a never-ending list. Let’s get started. Remember?:

Go Climb a Rock Yosemite Mountaineering School

The Mighty 690 on AM radio
94.7 KMET and Dr. Demento
KIQQ (100.3, pre-Pirate Radio)
93 KHJ and KDAY
The Three Stooges
The Little Rascals
Pippi Longstocking
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Kung Fu Theater on Channel 9
The pre-Pure Rock 105.5 KNAC (slogan: “The Heart of Rock and Roll”)
Popeye on Channel 5 on Sunday mornings (Tom Slick and Super Chicken)
Twilight Zone Marathon on Thanksgiving and July 4th (also on KTLA Channel 5)
Members Only jackets
Le Tigre, the sellable knock-off to the exceedingly elite Izod “Alligator” shirts
Dolfin Shorts
Leg Warmers
Dittos (hurt me!)
Jordache jeans
Chemin de Fer
Gauchos
Girls with strawberry lip gloss
McDonald’s bracelets to hold your lunch money (fifty cents)
Pete Ellis Dodge commercials (“Long Beach Freeway, Firestone exit, Southgate”)
Carpeteria commercials
Phil n’ Jim’s commercials
National Lumber (Shorty!)
Lake Delores (Lake Dolores)
Cal Worthington and his dog Spot! (And no, you weren’t the only kid who thought it went “pussy cow”)
Jack LaLanne
Smog alerts, which called recess off
Earthquake Drills and “Drop Drills”
Heads Up Seven Up on rainy days at school

The Red Balloon

The Red Balloon
Steal the Bacon
Vans
O.P. shorts
Puka shell necklaces
Unbreakable combs
Switchblade combs
Bolt
Hang Ten
Stubbies
Baja Lopez ponchos
Flojos
Krofft Superstars, the show by Sid and Marty Krofft
POW!, the telephone call-in video game on the Krofft show
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
The Bugaloos
Lidsville
HR Pufnstuf
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
The White Shadow
What’s Happening!
S.W.A.T.
CHiPs
Emergency!
Speed Racer on Channel 56 (UHF!)
Wally George on Channel 56
Real People
Bowling for Dollars
The Incredible Hulk
The Love Boat
Fantasy Island
Licorice Pizza
Pup n’ Taco
Sambo’s (renamed to Denny’s for the purpose of political correction)
Disneyland’s Monsanto’s Adventure Thru Inner Space
E tickets, D tickets, C tickets, B tickets, and A tickets

Licorice Pizza

The Marathon Bar
Wax Lips
Candy cigarettes
Fred Rated and the Federated Group
Montgomery Ward (i.e. “Monkey Wards”)
MV3 with Richard Blade
Blue Chip stamp redemption centers
Sears Surplus
Fedco
Gemco
Zody’s
The Treasury
Orbach’s
Kinney’s
Buster Brown
Tom McCann
Farrell’s
Marineland
Skate parks
Top Siders with no socks
Pee-Chee folders
Trapper-Keepers
The denim folder
Pencil fighting
A.Y.S.O.
Shasta soda
Aspen soda (apple flavored)
Fresca
The Nestea plunge
Alba 77
Schwinn Stingrays
Green Machines
G.I. Joes
Army Men
Slime
Speak and Spell
Stop Thief!
Connect Four
Hot Wheels with never enough tongues for the tracks
Eraser Mate
The four colored ball point pen(!!!)
Mattel Football
Rubik’s Cube
Pyraminx
Missing Link
Water Basketball (thumb cramp!)
Sea-Monkeys
V (the series)
Pintos, Gremlins, Datsun B210s, and Volkswagen Squarebacks
Roller Disco
Space Invaders
Asteroids
Asteroids Deluxe (had a shield instead of hyperspace)

Pretty sneaky, sis

Frogger
Seawolf (sucked)
Dragon’s Lair
Centipede
Millipede (with the TNT)
Pengo
Defender
Defender Stargate
Scramble
Galaga
Galaxian
Pac-Man
Super Cobra
Atari 2600
ON TV
SelecTV
Red Devil Fireworks
Cool metal lunchboxes and the lame oddball yellow plastic Snoopy one
Slip n’ Slide
Toss Across (beanbag Tic-Tac-Toe)
Lawn Darts
Stephan! Jack Stephan!
Bandini Mountain
Lolly lolly lolly get your adverbs here (anybody else think it was “f-words here”?)

532 comments… add one
  • jaced.com January 15, 2014, 10:04 am
  • jaced.com January 16, 2014, 12:52 am
  • Allan Ostermann January 27, 2014, 12:46 pm

    I remember from when I was, like, 3. I think the funky instrumentals are from Sly and the Family Stone :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__48P1Fbjm8

  • jaced.com February 3, 2014, 6:00 pm
  • jaced.com February 3, 2014, 6:01 pm
  • Allan Ostermann February 4, 2014, 7:05 pm

    “Your mama’s so small, she’s plays handball on the curb.”

  • jaced.com February 4, 2014, 7:07 pm

    Yo mama so fat, every time she walk through the door people yell, “HEY, KOOL-AID!!!”

  • allan ostermann February 24, 2014, 11:03 am

    GIF Viewmaster.
    Don’t Spill the Beans game.

  • Allan Ostermann March 26, 2014, 2:44 am

    The best psyche out on the playground. Whilst holding a football, tell someone to go long, and don’t pass it to ’em.

  • Allan Ostermann April 26, 2014, 10:07 pm

    Thom Mcan, Florsheim, and Hush Puppy shoes.

  • Allan Ostermann May 3, 2014, 1:32 pm

    Keep on Truckin’

    Nope. Not proud of that one, but there it is.

  • jaced.com May 3, 2014, 2:39 pm

    Cut the cheese.

  • Allan Ostermann May 3, 2014, 7:17 pm

    Clutch Cargo and his pal Spinner. A cartoon so cheap they used real mouths to recite the words.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFnLirXjjto

  • Allan Ostermann May 3, 2014, 7:21 pm

    Here’s a 70s LA moment. In Kindergarten, our whole class waving a giant parachute to the song, Up, Up and Away, (In My Beautiful Balloon) by The Fifth Demension.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5akEgsZSfhg

  • Allan Ostermann May 5, 2014, 8:10 am

    Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frasier in a marbles match on Wonderama (KTTV 11).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLMLpGPLbK0

  • jaced.com May 20, 2014, 11:46 am

    Watch this if you’re older than a millennial:

    I Can’t Believe We Made It

  • Allan Ostermann June 5, 2014, 12:32 am

    My favorite movie as a kid was The Bad News Bears. I think it was filmed in the Valley. Remember who they were sponsored by, Jace?

    Chico’s Bail Bonds.

  • Allan Ostermann June 5, 2014, 12:12 pm

    I was 7 when this came out. I think it gave me soul. Rufus, “Tell Me Something Good.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9uZOCEl7v0

  • jaced.com June 16, 2014, 9:04 am

    Zodys!

  • jaced.com August 28, 2014, 1:59 pm

    Flicks!

  • allan ostermann September 20, 2014, 8:57 pm

    Solarcaine!

  • jaced.com September 23, 2014, 11:49 am

    I’ll bet you I can make you say an Indian word.

  • allan ostermann September 25, 2014, 9:22 pm

    Dannon frozen yogurt stores (yogurt topped with mmm..carob chips)

  • jaced.com October 10, 2014, 10:32 am

    I never understood the point of buying a double when you could just double-fist two singles for the same price.

  • allan ostermann October 11, 2014, 6:08 pm
  • allan ostermann October 23, 2014, 1:41 pm

    St. Joseph Aspirin for Kids.

  • allan ostermann October 23, 2014, 1:43 pm

    “Why you hitting yourself in the face?”

  • Personal Trainer Guy Putney January 20, 2015, 10:18 am

    Ah, a few of these certainly ring a bell for me!

  • Willy D March 27, 2015, 10:22 am

    Schick Center commercials. My favorite was the one where the drunk guy comes home late and says “ahhh, the little woman” , as we see the wife in bed, starting to cry. She knows a couple of slaps and marital rape are in store. So dark, yet so campy.

  • jyll May 2, 2015, 2:13 pm

    Romper Room!

  • Bill August 11, 2015, 3:11 am

    Vertibird- we would half bury the little helicopter in sand and when it took off it kicked up dust and looked just like a real one! (that I’d seen on TV of course)

  • narvo October 1, 2015, 12:41 am

    Still going after all this time! Ok, who remembers these terms: Over the rainbows, slicies, cross-countries, tea parties (aka bouncies), babies… lol

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