19 Strange Things People Did for Fun in the 1970s
Before the internet, before streaming, before smartphones — people had to get creative. And they did, sometimes in ways that seem completely baffling today.
The 1970s were a decade of bold choices, questionable fashion, and pastimes that made perfect sense at the time. Some of them were harmless.
Some were kind of dangerous. All of them were genuinely, enthusiastically popular.
Streaking
Running through public spaces without any clothes on became a full-blown craze in the early 1970s. College campuses were the main stage, but streakers showed up at sporting events, award ceremonies, and even the Academy Awards.
It peaked in 1974 and then faded almost as quickly as it started. Nobody’s entirely sure why it caught on so hard, but there’s something undeniably 1970s about the whole thing.
CB Radio Conversations
Truckers had been using Citizens Band radios for years, but in the mid-1970s, regular people got obsessed with them. You’d install a CB unit in your car, pick a “handle” — a nickname like “Rubber Duck” or “Night Rider” — and chat with strangers on the open road.
The 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit didn’t start the craze, but it definitely poured fuel on it. Whole families would spend evenings just talking to whoever happened to be on the same frequency.
Lava Lamp Staring
Lava lamps weren’t new to the 1970s, but they hit peak popularity during the decade. People would sit and watch the slow, hypnotic movement of wax blobs rising and falling in colored liquid for surprisingly long stretches of time.
It sounds boring on paper. In practice, it was apparently deeply satisfying — especially in a dimly lit room with the right record on.
Fondue Parties
Fondue made the jump from Swiss novelty to full-on dinner party staple in the 1970s. Couples would gather around a shared pot of melted cheese or chocolate and dip bread, fruit, and vegetables into it.
There were fondue sets on every wedding registry. Fondue restaurants opened across the country.
It had the social ease of shared food with just enough novelty to feel special. Then it disappeared for about two decades before quietly making a comeback.
Mood Ring Monitoring
Mood rings hit the market in 1975 and sold millions of units within a year. The rings changed color based on your body temperature and were marketed as a window into your emotional state.
People genuinely consulted their rings throughout the day. Was the stone dark blue? Good — you were relaxed and happy.
Black? Something was clearly wrong. The science behind them was shaky at best, but that didn’t slow anyone down.
Macramé Everything
Macramé — the art of knotting cord or rope into decorative patterns — was everywhere in the 1970s. People made wall hangings, plant hangers, purses, belts, and even room dividers out of knotted jute or cotton.
Classes filled up at community centers. Books on macramé sold out.
It required no special tools, just patience and cord, and the results could be genuinely beautiful. Your grandmother probably still has a plant hanger somewhere.
Roller Disco
Roller skating had been around forever, but combining it with the disco craze of the late 1970s created something genuinely electric. Roller rinks installed mirror orbs, pumped out Donna Summer and the Bee Gees, and suddenly became the place to be on a Friday night.
People took it seriously — practicing moves, wearing outfits, competing for floor space with people who had no business being that graceful on eight wheels.
Pet Rock Ownership
In 1975, a man named Gary Dahl sold ordinary rocks in cardboard boxes with ventilation pits and a care manual as if they were living pets. He became a millionaire within months.
People named their rocks, kept them on shelves, and gave them as gifts. There was something both absurd and oddly charming about it.
The Pet Rock was a joke that everyone was in on, and somehow that made it more fun, not less.
Skate Key Collecting
Metal skate keys — the tools used to tighten metal roller skates onto your shoes — became collectibles during the decade. Kids traded them like baseball cards.
Some were plain, some were engraved or painted, and having a good one meant something on the block. It’s the kind of hyper-specific obsession that only makes sense in a world where kids invented their own entertainment from whatever was lying around.
Eight-Track Tape Swapping
Before mixtapes, there were eight-track cartridges. People built entire social lives around their collections, swapping tapes at parties and in cars.
The format had a strange quirk — songs sometimes got cut off mid-way and picked up on the next track — but people worked around it and loved it anyway. Having a car with an eight-track player was a genuine status symbol in the early part of the decade.
Worm Grunting
This one is less a fad and more a regional tradition, but it deserves a mention. In parts of the American South, people practiced “worm grunting” — driving wooden stakes into the ground and rubbing them to create vibrations that coax earthworms to the surface.
It was used for fishing bait, but it also became a competitive pastime with tournaments and local fame. If you grew up around it, it was completely normal.
If you didn’t, it sounds like something from a dream.
Home Movie Nights with Super 8
Super 8 film cameras put moviemaking in the hands of everyday families in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Families would film birthdays, vacations, and random Tuesday afternoons, then gather everyone around a wall or screen to watch the footage together.
There was no editing, no do-overs — just grainy, flickering slices of real life. Watching old Super 8 footage now feels like time travel in a way that digital video simply doesn’t replicate.
Groovy Candle Making
Homemade candles were everywhere in the 1970s. People poured wax into molds, added dyes and scents, and experimented with layered and sculpted designs.
It was a craft you could do at home with relatively simple supplies, and the results looked impressive enough to display. Candle-making kits were popular gifts.
The smell of hot paraffin became a fixture in basements and kitchens across the country.
Bicentennial Collecting
The American Bicentennial in 1976 triggered a collecting frenzy that lasted years. Commemorative plates, coins, mugs, posters, and license plates flooded the market and people snapped them up.
Some households had entire shelves dedicated to Bicentennial merchandise. It was patriotism as a hobby, and it reached every corner of the country.
A surprising number of those commemorative plates are still sitting in kitchen cabinets today.
Watching Test Patterns
This sounds less like fun and more like late-stage boredom, but bear with it. Television stations went off the air each night, usually around midnight, and replaced their broadcast signal with a test pattern — a static image with a tone.
Some people developed a strange attachment to this ritual. Falling asleep to the hum and pattern of a dead channel had a peculiar comfort to it.
The idea of a TV simply stopping feels almost science fiction now.
Shag Carpeting Raking
Back then, some households kept special tools just for grooming their plush shag rugs. Thick fibers demanded attention – without care, they’d flatten fast.
A slow pull of the rake could lift crushed loops into soft waves again. Folks seemed to enjoy the motion, almost like brushing hair.
Visitors often commented on how fresh it looked. Pride showed in tidy floors more than you’d expect.
For a stretch, knowing how to tend carpet this way meant something at home.
Drive-In Triple Features
Back in the 1970s, drive-ins found their moment even though they’d been around long before. Tuning the car radio to a specific station became part of the routine, along with loading up on food from home.
Viewers often stayed put through double or triple features, never stepping outside the vehicle. What mattered just as much as the screen was hanging out, chatting across parking rows.
Families sprawled inside sedans while children drifted off behind tinted windows. A weak ending didn’t ruin things – most were too busy talking anyway.
Phone Booth Stuffing
Back when the seventies began, crowds started squeezing into telephone kiosks just to test limits. This wasn’t new – college students had done it before, back in the fifties – but suddenly it returned, quieter this time.
Depending on who was watching, the terms changed: some demanded every person stay entirely within, doors shut tight; others didn’t mind if feet stuck out. Numbers climbed fast, proof snapped in photos, only to be beaten days later.
All it took? A few warm bodies, one glass box, plus a shared urge to look utterly absurd.
Being Outside Until Dark
Looking back now, it feels almost unreal. Home by nightfall – that was the only demand for children in the 70s.
Everything else unfolded without a plan. No timetables filled their afternoons.
Electronics didn’t grab their attention. Adults stayed out of the way.
Free time just… existed. Out here you’d roam streets, cobble together forts, bicker over pretend game laws – time stretched thin on just make-believe and whoever showed up.
Feels basic when said aloud. Turns out, copying that wild openness? Nearly impossible now.
The Strange New World of the 2010s
Something about the seventies keeps pulling us back in discussions around music, fashion, old feelings, and how spaces were put together. A hunger for what felt fresh ruled that time, especially if it leaned odd or unusual.
With real energy, folks dove into passing crazes, staying wholehearted until the next thing caught their eye – no shame in shifting gears. Mood rings made fingers colorful, Pet Rocks sat quietly on shelves, voices crackled through CB radios late at night; each one offered a thread to link people, brief laughter, maybe even a story worth sharing later.
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