Things Kids of Today Wouldn't Recognize

Yeah vinyl bench seats without seatbelts! My mom’s youngest brother thought it was a great idea to put a slip and slide with the kids from door to door. It was fun.

 

Better yet, remember the clear plastic seat covers that they used to put over the vinyl seats??????

 

I had a High School Buddy who was quite the ladies man. I was riding shotgun one day when he turned the corner right and I slid hard over toward him. I commented that I could have ended up in his lap. He smiled and said "Yes I know, I wax the covers"!

 

Oh no!

One of those?

 

yeah................... but the scary part these days is that the new generation studs hang their own ladies underwear from their mirrors............

 

My parents told me of the usefulness of car radio antennas during the winter. Snow plows would push up big banks of snow at intersections and drivers couldn't see other cars at those spots. Drivers would put a colored rag on the antenna so other drivers could see them at intersections.

 

The rags would usually bend over the antennas if they weren't removed. A lot of places started making Styrofoam balls of bright colors that you would place on top of the antenna. Also helped to locate your car in larger parking lots, so they claimed.

Where Did the Car Antenna Ball Originate?
The first antenna topper was actually a specific style of antenna topper created for marketing purposes.

Back at the 1962 World’s Fair, Union 76 (also known as just 76, named after our year of independence) introduced a new style of sign for their gas stations: a rotating orange ball with the number “76” in blue lettering mounted atop a pole. The sign became such a recognizable sight on the road that, in 1967, Union 76 distributed tens of millions of plastic-foam Polystyrene balls imitating their iconic sign to customers along the West Coast.


It all started with this marketing item…
Photo: Stephen Velasco via CC

This is the first recorded invention of what became known as the “antenna topper” or “antenna ball.”

The ease of installing them, and the appeal of customizing your vehicle with a simple novelty item, began a popular fad from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. All kinds of antenna toppers were manufactured and distributed by companies across the country, and even in other parts of the world. For years, car antennas were donned by foam smiley faces, sports team swag, animal shapes, business logos, and more–despite how frequently they were stolen from cars in parking lots.

Although declining in popularity for some years, antenna balls returned to public light in the 1990s when fast food chain Jack in the Box sold their clown-faced logo on antenna toppers.

While very few antenna toppers are seen on cars outside of classic car cruises, they still remain an important item in the history of automobile fads.

 

My kids love riding in the truck for just that reason of a bench seat!

 

Fenders, yes. Headlights, no.

Heck, I even had the opportunity to ride on one of those airplane hood ornaments.....for a very short while....until I fell off in a bloody mess!

Yup, rode my bike right into the path of an oncoming car! And yes, it did leave a mark!

 

On the bike ????....................................

 

That was my first close call.....

 

Ouch, I hope you had your pants on!!

 

if I remember correctly my Dad had a 71 Caddy that had fender skirts