Posted on 08/02/2025 8:59:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The 60s were when life burst into colour for many people after the drab 50s.
The music, the fashion and the newfound freedom, for some at least, made it a great decade in which to grow up.
Wartime austerity was finally coming to an end and more and more households were able to afford time-saving mod-cons.
But no era is perfect and the 60s certainly had their flaws.
Below are nine things you almost certainly don’t miss about the 1960s if you grew up then.
1. Waking up to ice on the inside of your windows
At the start of the 60s, only around 5% of homes in the UK had central heating, and that figure was still down at 30% by the end of the decade. Lots of people remember waking up to find frost on the inside of their windows.
2. Running out of coins for the TV
In the 1960s, many households rented their TV and they were coin operated, which meant that if you ran out of money you risked missing your favourite show that day. One person recalled how their grandparents had a slot TV and when someone came to collect the rent each month whatever was in the box would be taken out of what they owed.
3. Squeezing into a bubble car
The bubble car, as it was dubbed, was launched in the 1950s but remained a popular vehicle in the early 60s, even with the advent of the Mini. The BMW Isetta had a tiny engine, a top speed of just 53mph and painfully slow acceleration, with early models taking half a minute to reach just 30mph. But the fuel economy was great and it was like no other car, with a single door at the front, containing the steering wheel and instrument panel, swinging open for access. There was supposedly space for two adults and a small child, in the days before road safety was a thing, but as you can see that was a bit of a squash.
4. Sharing a party line
It may sound fun but the party line was a way of saving money by sharing a telephone line with other people. Only one person could use the line at a time so you often had to wait for the line to be free. You could also listen in to another person's call if you were nosy, which wasn't uncommon, it seems. The Kinks memorably sang about the experience in their classic song, Party Line, which includes the lyrics 'wish I had a more direct connection'.
5. 'Tracing paper' loo roll
If you went to school in the 60s, you'll likely recall how the loo roll was not at all kind to your bum. The shiny, rough, non-absorbent toilet paper used in many school toilets was the antiseptic Izal loo roll, which most pupils back then dreaded using. It was widely known by children of that generation as 'tracing paper' loo roll and the very mention of it is enough to send a shudder up the spine of those who remember using the stuff. One person called it a 'crime against humanity' and another said 'whoever invented it should be punished'.
6. Waiting for the launch of Radio Caroline
The 60s are widely recognised as the best decade for music, with the explosion of rock 'n' roll, and the arrival of great bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. But it took a while for DJs to give the public what they wanted, with Radio 2 reportedly rationing listeners to just three hours of rock 'n' roll a week in the early 60s as part of a rather traditional, conservative playlist. Thank heavens then for Radio Caroline, the pirate station which shook things up when it launched in 1964 - doing so from a ship off the British coast, to circumvent broadcasting laws. Such was the demand that within weeks of hitting the air it was reportedly attracting around 7 million listeners. Tony Blackburn, Johnnie Walker and Dave Lee Travis were among the big name DJs who started out aboard Radio Caroline before moving to the BBC.
7. Ghastly paisley shirts
The 1960s were a golden age for fashion, full of colourful, flamboyant design classics, from flared trousers to the mini-skirt. But the decade was not without sartorial sin - the popularity of paisley shirts being a case in point. Two of the biggest offenders, it seems, were the pop duo Sonny and Cher.
8. The smell of boiled cabbage
School dinners in the 60s were a stodgy affair, with potatoes and pastry featuring prominently. The smell of boiled cabbage hung heavy in the air, and most pupils dreaded seeing spam fritters on the menu again. Some desserts were more popular than others, with the skin on a wobbly blancmange, and 'frogspawn' tapioca pudding turning many children's stomachs.
9. Needing a degree to work out your change
It wasn't until 1971 that the UK switched to decimal currency, with people still paying in pounds, shillings and pence during the 60s. That meant children grew up knowing their 12 times table, with 12 pence to the shilling, but it could still be confusing when it came to calculating your change at the checkout. Of course, people were used to it back then, and when the switch came in the 70s many people found that even more confusing at first.
My best friend’s father growing up served in Patton’s Third Army. When they encountered their British brothers-in-arms, they would be greeted with “’ey, Yank, got ah fag?” The Brits knew what they were saying, they just liked to tweak the Yanks, who actually were replete with tobacco. I worked with a guy who had previously worked for a U.S. company that had a plant in Britain. The secretary would call his home in the U.S. and tell his wife to “Have Joe knock me up when he’s over here.”, meaning in British “visit me”, but she knew what it meant in American.
Allan Sherman - Pop Hates The Beatles
My daughter needs a new phonograph
She wore out all the needles
Besides, I broke the old one in half
I hate the Beatles
She says they have a Liverpool beat
She says they used to play there
Four nice kids from offa the street
Why didn’t they stay there?
What is all the screaming about?
Fainting and swooning
Sounds to me like their guitars
Could use a little tuning
The boys are from the British Empire
The British think they’re keen
If that is what the British desire
God Save The Queen
No daughter of mine can push me around
In my home I’m the master
But when the British come into town
Gad, what a disaster
Little girls in sneakers and jeans
Destroyed the territory
‘Twas like some of the gorier scenes
From West Side Story
Of course my daughter had to go there
The tickets are cheap, she hollers
I was able to pick up a pair
For 47 dollars
When the Beatles come on the stage
They scream and shriek and cheer them
Now I know why they’re such a rage
It’s impossible to hear them
Ringo is the one with the drum
The others all play with him
It shows you what a boy can become
Without a sense of rhythm
There’s Beatle books and T-shirts and rings
And one thing and another
To buy my daughter all of these things
I had to sell her brother
Back in 1776
We fought the British then, folks
Parents of America
It’s time to do it again, folks
When they come back, here’s how we’ll begin
We’ll throw ‘em in Boston Harbor
But please, before we toss ‘em all in
Let’s take ‘em to a barber!
The old CRT tubes emitted strong radiation at the "line scan" frequency. In the U.S. NTSC system, with 525 lines per frame and 60 frames a second it was 525 x 60 = 31,500 Hz. For the British PAL is was 625 lines per frame times 25 frames per second for 15,625 Hz.
Didn’t grow up in the (U.K.) always wanted to visit it for a summer wished I had a chance to but didn’t however have friends from there sounds like a great place.
Thanks
That was the LSD.
When I first visited England in the mid-60s, I was shocked at how primitive many conditions still were, compared to the U.S. This article is a reminder. One of our hosts in a northern industrial city still had an outhouse in the narrow alley behind their rowhouse.
Then again, the U.S. hadn’t had two world wars on or land, as England had done twenty years prior.
WWI and WWII destroyed Britain, they didn’t win squat. Lost their Empire and most of their manufacturing base. Lost so much manpower they had to import labor from the colonies.
Germany (twice) and Japan (once) got crushed much harder in every way than Britain. World War I had an enormous demoralizing effect on Britain, especially on the upper classes, who died at a much higher rate. World War II was similar in that relatively speaking, it had a much greater effect on British national pride and self-image than on Japan or Germany’s. It was humiliating for Britain to see itself playing second fiddle to America, a country almost entirely without imperial ambition, and they deeply resented it.
What they mainly lost was not just fighting men, but men with fight. It is tragic.
What they mainly lost was not just fighting men, but men with fight. It is tragic.
This too. Especially when ‘Colonialism Guilt’ took hold.
This Scotsman is still bitter about toilet paper 60 years ago?
Are there fewer commercials?
George Harrison grew up with a privy in the back his parents’ house.
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