When my son did a 70s fads list on his blog I thought now is a good time to put my 40s list together. I would bet there are some things on this list that will amaze you, having been invented in the 40s.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with table side juke boxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines on the telephone
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning (there were only 3 channels – if you were fortunate)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S& H Green Stamps

16. Hi-fi’s
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys

22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers
26. two piece bikini
27. the Jitterbug
28. the first jet engine
29. Stuart Little was written in the 40s
30. Slinky
31. Moving to the suburbs
32. Bubble gum blowing contests
33. flying saucers
34. Tutti-frutti
35. Zoot suit
36. Atomic Bomb
37. The Wurlitzer Jukebox
38. The First All Electric Computer
39. The United Nations
40. NATO
41. Aerosol Spray Cans
42. Microwave Oven
43. Cake Mix
44. Tupperware
45. Velcro
46. Dairy Queen and Carl’s Jr.
47. old buddy “Kilroy” peeking over the wall
48. Color tv
49. Frisbee
50. Red Ryder BB Gun

I had a query on what were P F Flyers:

PF Flyers are a brand of athletic shoes that are currently manufactured by New Balance. They were first produced by BF Goodrich in 1937. They had popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, but lost steam during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The brand was purchased by Converse in 1972, but later sold off due to antitrust issues. New Balance bought the rights to the brand in 2001 (which had been dormant since 1992) and resurrected it in 2003.
The style most commonly associated with the shoe is the common canvas-duck sneaker, with cloth reaching above the ankle, and a patch that reads “PF Flyers.” This common style is called “Center Hi”. They are very similar to the Chuck Taylor All-Stars manufactured by Converse.

OMG, I’m rich
silver in the hair
gold in the teeth
crystals in the kidneys
sugar in the blood
lead in the ass
Iron in the arteries
and
an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas
I never thought I’d accumulate such wealth
author unknown

Members of Congress work 128 days or less per year and an average of 7.4 hours per day. Rank-and-file members of the House and Senate make $174,000 per year. Based on the average American 52-week year, that amounts to $669 per day but calculated on Congress’ 128-day year, lawmakers are taking home twice the daily pay — $1,359 per day – for about half the working time.

Based on a normal 40-hour work week, lawmakers make $84 per hour. But figuring on their actual 37-hour workweek, they make $90 per hour.

Gov. Bobby Jindal says the United States would be better off if members of Congress spent less time in Washington and feels U.S. lawmakers should work part-time, be term-limited and not allowed to become lobbyists once they leave Congress.

Gather those pines cones from the yard and use them as fire starters in the fireplace. Who’d of thought?

1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.
13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
17. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
19. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
22. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
24. The first testicular guard, the “Cup,” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Zuma Nesta Rock
Sundance
Bronx Mowgli
Diesel
Denham. 
Harlow Winter Kate
Sparrow James Midnight
Poppy Honey Rosie
Daisy Boo Pamela
Petal Blossom Rainbow
Moses
Atlas
Destry Allyn
Jagger Joseph Blue
Dolly Rebecca Rose
Charlie Tamara Tulip
Peanut Kai
Zoe Isabella
Lola Iolani
Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha
Kal-El
Sonnet
True
Ocean
Tu Morrow
Homer James Jigme
Peaches Honeyblossom
Fifi Trixibelle
Little Pixie
Heavenly Hiraani
Tiger Lily
Steveanna
Blue Angel
Zolten
Rumer
Scout
Talullah
and we wonder why the children of celebrities are so prone to getting in trouble!

Nice to Remember:
HEY,  WASN’T THAT US ?  
A  little house with three bedrooms and one car on  the street. 
A  mower that you had to push to make the grass look  neat. 
In  the kitchen on the wall we only had one  phone,
And no need  for recording things, someone was always  home. 
We only had a living  room where we would congregate, 
Unless it was at  mealtime in the kitchen where we  ate. 
We had no need for  family rooms or extra rooms to  dine, 
When meeting as a  family those two rooms would work out  fine. 
We only had one TV  set, and channels maybe two, 
But always there was one of  them with something worth the  view. 
For snacks we had  potato chips that tasted like a  chip, 
And if you wanted  flavor there was Lipton’s onion  dip. 
Store-bought snacks  were rare because my mother liked to cook, 
And nothing can  compare to snacks in Betty Crocker’s  book. 
Weekends were for  family trips or staying home to  play, 
We all did things  together — even go to church to  pray. 
When we did our  weekend trips depending on the  weather, 
No one stayed at  home because we liked to be  together. 
Sometimes we would  separate to do things on our own, 
But we knew where  the others were without our own cell  phone. 
Then there were the  movies with your favorite movie  star, 
And nothing can  compare to watching movies in your  car. 
Then there were the  picnics at the peak of summer  season, 
Pack a lunch and  find some trees and never need a  reason. 
Get a baseball game  together with all the friends you  know, 
Have real action  playing ball — and no game video. 
Remember when the  doctor used to be the family  friend, 
And didn’t need  insurance or a lawyer to defend? 
The way that he took  care of you or what he had to do, 
Because he took an  oath and strived to do the best  for you. 
Remember going to  the store and shopping casually, 
And  when you went to pay for  it you used your own money? 
Nothing that you had  to swipe or punch in some amount, 
Remember when the  cashier person had to really  count? 
The milkman used to  go from door to door, 
And  it was just a few cents more than  going to the store. 
There was a time  when mailed letters came right to  your door, 
Without a lot of  junk mail ads sent out by every store.. 
The mailman knew  each house by name and knew where  it was  sent; 
There were not loads  of mail addressed to ”present  occupant.” 
There was a time  when just one glance was all that  it would take, 
And  you would know the kind of car,  the model and the  make.
They didn’t look  like turtles trying to squeeze out  every mile; 
They were  streamlined, white walls, fins,  and really had some   style. 
One time the music  that you played whenever you would jive, 
Was  from a vinyl, big-holed record called a  forty-five. 
The record player  had a post to keep them all in line, 
And then the records would  drop down and play one at a time. 
Oh sure, we had our  problems then, just like we do  today, 
And always we were  striving, trying for a better way. 
Oh, the simple life  we lived still seems like so much  fun, 
How can you explain  a game, just kick the can and run?  
And why would boys  put baseball cards between bicycle spokes,  
And for a nickel red  machines had little bottled Cokes? 
This life seemed so  much easier and slower in some  ways, 
I love the new  technology but I sure miss those  days. 
So time moves on and  so do we, and nothing stays the  same, 
But I sure love to  reminisce and walk down memory  lane.
author unknown