The Larson Family

After my blog post yesterday, I did a little research on exactly how much things have changed since 1973. This is just some of what I found.

First, look at the ad to the left. It’s from a 1973 issue of Playboy magazine. “A Mini Sliderule”… in other words, a calculator, for the low, low price of $69.95! Of all the things I discovered today, the prices are what shocked me the most. For example:

• In 1973, the average price of a new house was $32,500.
• The average American yearly income was $12,500.
• If you rented an apartment in 1973, on average your monthly rent was $175.
• You could buy a brand new car, an AMC Javelin for only $2900.
• Filling that car with gas would have cost about eight bucks because a gallon of gas was just 40-cents.
• 45-cents would buy a dozen eggs.

Also in 1973, the Roe vs. Wade ruling was handed down in the US Supreme Court, the Watergate hearings began, armed members of the American Indian Movement seized Wounded Knee in South Dakota, and Secretariat won the Triple Crown. Skylab was launched, the barcode became common, and the Sears Tower was completed, surpassing the World Trade Center as the tallest building in the world.

Popular movies included:

• The Exorcist
• Deliverance
• American Graffiti

and some of the top TV shows were:

• M*A*S*H
• The Odd Couple
• McMillan and Wife - (how’s that for a politically incorrect title?)
• Sanford and Son
• Columbo
• The Bob Newhart Show

There was no such things as a cassette deck, CD player, personal computer, or satellite TV. Cable TV was in its infancy, and offering a whopping ten channels. My how times have changed. –Troy