Groovy Photos Take Us Back To The Best Years To Be Alive

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Chuck Bronson doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’s looking to lock down a sweet blonde gal like Jill Ireland. He puts off a vibe that says “beef jerky and Miller Lite” but in actuality he was a big sweetie, at least to Ireland.

Bronson and Ireland got together after meeting on the set of The Great Escape in 1963, and they married five years later. Throughout their marriage the couple appeared in 15 films with one another, more often than not as Bronson’s wife.

The two were together until 1990 when she passed away from breast cancer in their Mailbu home.

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Maureen McCormick was one of the most crashworthy stars of the ‘70s thanks to her role as Marsha on The Brady Bunch. However, she wasn’t super happy with all the game that the show brought her and she fell into drugs and alcohol at a young age.

McCormick told US Weekly that things got so bad that her parents almost turned her into the authorities:

My mom and dad, they almost turned me into the cops. They were at their last … ’cause they had been trying for years and knew something was going on and I was pretty sneaky and I could hide very, very well.

A young Dolly Parton and her asphalt salesman husband, Carl

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Dolly Parton holds the rare title of being a total babe and writing some of the most heart breaking love songs of the 20th century, but rather than have a litany of failed relationships in her wake she’s been married to the same man since 1964.

The couple met in ’64 outside the Wishy Washy laundromat in Nashville when she was 18 and he was 21. It was Parton’s first day in Nashville and she was just trying to clean her laundry but ended up finding love. Carl Dean, her beau says he knew he was going to marry her from moment one:

My first thought was I'm gonna marry that girl. My second thought was, 'Lord she's good lookin.' And that was the day my life began.

Sean Connery, Terence Young and actress Claudine Auger during the filming of Thunderball

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What better place to shoot a spy movie than the Bahamas? That’s where Thunderball’s greatest scenes take place and in the 1960s it’s a beautiful place to see.

Even more beautiful than the Bahaman scenery is Claudine Auger, a French-born actress who was once crowned Miss France and who finished first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World pageant.

While other actresses were up for the role of Domino in Thunderball, Auger earned the role when she ran into producer Kevin McClory, and he signed her on the spot. Reportedly he didn't care if she could speak, she just needed to look good in a bathing suit... no problem there.

Sonny and Cher looking groovy in the 1960s

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During the “I Got You Babe” hey day of the 1960s the duo’s detractors loved to make fun them for looking somewhat unusual, but isn’t that just what people do who are jealous?

It’s clear that aside from being great singers Sonny and Cher are two of the most gorgeous people on the planet.

Well… Cher is one of the most beautiful people on the planet and Sonny is one of the most confident. I think we can agree on that. After all, you have to have a lot of faith in yourself to go out in a camo Speedo and that hairline. 

Catherine Bach shows just a little skin

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It’s impossible to picture anyone else in the role of Daisy Duke than Catherine Bach, but before the Dukes of Hazzard went to air she was tossed out of the running for the character because producers didn’t think she looked the part of an All-American bombshell. She explained:

It was a complete fluke that I was Daisy Duke! I’m half Mexican and half German, and my agency said, ‘You’re way too exotic and just not television material’ – and they fired me.

It wasn’t until she was introduced to the creators at an event that they realized she was perfect for the part. Two weeks after a sit down she had the part. Now, Bach is as all-American as you can get.

Marilu Henner... one of the hottest actresses of the 70s

From 1978 - 1983 Marilu Henner wowed viewers on Taxi alongside Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, and Andy Kaufman as divorced single mom Elaine. Even though she was acting alongside a cast full of men Henner says that it wasn’t a boy’s club, but rather a club unto itself.

She explains that at the time that they were filming there were other iconic shows also filming on the lot and that at times it felt like they were back in school again. She said:

We did 112 shows and we literally had 112 parties. This cast was so into one another and every Friday we would throw a party. The Paramount lot was like going to the coolest high school ever. At that same time, you had Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy -- of course with Robin Williams; Bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks; Working Stiffs with Jim Belushi and Michael Keaton. You had all of these great sitcoms going on at the same time. But the Taxi cast — we were the ones that threw the parties.

Emily Banks as Yeoman Tonia Barrows "the temptress"

source: Paramont

Even if you aren’t a Trekkie you at least know about “Shore Leave,” one of the most beloved episodes of Star Trek. It finds the away team from the Enterprise on a paradise planet where they fall prey to the machinations of its ability to give people whatever they want.

Emily Banks plays Yeoman Tonia Roberts, the apple of Doctor McCoy’s eye and sexy space lady for this episode and to hear her tell it she didn’t realize she would be in such a skimpy outfit for most of the episode:

I didn’t realize that I was going to be running around with legs hanging out [from the uniform] and shoulders hanging out [from the torn tunic]. But I do remember I did a lot of running. There was a lot of running. And I remember thinking on the first couple days, ‘They don’t want an actress, they want an athlete.’ I was exhauseted, and we kept running and running.

Raquel Welch stuns on Dick Cavett

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When Raquel Welch appeared on the Dick Cavett Show in 1972 she was there to promote her transgressive film Myra Breckinridge in which she played a post-op transsexual woman, but she was stunned when she realized that she would also be meeting Janis Joplin.

Unbeknownst to Cavett or Joplin, Welch was a huge fan of the singer. Welch was such a goody two shoes that’s hard to picture hanging out in the green room with the hard partying Joplin, but at the very least she got to meet her. Welch remembers:

I happened to be a big, huge fan of Janis Joplin—she probably wouldn’t have known that. … I was gaga … and she was looking at me like I was from the moon.

The braless day of 70s fashion

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The bra was invented in the the 14th century B.C., but it wasn’t until 1800s that cultural norms began pushing women into brassieres, corsets, and girdles. It wasn’t until the 1960s that women began fighting back against the belief that they needed to dress a certain way.

The anti-bra movement began in earnest in 1968 outside of the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. Women lined up outside the pageant and burned bras, makeup, corsets, and even mops - anything that said “enforced femininity.”

In the 1970s many women who didn’t want to burn anything just started going around without bras, leaving little to the imagination.

A young Madonna in 1974

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Long before Madonna was the queen of pop she was just a teenager. It’s hard to imagine that she wasn’t formed in some kind of pop music science lab but she was just a kid like everyone else on the planet.

Growing up in Michigan, Madonna had to find her own fun. She wanted to be a dancer but she also worked on short films with her friends and even wrote some of her own poetry, but she didn’t come into her own until she went to college at the University of Michigan for a year before dropping out in 1978 and moving to New York City.

When she arrived in New York she only had about 30 bucks in her pocket and had to work at Dunkin’ Donuts while chasing her dreams.

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Even in the waining days of the hippie era of the early 1970s hitchhiking was still one of the go to ways that young people were drawn to in order to get around the country. This mode of travel - taking to the highway and sticking out your thumb - became popular in the Great Depression and it continued for decades.

At the time it made perfect sense to step out onto the shoulder of the road and see how far you could get, unfortunately a disproportionate amount of crazies made hitchhiking too dangers - both for the hitchers and the drivers.

Today we only have the memories of the halcyon days of taking to the road just to see how far you could get.

Heather Locklear posing in front of what looks to be a giant Trapper Keeper

source: getty images

Heather Locklear absolutely owned the ‘80s. She was the star of shows like TJ Hooker and Dynasty which means that she was comfortable no matter what side of the law she was on - and she looked good in everything from a uniform to a bikini.

Locklear continued her success throughout the ’90s and she maintained her sexy looks and amazing hair. When People Magazine asked how she managed to maintain her youthful appearance she explained that she does her best to stay out of the sun and sleep in the softest sheets money can buy. Maybe we should look into that.

Cindy Morgan as 'Lacey Underall' in the film "Caddyshack"(1980)

source: warner bros.

This Chicago native turned heads in the classic comedy Caddyshack when it was released in 1980. It’s wild to think that she stood out in the midst of insane performances by Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Bill Murray, but she did it.

When Morgan was asked about how she kept her cool on set with such comedy luminaries she notes that she made sure that she never watched any of their work before getting to set:

When I found out that I had this job, I stopped watching any of the Chevy Chase’s and Bill Murray's work. I wanted to react to them just as they were. Good thing I did. Filming was nuts, like Animal House on a golf course. Five years in broadcasting and an excellent comedy improvisation coach prepared me for what was to come.

Susan Sarandon is the epitome of cool

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Susan Sarandon has been appearing in films since 1970’s Joe, a film where she wasn’t a star but where people couldn’t stop watching her. The thing that sets her apart from her peers is that she doesn’t see herself as just another actress, she’s also an intellectual.

Sarandon says that she doesn’t think that much about her acting, that it’s just something that she does. She explained:

I can’t speak for other people, but for me, it never really worked to think something like, ‘What Beatle did she like in high school?’ or those kinds of elaborate backstories. It never really worked for me to have long arguments about motivation. I think looking at your own life, on- and offscreen, you can motivate anything, or you can delude yourself into anything.

Brigitte Bardot, a sexy kitten looking for a bird

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Brigitte Bardot was more than just a model or an actress in her heyday, she was like a mythological creature. However, she gave up fame because she couldn’t stand being the object of desire by the public and the media.

In her memoir she writes that the nature of celebrity destroys people and that’s exactly why she quit acting. She writes:

I know what it feels like to be hunted… The majority of great actresses met tragic ends. When I said goodbye to this job, to this life of opulence and glitter, images and adoration, the quest to be desired, I was saving my life. This worship of celebrity … suffocated me.

Before there was Beyonce there was Tina Turner

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Tina Turner is one of the most dynamic performers of the groovy era and aside from her amazing vocal chords she was known for her onstage stamina that allowed her to give the audience everything she had inside her and then some.

After escaping the abuse of Ike Turner in 1976 Tina only had 36 cents to her name. She did everything she could to get her career back on track whether it was appearing on Hollywood Squares or singing wherever she could.

However her greatest triumph was when she released “What’s Love Got To Do With It” in 1984. With this single she cemented herself as one of the greatest divas of all time.

Groovy girl from Woodstock, 1969. We've got to get back...

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There’s something about the freedom that people had in the ‘60s that’s just irresistible - especially when you think about the restrictions that we put on ourselves in the modern era. Woodstock was a festival dedicated to peace, love, and the search for a good time… if only we could get back to that feeling.

Just take a look at this couple. They’re hanging out in the middle of a wet, muddy field, probably with the only clothes that they own, and hanging a killer time. They also look amazing…

The optimism and anything goes attitude of the Woodstock era has faded as the generations have changed, but with a little luck we can get it back.

Carol Wayne shocks Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show

source: NBC

Carol Wayne was Johnny Carson’s hottest sidekick by a mile. This busty blonde was a fan favorite but not just because of her bodacious body, she was incredibly funny on the show and a perfect comedic foil for Carson.

Unfortunately, after her portion of The Tonight Show was cut in the mid ‘80s she fell into a spiral of drugs and alcohol that lead to her mysterious demise in Mexico.

In 1985 a group of fishermen south of border saw a body floating in shallow water, it was Wayne. An autopsy showed that she didn’t have any drugs or alcohol in her body and that she hadn’t drowned - to this day no one knows how she died.

A very groovy Olivia Newton-John photo from the early 70's

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Olivia Newton John has been one of the most dynamic performers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She got her start in the 1970s with her first solo single, “If Not For You,” a song written by Bob Dylan. That's not really the name you think of when you hear Olivia Newton John.

She was a pop star for sure, but much of her early work was based in folk and country. It’s honestly strange when you think about her ‘80s hits like “Physical.”

It wasn’t until 1978 that she had her breakout role in Grease as an Australian girl trying to solve the mystery of her lost summer loving.

Brigitte Bardot... the most beautiful woman who ever lived

source: getty images

In the groovy era Brigitte Bardot was the most eye-catching and beautiful woman in the world. She seemingly came out of the middle of nowhere to become an international sensation. Born to wealthy parents in France, Bardot was only 15 years old when she appeared on the cover of Elle Magazine in May 1950.

That cover made her incredibly famous at a young age and it cinched a ton of early parts for her. Director Roger Vadim saw the magazine cover and immediately put her in two of her earliest films: And God Created Woman and The Night Heaven Fell.

Bardot was an international star, but she preferred filming in France more than anything else because she had trouble acclimating to new places. Supposedly she hated filming in Spain until she discovered sangria.

Helen Slater was 'Supergirl' in the 1984 film

source: Warner Bros.

When it came time to make Supergirl, the first offshoot of Warner Brothers’ Superman series producers turned to Helen Slater to get the audience’s blood pumping faster than a speeding locomotion.

Slater was only 18-years-old when she was cast as an alien dropped on Earth who gets inspired by Superman, and she was 19 when the film wrapped. That’s incredibly young for a film star, so how did Slater grab a role like that as a teen? She says:

I think part of my having gone through Performing Arts High School, I was very bold. I had made a cape and a skirt. And I went in with glasses as Linda Lee. I was a little bit fearless. I don't know if I would have had that if I hadn't been through Performing Arts.

Swimsuit model Christie Brinkley posing for the camera in 1978

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It’s hard to imagine anyone who’s ever been as beautiful as Christie Brinkley, whether she’s a budding youth or today. It’s inarguable that she’s a total babe. Brinkley didn’t set out to be a model, she was studying art in 1972 when she was discovered by a photographer while standing in line at the post office.

Brinkley says that she never really thought of herself as a model, she wanted to study art and surf, but by the early ‘80s she was one of the most famous models in the world.

She graced three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers and had two of her own calendars. Decades later and she’s still one of the most famous models who ever existed.

Cassandra Peterson AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

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Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, took over Los Angeles in the early ‘80s and the rest of the world quickly followed. The woman behind the makeup is Cassandra Peterson, a red head with a lifetime in the entertainment industry.

Before she was Elvira, Peterson was working as a part of The Groundlings in Los Angeles with Phil Hartman and Peewee Herman and she was trying to be a comedy actress. When she was approached about playing the character of Elvira she was a little unsure but she rolled with it and it worked out for her. She told the Huffington Post:

[The director of the show] came and saw me at The Groundlings, where I was doing a Valley girl character… The director wanted me to do that character when I came to the audition and I said, ‘OK? I mean, it’s not very spooky, but it’s up to you.’ So I did that character and everybody there loved it and they hired me. They said, ‘Come up with a spooky costume,’ and I said “Wait. I’m going to do that character but with a spooky costume? Uhh...” It didn’t make any sense to me, but they were going to pay me $350 bucks a week so I was pretty damn happy. That was my whole rent for the month at the time!

Sexy stewardesses of the 1960s

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There’s nothing easy about working on an airline. The job is your entire life, and you’ve got to look good doing it. In the 1960s a stewardess dressed in colorful outfits that looked like they were straight out of a kaleidoscope.

To get a job as a flight attendant in the ‘60s a would-be stewardess had to learn geography and study hair and makeup for 10 hours a day for five weeks before even stepping foot on a plane. Then they had to practice first aid and learn how to help someone in an emergency.

The airline workers of the ‘60s look absolutely gorgeous. If only these were still the outfits that airline workers were still wearing.

Meow... Julie Newmar in her skin tight Catwoman costume

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There have been so many different Catwomen over the years - with three of them in the 1960s, but Julie Newmar was the best. She was cool and kitschy, not to mention a total babe. In order to get into character for Adam West’s Batman she had to suffer some serious bodily harm. She explained:

[Her nails] were made of metal. They pinched my fingers… In those days who cared. When you’re performing pain never matters.

When asked how she won the role of Catwoman Newmar explained with her wry style, “Well the body fit the work, and the work fit the body.”

Farrah Fawcett stuns in all white

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Farrah Fawcett is one of those once in a lifetime stars. She was impossible to look away from Charlie’s Angels, she was a model, and according to the people she worked with on her myriad television roles she did her own hair and makeup - even on the shoot where she wore her famous red bathing suit.

On top of being a total babe Fawcett was incredibly funny. According to Jaclyn Smith, one of Fawcett's friends and Charlie's Angels co-stars, Fawcett cracked everyone up on set with her ribald sense of humor.

Her raw talent is likely why she was able to jump from production to production, be it a modeling shoot, a movie, or a TV show. There’s never been another actress like her and there never will be.

Yvonne Craig as the sultry savior of Gotham City

source: ABC

If you were watching Batman in the late ‘60s then you know the glorious delight of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, a third season addition to the show. Producers added her to bring in more viewers and make teenage boys go gaga, half of that plan worked.

According to Craig she’d never even seen the show and didn’t know its unique rhythms, but she was so headstrong that she got the part anyway. She explained:

I had done a couple of pilots that didn’t go, but then they called me and said they were thinking of adding a girl to Batman. I had never seen the show, even though everyone was crazy about it. Even when I was shooting Batman, I had a black and white TV. I’m a book reader and not much of a TV watcher, so I just didn’t pay attention. The producer, William Dozier, said, ‘I’m sure you’ve seen our show,’ and I said, ‘Actually, I haven’t, but if I get the part I’ll spend the summer watching re-runs so I know how I’ll fit into the scheme of things.’

Shahna... Captain Kirk's hottest space babe

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Even if you didn’t spend the ‘60s watching Star Trek you recognize this green haired babe in a tinfoil bikini. Her name is Shahna and she was played by Angelique Pettyjohn, a former Vegas showgirl.

She was one of many super sexy and swinging women who appeared on the show in next to nothing, which must have been impossible to get through the censors.

More often than not these space babes found themselves canoodling with Captain Kirk, which is just a perk of getting to captain a starship The one and done space babes on Star Trek played a major part in every young nerd’s life, and honestly every adult nerd would probably tip their hat too them as well.

The groovy free-spirited Goldie Hawn

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She may be a babe but she’s not just a eye candy. Since the ‘60s Goldie Hawn has been cracking audiences up with her comedy chops on film and television, but she got her start on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In as a bikini clad goofball.

Hawn gave the show some serious sex appeal, but she showed herself to be just as funny as the rest of the cast members.

Even if you don’t remember the show you’ve definitely seen footage of Hawn giggling in the middle of sketches and working her way into the hearts of audiences in the way that no one else can.

A groovy dancer that's not going home until she shuts the club down

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The 1970s were a time like no other when it came to hitting the dance floor. During this most groovy of eras people from all walks of life flocked to clubs in the city to get down and boogie.

If you looked good enough to get past the velvet rope you could become a star on the dance floor, where the only thing holding you back were your own inhibitions.

Going to a club was the perfect way to escape from the drudgery of day to day life. You could work out that pent up aggression and just be free.

Debra Jo Fondren, who was Playmate of the Year in 1978, skating at Playboy’s Roller Disco and Pajama Party in 1979

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What could go wrong with a roller disco pajama party sponsored by Playboy? Aside from getting your hair stuck in your wheels nothing much. Yes, that’s Fondren’s real hair, and keeping it was one of her stipulations for signing a contract with the magazine.

This long haired beauty was discovered while working as a waitress at Gallagher’s steak house in Beaumont, Texas by photographer Robert Scott Hooper. With hair that went all the way down to her knees she was completely different from the rest of the models in the magazine’s stable… she was an instant hit.

She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the September 1977 issue and Playmate of the Year for 1978.

Jamie Lee Curtis looking iconic in the late '70s

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Today, it’s not shocking when the child of a celebrity follows in their parent’s footsteps but in the 1970s the last thing Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother, Janet Leigh, wanted was for her daughter to get into the business.

Lee had a rough go of the film business initially, and it wasn’t until her break out role in Halloween that she finally became a star. However, she was almost blocked from taking the role because she had other commitments. Luckily she was fired from her job and was free to become a movie star. In 2018 she told The New York Times:

My mother was protecting me from being a child in the movie business. Later, I got a part on the ABC sitcom Operation Petticoat. I was fired, and I was devastated. Had I not been fired, I wouldn’t have been available for Halloween. As my Jewish family would say, it was bashert — meant to be. I didn’t give it a second thought that it was a horror movie, and my mom had been in a horror movie.

Debbie Harry looking cool... no surprise there 

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Has anyone ever been as cool as Debbie Harry? Of course she’s a babe, but she exudes the kind of cool confidence that makes you want to grab a beer with her as much as it makes you want to take her on a date. Oh, and she’s in one of the coolest bands that ever played.

Even though Blondie was one of the few bands that managed to crossover from the New York punk scene to the pop crowd, reviews weren’t always kind to the group. Harry says she didn’t read them:

I always found it sort of disturbing to read stuff while I was doing shows—all of a sudden the things I’d read would flash in front of my face in the middle of a song and I’d forget where I was, and go [gasps]. Like shock therapy.

Groovy ladies having a pint in a London pub

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The pub scene in England is of its own animal. Pubs aren’t just bars where you get sloshed, they’re the kind of establishments where friends and family gather to tell stories of better times.

Throughout the ‘60s there were all different sorts of pubs. There were places for artsy drinkers and working class drinkers. Not just a standard bar, most pubs have a full menu to make sure you don’t drink on an empty stomach.

This photo of a packed London pub shows the way that English drinking culture is different from those of other western countries. The English are the kinds of people who can grab a pint in the middle of the day and not let it go to their heads.

A free spirit at the Venice Beach Rock Festival, 1968

source: dennis stock

No image captures the feeling of letting loose at a festival quite like this shot captured at the Venice Beach Rock Festival in 1968. This photo was snapped by Dennis Stock and according to him he wasn’t trying to show the exuberance of a single dancer, but capture the audience.

He accidentally captured the inhibitions of an era when this groovy babe jumped in front of the camera on stage, creating one of the most iconic music photographs ever. Without the reckless abandon of the 1960s and '70s we’d never have beautiful photos like this to remind us of better times.

Can you believe what dorm life was like in 1967?

source: reddit

Term papers, weird roommates, and trying to look good for classes the next day, college really was a wild time wasn’t it? In the 1960s college changed in a big way thanks to new technologies that started popping up.

From space age looking hair dryers to giant computers that ran on punch cards, science pushed college students into the future every day, changing the world in front of our eyes.

Finding time to do homework and look good became a little easier in the groovy era thanks to the Lady Sunbeam, a portable hair dryer that was simple to use. Just plug it in, put the dome over your hair and let her rip.

The miniskirt shook up style and turned heads in the 1960s

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Fashion completely changed in the 1960s. Hair became loose and long while dresses disappeared in favor of skirts that were downright miniature. Miniskirts were designed by Mary Quaint, an English fashionista who knew exactly what young women were looking for.

The miniskirt appealed to young women because of the minimized hemline and its revolutionary lack of length, and guys loved it because it gave them an excuse to check out some skin.

Not just a fashion statement, the miniskirt was a piece of clothing for the youth of the 1960s, it was both a political and fashion statement, what's groovier than that?

source: reddit

The First Lady of drag racing, Shirley Muldowney, began tearing up the asphalt in the late ‘50s in a twin engine car, turning heads and shocking boys and girls alike. Muldowney competed in any race that would have her... which means that she’s been in some serious dust ups.

Out of all the cars she’s driven it’s the Funny Car that’s given her the most trouble. Muldowney suffered two back to back accidents in the early ‘70s while driving these unreliable cars.

First, in 1972, she was involved in a nasty wreck at Ohio’s Dragway 42, and a year later her front engine car exploded mid-race. Never fear in 1977 Mudowney became the first woman to win the NHRA Winston Top Fuel Championship in 1977.