MomSkoop
Imagine a world where doctors thought ice picks could cure mental illness, or where women needed permission to get a credit card. Just six decades ago, society accepted ideas that seem shocking today.
From bizarre medical advice to strict gender roles, the 1960s were filled with beliefs that make us wonder how people lived back then. Get ready to explore ten mind-boggling practices that were completely normal for our grandparents’ generation.
1. Gun Handling Classes Must Be Taught in School
High school hallways once echoed with lessons about firearm safety alongside algebra and history.
Students brought rifles to class, learning marksmanship and gun maintenance as part of their regular education.
Schools believed teaching responsible gun handling would create safer communities and prepare young people for hunting or military service.
Rifle clubs competed just like basketball teams, with trophies displayed in school cases.
Parents supported these programs without the concerns that dominate today’s debates about weapons in schools.
The practice reflected rural American values where hunting provided food and self-reliance mattered deeply.
Nobody questioned whether teenagers should handle firearms during lunch period.
2. ATMs Were Useless
When the first automated teller machines appeared, people refused to trust them with their hard-earned money.
Banks struggled to convince customers that a metal box could handle transactions safely.
Most folks preferred waiting in long lines to speak with human tellers who knew their names and families.
The idea of punching buttons to withdraw cash seemed dangerous and impersonal.
Security fears ran wild—what if the machine ate your card or gave incorrect amounts?
Early ATMs often malfunctioned, reinforcing people’s suspicions about relying on technology for banking.
Bankers predicted these machines would never replace the personal touch of face-to-face service.
3. Wives Must Always Let Their Husband Speak First
Dinner parties followed strict rules about who could talk and when.
Married women were expected to remain silent until their husbands had shared their opinions on every topic.
Etiquette books taught that interrupting or contradicting a husband in public brought shame to the entire family.
Women learned to nod, smile, and save their thoughts for private moments behind closed doors.
This practice extended beyond social gatherings into doctor’s offices, banks, and even parent-teacher conferences.
Society viewed outspoken wives as troublemakers who didn’t understand their proper role.
A woman’s intelligence mattered less than her ability to make her husband look wise and important.
4. Pregnant Women Should Not Cut Their Hair
Expecting mothers heard countless warnings about the dangers lurking in beauty salons.
Old superstitions claimed that cutting hair during pregnancy would somehow harm the unborn baby or cause complications during birth.
Some believed the baby might be born with a birthmark or developmental problems if mom trimmed her locks.
Others thought hair held special nutrients that the growing baby needed, making haircuts practically dangerous.
Pregnant women endured nine months of split ends and unmanageable hair rather than risk their child’s health.
Even doctors sometimes supported these myths, lacking the scientific knowledge we have today.
Grandmothers passed down these beliefs with absolute certainty, mixing folklore with genuine concern.
5. Single Women Can’t Be Trusted with Credit Cards
Banks once refused to issue credit cards to unmarried women, regardless of their income or education.
Financial institutions believed women lacked the judgment and self-control necessary for managing credit responsibly.
A single woman earning a good salary still needed a male co-signer—usually her father or brother—to obtain credit.
This practice continued well into the 1970s, preventing women from building financial independence.
Loan officers openly stated that women were too emotional and impulsive for important money decisions.
Even widows and divorcees faced these restrictions, suddenly losing financial access after their husbands were gone.
The assumption that marriage made women more financially responsible seems absurd by today’s standards.
6. Ice-Pick Lobotomy
Doctors performed brain surgery using tools from the kitchen drawer.
The ice-pick lobotomy involved hammering a sharp instrument through the eye socket into the brain, scrambling neural connections.
This horrifying procedure took just minutes and required no operating room or sterile environment.
Physicians believed destroying parts of the brain could cure depression, anxiety, and even rebellious behavior in women.
Thousands of patients lost their personalities, memories, and ability to function independently.
The inventor won a Nobel Prize, and mental hospitals performed lobotomies on an industrial scale.
Families consented because doctors promised their loved ones would become calmer and easier to manage at home.
7. Smoking Relieved Pregnancy Constipation
Doctors actually prescribed cigarettes to pregnant women experiencing digestive problems.
Medical professionals believed nicotine helped relax muscles and promote regular bowel movements during pregnancy.
Pregnant women received advice to smoke several cigarettes daily rather than worry about minor discomforts.
Tobacco companies even marketed certain brands specifically to expectant mothers, featuring doctors in their advertisements.
Nobody understood the devastating effects of smoking on developing babies, from low birth weight to developmental delays.
Maternity wards had ashtrays, and new mothers lit up right after delivery without anyone batting an eye.
This “medical advice” seems incredibly reckless now that we know smoking’s true dangers during pregnancy.
8. The Wife’s Job Was to Provide an Orderly Home
Marriage manuals spelled out a wife’s primary responsibility: maintaining a perfect household environment for her hardworking husband.
Women were expected to have dinner ready, children bathed, and the house spotless before their husbands returned from work.
Magazines published detailed schedules showing how wives should organize every minute of their day around household tasks.
A messy home reflected poorly on a woman’s character and dedication to her family.
Wives greeted husbands at the door with smiles, taking their coats and offering slippers without discussing their own needs.
Career ambitions or personal interests took a backseat to creating domestic tranquility.
Society judged women almost entirely on their homemaking abilities rather than individual accomplishments.
9. Flight Attendants Must Retire at 32
Airlines forced stewardesses to hang up their wings once they reached their early thirties.
The aviation industry believed only young, attractive women could properly serve passengers and represent the airline’s glamorous image.
Strict policies also required flight attendants to remain unmarried and maintain specific weight and height requirements.
Women who gained a few pounds or got married faced immediate termination, regardless of their excellent service records.
Airlines treated flight attendants like temporary decorations rather than trained safety professionals.
Many talented women lost careers they loved simply because they aged past an arbitrary deadline.
The practice continued until lawsuits in the 1970s finally challenged these discriminatory age and marriage restrictions.
10. Rock Music Corrupts Kids
Parents and community leaders waged war against the devil’s music invading their wholesome neighborhoods.
Rock and roll was blamed for everything from juvenile delinquency to declining test scores and moral decay.
Churches held record-burning events where teenagers were pressured to destroy their Elvis Presley and Beatles albums.
Adults genuinely feared that electric guitars and drum beats would turn their children into criminals and rebels.
Some towns banned rock concerts entirely, treating them like dangerous public health threats.
Psychologists appeared on television warning that rock music caused brain damage and violent behavior.
Looking back, the panic seems silly, but parents of the 1960s took these threats very seriously indeed.