Ok, so I wasn't around when they invented dirt, but I was there when they created mud!
On the car related front: I remember those carboard cans of
oil that you had to push a spout into to get the
oil out. And I remember...
... steel jerry cans for gas
... gas station attendants that would fill up the car, check the
oil, and wash the windshield (with gas at $0.24 / gal.)
... gas pumps with a little window and a whirlly gig thing inside that would spin while the gas was pumped
... putting a canvas bag of water on the front of the car to have cool water when you stopped
... falling into a service pit at a gas station when I was 5 years old
... checking the water level in the battery of a VW bus by using a dental mirror to see the tops of the cells in the battery
... AM radio and 8 track tape
... driving down a highway and waiving at the only other car on the road and having them waive back
And finally...
Traveling up to Alaska from Maxwell AFB in Alabama in a 1965 VW bus. Six kids (the youngest was 3 months old, I was the oldest at 12). We carried a "spider frame" tent inside the bus and would pitch camp every night. Dinners and breakfasts cooked on a Coleman stove. Lunch consisted of sandwiches. Potty breaks far and in-between (thank goodness for glass jars for the in-between necessities).
Stopped in Canada only a few days from home because the engine in the VW had shot craps (I don't remember what the problem was but it took a day to fix). Only other problem (other than the unpaved ALCAN Highway) was getting the back window broken out by a stone thrown by a passing semi truck. We were only a day or so out of Anchorage so we fixed the window with plastic sheeting and duct tape.
Of course the trip to Maxwell AFB from Hickam AFB in Hawaii was easier ... my folks only had 5 kids then!
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