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Ice-pick lobotomy -

Taking a long metal rod and jamming it through the eye socket and into the brain was seen as an effective way to treat mental illness. Although it usually did have the desired calming effect, it often left people paralyzed and mentally disabled.

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The communism domino effect - Fear of communism ran rampant 60 years ago. The Communism Domino Theory was the idea that communism would start in one country and quickly spread from one to another until it took over the world. It became one of the driving forces behind the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.

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Laser erasers were the greatest technology advancement - While lasers are now used for treatments like eye surgery and tattoo removal, one of their original purposes was to correct typewriter errors. It involved lining up a huge laser gun with the error on the paper and firing. The effect usually took 15-20 seconds.

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Wives must let always their husband speak first - While expectations of wives have changed greatly over the years, it's hard to imagine a time in which women were taught that anything their husband had to say was more important than what they had to say. Women were instructed to keep quiet and listen.

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The wife's job was to provide an orderly home - In a similar sense, women were instructed to keep the house clean and orderly at all times for their husbands.

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ATMs were useless - Nowadays we can't imagine our lives without the convenience of an ATM, but when they were first introduced, people were skeptical of their necessity and didn't use them.

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Gun handling classes must be taught in school - Four states allowed gun handling classes to be taught to public elementary school students. It was believed that children must understand gun safety to avoid the accidents that occur when children play with guns. 

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Single women can't be trusted with credit cards - In the 60s, banks were allowed to refuse credit cards to single women as it was believed that they couldn't be trusted with them. A husband was required to co-sign the application. 

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Flight attendants must retire at 32 - Stewardesses were held to high physical standards in order to perform their job duties and maintain the airline's image and status. Until 1972, a flight attendant was forced to retire on her 32nd birthday.

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Sharks provided the cure for cancer - Shark cartilage was believed to have cancer-fighting properties. Until the 90s, sharks were also believed to be immune to cancer. Since then, 42 cases of tumors found in sharks have been recorded, effectively debunking this belief.

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State-run lotteries were a moral affront - Government lotteries were illegal 60 years ago. New Hampshire was the first state to pass legislation to allow a lotto to raise money for schools. However, people were initially outraged that the state was using gambling to fund their government activities.

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Teens must plan active dates to avoid getting physical - "Keep busy so you don't end up getting busy" was the mantra of the 60s. Teens were encouraged to spend every moment of a date actively engaged in activities to avoid the temptation of getting physical, as this was seen as a very bad and shameful thing.

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Smoking relieved pregnancy constipation - While today women are encouraged to eat more fiber when suffering from constipation, 60 years ago, all they had to do was take up smoking.

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Pregnant women should avoid weight gain - Doctors would recommend, at most, a 20-pound weight gain during pregnancy. Pregnant mothers were encouraged to skip lunch and eat non-fat dairy products.

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Calling girls "fat dumplings" -

When a young girl lacked in charm, she was sent to a school of etiquette. These charm schools encouraged various behaviors, including some that were geared specifically towards overweight little girls, or as they were called, "fat dumplings."

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Future work habits - Many predictions were made about the future 60 years ago that didn't end up becoming reality. One idea was that by the 21st century, Americans would be working 30-hour weeks and taking one month vacations. That would have been nice.

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There is no such thing as marital rape - It was believed that marital rape was impossible. In fact, if a woman refused sex to her husband, it was grounds for divorce.

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Detroit had a bright future - The crime-filled city full of abandoned buildings was not the Detroit that people in the 60s predicted it to become. The inner-city was believed to be an up-and-coming, exciting place to live that would continue to prosper and grow in popularity.

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Conversion therapy works -

Conversion therapy was a popular tool used and recommended for homosexual individuals. Being gay was considered a mental illness, and many different therapies were used to "turn people straight." Although some people still believe this is possible, the number was far greater 60 years ago.

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Talking on a date was overrated - One of the trends of the 60s was to try to find ways to eliminate talking altogether while on a date. Operating under the assumption that women were bad conversationalists, they were encouraged to plan activities for the entire date so that there would be no need for talking.

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Babies should adjust to the normal eating habits of the family as soon as possible - By the time a baby was nine weeks old, they should be eating the same foods as the rest of the family. Even more shocking was that this was somehow linked to preventing the child from growing up to be a communist.

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Feeding a baby at night "sowed the seeds of socialism" -

Parents were encouraged to not attend to their baby during the night if they cried as it taught the baby that they could have anything they wanted whenever they wanted it. In other words, they were "sowing the seeds of socialism."

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Rock music corrupts kids - The rock 'n roll genre was introduced to younger generations in the 50s and 60s, bringing with it a new culture and way of thinking. Older generations demonized the music genre, with many establishments preventing it from being played.

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Sugar isn't bad for you - Many of the bad side effects of consuming a high-sugar diet were unknown. In fact, fat was seen as the enemy (instead of sugar) and people were encouraged to avoid fat-containing products.

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Pregnant women should not cut their hair - Pregnancy hormones were seen as influencing a woman's behavior to the point in which she should not be trusted to make any big life decisions, including getting a haircut.

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Marijuana is deadly - The natural drug was seen as a deadly narcotic, causing people to completely lose their mind, commit unspeakable crimes, and even die.

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Women must "sound pretty" to get a boyfriend - Good speech was a womanly virtue in the 60s, meaning that a woman must always speak quietly and gently. In order to accomplish this, teenage girls were encouraged to hold a matchstick between their teeth while talking on the phone. If the other person could tell it was there, they needed more practice.

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Single women should pick up a man at an AA meeting - In the 60s, it wasn't easy to find a good (rich) man, and single women were encouraged to attend AA meetings to meet their future husband. Apparently preying on a man during a time of struggle was the perfect way to get him to marry you.

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In the future people would travel through "mole-hole tunnels" -

Another very incorrect prediction about the future was that all future travel would take place by falling through a series of tunnels and somehow ending up wherever you wanted to be.

See also: The routines of history's greatest minds

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