Back before the days of "stranger danger" and "true crime documentaries," humans actually trusted one another.
Take hitchhiking, a practice in which one total stranger invites another total stranger to give them a ride in their car. It sounds preposterous today, but back in the 1970s hitchhiking was a commonly accepted way to get around.
In honor of trust and flying by the seat of your pants, here are 19 photos of what it looked like to hitchhike in the 1970s.
1
Hitchhiking
Florida in the 1970s.
2
Hitchhiking on Highway 1
Big Sur, CA, 1971.
3
A Ride in a Van
What could go wrong? Or right?
4
Hitchhiker
On his way to Green Bay on Appleton Ave in Milwaukee, WI. 1977.
5
Teenagers
Hitchhiking in Winnipeg.
6
Two Hitchhikers
Toronto, 1970s.
7
Levittown
Hitchhiking on Hempstead turnpike, 1974.
8
Young Hitchhikers
Looking for a ride in the 1970s.
9
Hitchhiking in Boston
Massachusetts, early ‘70's.
10
A Model
Posing as a weary ‘70s hitchhiker.
11
“My Dad”
Hitchhiking From Michigan to California, 1973.
12
Robert Plant
Thumbs up in Vienna, 1973.
13
“My Dad”
Hitchhiking in the ‘70s.
14
Teenage Hitchhikers
On the move in 1974.
15
“My Dad in the Mid-1970s”
Hitchhiking a ride home from college for winter break.
16
“My Mom and Her Friend”
“On a boat with some people they met while hitchhiking across Mexico in the ‘70s.”
17
A Hitchhiker in Luxembourg
August, 1977.
18
“My Father”
“He used to hitchhike across the country every summer once school let out.” 1976.
19
Teenagers
Hitchhiking outside Moose Jaw, early 1970s.
