Hello, 1970's! For Christmas someone sent me a box set of EVERY EPISODE of In Search Of, a documentary-ish series that ran from 1976 to 1982 and was hosted by Mr. Spock, er, Leonard Nimoy. I've run through six episodes so far. The episode lengths are perfect for running; at 22 minutes each I can do an easy weekday morning run of 2.2 miles or the two-episode runs of 45 minutes for a nice 4.5 miles. (When watching episodes 1 and 2 on weekdays I just ran an extra three minutes each time to get to a nice, even 2.5 miles.)
It's a fun series to watch, if you can avoid getting into the "40 years later we know better" mindset. So far I've viewed topics such as plant empathy, the Nazca Lines, the Bermuda Triangle, Bigfoot, and killer bees. First thing that struck me was the disclaimer at the beginning of each show -- the producer points out that this show is only meant to introduce a few possibilities, not back any particular theory or claim to know fact. I thought it funny that that seemed important to do, given that today people make whatever moronic claims they want on TV without the slightest concern of veracity. Go figure.
Second thing I noticed is that a lot of the clothing reminds me of my childhood.
Although you have enjoy the series while keeping in mind that forty years have passed (much like watching Ray Harryhausen special effects and still loving Perseus taking on the Kraken) one more serious lesson did occur to me while watching the episode on Bigfoot. One segment includes an anatomist who has viewed the Robert Patterson Bigfoot film in "minute detail, frame by frame." He swears that the film must be authentic and goes into great scientific detail about why Patterson couldn't have faked the film. You've got to believe him, right? After all, this is the specialty he's studied for decades. Of course, in 1998 a fellow named Bob Heironimus admitted to being the man in the Bigfoot costume and other evidence surfaced to show that the film was entirely faked. Sorry, Science.