Four decades ago, Iowans were most unhappy about high interest rates, massage parlors, the neutron bomb, and clothes with alligators, among other items. They were less bothered by a royal wedding, coin operated video games, and Dan Rather. These results come from Iowa Poll #249, a random sample survey of 1021 Iowans from October 1981, which has been restored as part of a larger IPOL project to recover lost data from past Iowa Polls. The question asked specifically, “Choose three things you are least thankful for in 1981” and offered a list of twelve items as shown in the figure below. For the first choice, there was a clear front-runner, with 65% saying they’re least thankful for high interest rates. The second and third most frequently cited options were Iran, with 43%, and massage parlors, with 39%. The least frequently given option was Dan Rather, 2% listing him among their three choices.

Interestingly, we found that Republicans and Democrats were both least thankful for the same things. 62% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats were least thankful for high interest rates, signaling a consensus on the most important domestic policy during this period. Concern about Iran showed some differences, with 35% of Republicans, 43% of Democrats, and 51% of Independents including it among their three items. Social issues also produced modest differences. For example, massage parlors were among the top three for 48% of Republicans, 29% of Democrats, and 32% of Independents.

Iowa Poll #249, conducted by the Des Moines Register, was administered to a random sample of Iowans in October 1981. In addition to the questions about the constitution, the survey asked respondents their opinions on a wide variety of topics, including the Iowa Caucuses, the Iowa gubernatorial race, Iowa history, the Ten Commandments, and what Iowans were least thankful for in 1981. Understanding Iowans’ past opinions on these topics can help us understand how perspectives have changed and what ideas have remained popular. IPOL has also been working with UI Libraries and the Des Moines Register to restore data from dozens of Iowa Polls from the 1960s to early 1980s. More information about the project can be found here. We are working to release a full report on our findings as we analyze additional questions.