1970 History, Trivia and Fun Facts

Quick Facts from 1970:

• World Changing Event: The United States stopped commercial whale hunting.
• Music Changing Event: The Beatles disbanded
• How Much is Peanut Butter? In 1959 the FDA proposed a standard for peanut butter that was not finalized until a decision by the U.S District Court of Appeals in 1970. The final standard required a 90% peanut content.
• The Top Song was Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkle
• Influential Songs include 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago, Get Up by James Brown, Ball of Confusion by The Temptations and Lola by The Kinks
• The Movies to Watch include M*A*S*H, Woodstock, Patton, Five Easy Pieces, Patton, Love Story, Catch 22, Tora! Tora! Tora!, THX 1138 and The Aristocats
• San Diego Comic-Con International opened at the Grant Hotel
• The Most Famous Person in America was probably Paul Newman
• Notable books include: The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey and Love Story by Erich Segal
• Price of a movie ticket in 1970: $1.55
• On March 12, the US voting age was lowered to 18, from 21.
• Movie Rating “M” changed to “PG”
• The Funny Troupe was: Firesign Theater
  The Funny Late Night Host: Johnny Carson
• The Conversation: Students Allison Krause and Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Knox Schroeder were shot and killed by the National Guard at Kent State Ohio. Nine more were wounded. The conversation about the Vietnam War peaked at this time.

“The Quotes:”
“It’s not easy being green”
– Kermit the Frog

“I told my coach, ‘Jimi Hendrix just died, and I’m quitting the team to become a guitar player'”
– Joe Satriani

“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
– Ali MacGraw in Love Story

“It’s the real thing”
– Coca-Cola

World & US History:

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT was signed. The goal is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Expo ’70 World’s Fair opened in Suita, Osaka, Japan.

An unsuccessful attempt to land on the moon was postponed with the Apollo 13 mission to moon accident. Astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise all survived.

Four students at Kent State University in Ohio, USA were killed and nine wounded by Ohio National Guardsmen, at a protest against the incursion into Cambodia. #KentStateShootings

Four days after the Kent State Shooting, The Hard Hat Riot took place. Unionized construction workers attacked about 1,000 students and others protesting the Kent State shootings near the intersection of Wall Street and Broad Street and at New York City Hall.

The first Earth Day was celebrated.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ) began operations.

The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act was signed, banning cigarette television advertisements in the United States as of January 1, 1971.

The Liberian registered tanker Pacific Glory spilled nearly 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the English Channel.

The ‘Chicago Seven’ defendants were found guilty of intent to incite a riot at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago (1968). It was later overturned by the Court of Appeals.

The US lowered the voting age to 18 from 21.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was founded. Also, the Patent Cooperation Treaty was signed into international law, providing a unified procedure for filing and protecting patent applications.

Pop Culture History:

The ‘blue raspberry’ flavor was created by the makers of ICEEs in 1970 to distinguish raspberry from their popular cherry flavor.

The longest-running active commercial is the Tootsie Pop ‘How Many Licks’ ad from 1970.

Tarawood Antigone, a four-year-old Burmese cat gave birth to 19 kittens. 14 males and one female survived from the litter in Oxfordshire, UK.

A fighter pilot, Captain Gary Faust, was forced to eject during a training mission. His plane, a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, later righted itself and continued flying for miles, finally touching down gently in a farmer’s field. It earned the nickname “The Cornfield Bomber.”

The Microprocessor was invented.

The Ford Pinto, The Chevrolet Vega, the Citroën SM and the AMC Gremlin were introduced.

The world’s first jumbo-jet, the Boeing 747, carried out the first commercial flight.

Unix time (aka Epoch time, POSIX time, UNIX Epoch time) is a system for describing a point in time. It is the number of seconds that have elapsed since the Unix epoch, which is the time 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970, minus leap seconds.

The word ‘Spam’ used in junk emails comes from a sketch on BBC’s Monty Python’s Flying Circus from 1970.

The recycling logo was created by a 23-year-old Gary Anderson, in, 1970 for a design contest.

The North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City reached 1,368 feet, making it the tallest building in the world.

Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) made a plan to slip President Richard Nixon 600 micrograms of LSD when she was invited to a tea party at the White House by Nixon’s daughter in 1970, but she was turned away by security at the door.

Rocker Peter Gabriel played the flute part on the 1970 track Katmandu by Cat Stevens.

George Harrison was the first and last Beatle to have a U.S No.1 with My Sweet Lord in 1970 and Got My Mind Set on You in 1988.

Jim Morrison found guilty of “open profanity and indecent exposure” after allegedly exposing himself at a concert in Miami in 1969.

The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 took place. Artists included Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Moody Blues and Jethro Tull.

In 1970, Totes brought the first quality folding umbrella to U.S. markets.

Elvis Presley met US President Richard Nixon in the White House.

US President Richard Nixon signed a bill (The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act) limiting cigarette advertisements as of Jan 1, 1971.

President Richard Nixon also signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act into law, in December.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ) began operating.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty was signed into international law, providing a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions.

Douglas Engelbart received the patent (#3,541,541) for the first computer mouse, an “X-Y position indicator for a display system”.

The Weather Bureau was renamed to National Weather Service, as part of NOAA.

Alvin Toffler published his book Future Shock.

The American Football League and NFL merged, creating the National Football Conference and American Football Conference.

Krazy Glue was introduced in 1970, although the main ingredient, cyanoacrylate, was discovered in 1942 by Harry Coover while working for Kodak.

On January 5 – The first episode of the soap opera All My Children was broadcast on the ABC.

On January 22, the Boeing 747 made its first commercial passenger trip to London.

January 25, 1970,  M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman, starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould, was released.

On Friday, February 13, Black Sabbath’s debut album was released. It is often regarded as the first true heavy metal album.

On March 5, Airport, based on the book by Arthur Hailey, directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin was released.

March 21, 1970 – The first San Diego Comic-Con International opened at US Grant Hotel.

June 7, 1970:  The Who become the first act to perform rock music (the rock opera, Tommy) at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.

On July 4, Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 debuted on LA radio station KIIS, in syndication.

August 12, 1970 – The United States Postal Service was made independent in a postal reform measure for the first time since its creation.

On September 13th, the first New York City Marathon began. Only 55 people finished it.

September 21 – Monday Night Football debuted on ABC. The Cleveland Browns defeat the New York Jets 31–21 in front of more than 85,000 fans at Cleveland Stadium.

Sep 30 New American Bible was published. It is the only translation approved for use at Mass in the Roman Catholic dioceses of the United States and has been revised several times.

On October 4, the National Educational Television ended operations, being succeeded by PBS (Public Broadcasting System) on October 5.

October 26 – Garry Trudeau’s comic strip Doonesbury debuted in approximately two dozen newspapers in the United States.

December 16: Love Story, a film based on the novel by Erich Segal, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw was released.

Whataburger in Texas and What-A-Burger in Virginia opened about the same time in 1950 but didn’t know of each other’s existence until 1970. They both sued the other, but the court ruled that customers were not likely to be confused about whether the burgers served came from Texas or Virginia.

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1970: $78,000

1970 Billboard Number One Songs:
December 27, 1969 – January 2, 1970:
Someday We’ll Be Together – Diana Ross & The Supremes

January 3 – January 30:
Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head – B. J. Thomas

January 31 – February 6:
I Want You Back – The Jackson 5

February 7 – February 13:
Venus – The Shocking Blue

February 14 – February 27:
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)/Everybody is a Star – Sly & The Family Stone

February 28 – April 10:
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel

April 11 – April 24:
Let It Be – The Beatles

April 25 – May 8:
ABC – The Jackson 5

May 9 – May 29:
American Woman – The Guess Who

May 30 – June 12:
Everything Is Beautiful – Ray Stevens

June 13 – June 26:
The Long And Winding Road – The Beatles

June 27 – July 10:
The Love You Save – The Jackson 5

July 11 – July 24:
Mama Told Me (Not To Come) – Three Dog Night

July 25 – August 21:
(They Long To Be) Close To You – The Carpenters

August 22 – August 28:
Make It With You – Bread

August 29 – September 18:
War – Edwin Starr

September 19 – October 9:
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Diana Ross

October 10 – October 16:
Cracklin’ Rosie – Neil Diamond

October 17 – November 20:
I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5

November 21 – December 12:
I Think I Love You – The Partridge Family

December 12 – December 25:
The Tears of a Clown – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

December 26, 1970 – January 22, 1971:
My Sweet Lord – George Harrison