1972 History, Trivia and Fun Facts
Quick Facts from 1972:
- World Changing Event: Intel invented the single-chip microprocessor.
- The Top Song was The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack
- The Movies to Watch include The Godfather, The Getaway , What’s Up Doc and The Poseidon Adventure
- The Most Famous Person in America was probably
- Notable books include: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach and Watership Down by Richard Adams
- Price of Peter Max sneakers in 1972: $4.44
Q-Tips: 87 cents/125 - US Life Expectancy: Males: 67.4 years, Females: 75.1 years
- The Funny Guy was: Martin Mull
The Other Funny Guy was: Don Rickles
The Funny Girl was Lily Tomlin - The Other Funny Guy was George Carlin
- Bloody Sunday: On January 30, British troops shoot unarmed protesters in Northern Ireland, killing 13 civilians. Rock band U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday memorialized the event.
Top Ten Baby Names of 1972:
Jennifer, Michelle, Lisa, Kimberly, Amy, Michael, Chris, Topher, James, David, John
The Hotties, Sex Symbols and Fashion Icons:
Adrienne Barbeau, Dyan Cannon, Veronica Carlson, Lynda Carter, Pam Grier, Peggy Lipton, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Maria Schneider, Barbra Streisand, Shelia Roscoe, Diana Ross
Sex Symbols, Hollywood Hunks and Leading Men:
Richard Roundtree, Burt Reynolds, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley
“The Quotes:”
“Hey Mikey! He likes it!”
– Life cereal ad
“The mind is a terrible thing to waste”
-United Negro College Fund
” It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken”
– Frank Perdue
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse”
– Marlon Brando, in The Godfather
“Nothing runs like a Deere”
– John Deere
“Nobody does it like Sara Lee”
– Sara Lee
Time Magazine’s Men of the Year:
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger
Miss America:
Laura Lea Schaefer (Bexley, OH)
Miss USA:
Tanya Wilson (Hawaii)
The Scandals:
On June 17, agents of the Richard Nixon (Republican) White House and the Nixon reelection campaign were arrested while breaking into the office of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which at the time was located in Washington D.C.’s Watergate Complex.
Jane Fonda visited North Vietnam, supporting the communist side of the war, earning the nickname “Hanoi Jane”.
Bloody Sunday in Derry, Northern Ireland, 14 unarmed protestors and civilians were shot by British paratroopers. U2’s ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ was based on this event.
Pop Culture History:
While initial planning started in the 1920s, household dish cleaner ‘Dawn’ was released in 1972.
The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ was over once and for all when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in three straight tennis sets.
HBO (Home Box Office) was launched by Time-Warner.
Chrysler brought electronic ignition to automobiles.
Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg introduced her knit jersey dress style;
Clothes had a lot less static cling in 1972, thanks to the introduction of Bounce dryer sheets.
1972 was when Carnival Cruise Lines began sailing.
Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1972: $86,000
Singer and guitarist Chuck Berry’s only number one single was a live recording of a raunchy New Orleans tune called “My Ding-a Ling.”
Doomsday Clock:
12 minutes to midnight, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
1972: “The United States and Soviet Union attempt to curb the race for nuclear superiority by signing the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The two treaties force a nuclear parity of sorts. SALT limits the number of ballistic missile launchers either country can possess, and the ABM Treaty stops an arms race in defensive weaponry from developing.”
The Habit:
Pong (arcade), Hacky Sacks.
Watching ‘The Godfather’ in theaters.
1st appearances & 1972’s Most Popular Christmas gifts, toys and presents:
Pong, Dawn dolls, Hackey Sack, Seance Game , Nerf Football
Best Film Oscar Winner:
The French Connection (presented in 1972)
Popular and Notable Books From 1972:
August 1914 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Deathwatch by Robb White
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth
Semi-Tough by Dan Jenkins
Shane by Jack Schaeffer
Two from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Wheels by Arthur Hailey
The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
The Word by Irving Wallace
East End Show – Jesus Christ Superstar (Musical) Opened on August 9, 1972 and Closed: August 23, 1980
Broadway Show – Grease (Musical) Opened on February 14, 1972 and Closed: April 13, 1980
Broadway Show – Pippin (Musical) Opened on October 23, 1972 and Closed: June 12, 1977
1972 Most Popular TV shows:
1. All in the Family (CBS)
2. Sanford and Son (NBC)
3. Hawaii Five-O (CBS)
4. Maude (CBS)
5. Bridget Loves Bernie (CBS)
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
7. Gunsmoke (CBS)
8. The Wonderful World of Disney (NBC)
9. Ironside (NBC)
10. Adam 12 (NBC)
1972 Billboard Number One Songs
December 25, 1971 – January 14, 1972:
Brand New Key – Melanie
January 15 – February 11:
American Pie – Don McLean
February 12 – February 18:
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
February 19 – March 17:
Without You – Nilsson
March 18 – March 24:
Heart of Gold – Neil Young
March 25 – April 14:
A Horse With No Name – America
April 15 – May 26:
The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack
May 27 – June 2:
Oh Girl – Chi-Lites
June 3 – June 9:
I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
June 10 – June 30:
The Candy Man – Sammy Davis, Jr.
July 1 – July 7:
Song Sung Blue – Neil Diamond
July 8 – July 30:
Lean on Me – Bill Withers
July 29 – August 25:
Alone Again (Naturally) – Gilbert O’ Sullivan
August 26 – September 1:
Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) – Looking Glass
September 2 – September 15:
Alone Again (Naturally) – Gilbert O’Sullivan
September 16 – September 22:
Black and White – Three Dog Night
September 23 – October 13:
Baby, Don’t Get Hooked On Me – Mac Davis
October 14 – October 20:
Ben – Michael Jackson
October 21 – November 3:
My Ding-A-Ling – Chuck Berry
November 4 – December 1:
I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
December 2 – December 8:
Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone – The Temptations
December 9 – December 15:
I Am Woman – Helen Reddy
December 16, 1972 – January 5, 1973:
Me and Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul
Sports:
World Series Champions: Oakland Athletics
Superbowl VI Champions: Dallas Cowboys
NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
Stanley Cup Champs: Boston Bruins
U.S. Open Golf Jack Nicklaus
U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies) Ilie Nastase/Billie Jean King
Wimbledon (Men/Women): Stan Smith/Billie Jean King
NCAA Football Champions: USC
NCAA Basketball Champions: UCLA
Kentucky Derby: Riva Ridge
Sports Highlights:
Sandy Koufax was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the youngest player ever elected, at age 36.
