1974 Fun Facts, History and Trivia |
Quick Facts from 1974:
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Top Ten Baby Names of 1974: Jennifer, Amy, Michelle, Heather, Angela, Michael, Jason, Chris, Topher, David, James |
The Sex Symbols, Hotties and Fashion Icons: Adrienne Barbeau, Barbi Benton, Dyan Cannon, Veronica Carlson, Angie Dickinson, Britt Ekland, Pam Grier, Beverly Johnson, Caroline Munro, Diana Ross, Ann Simonton, Jane Seymour, Mary Woronov |
Hollywood Hunks, Leading Men and Sex Symbols: Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds |
“The Quotes:” “And now for something completely different” ” Tastes great, less filling” “Dy-No-Mite” “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.” |
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year: King Faisal |
Miss America: Rebecca King (Denver, CO) |
Miss USA: Karen Morrison (Illinois) |
The Scandals & Sad News: Patty Hearst, heiress to the Hearst Newspaper group, was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, later joining the group in a bank heist. While David Niven was at the Oscars podium, live on national television, a streaker (Robert Opal) ran by. David quipped “Isn’t it fascinating to think that the only laugh that man will ever get is for stripping and showing his shortcomings?” Mikhail Baryshnikov defected the the USA, leaving the Soviet Union’s Bolshoi Ballet behind him. |
US Politics: August 9, 1974 (Friday) Inauguration of Gerald Ford |
Pop Culture History: 21-year-old Michael Kittredge opened his Yankee Candle factory. First intentional interstellar radio message sent, from the Arecibo telescope towards M41, a cluster of stars some 25,000 light years away Liposuction invented by Giorgio Fischer in Rome, Italy. After several decades of deciding how to do it, in June, the first U.P.C. scanner was installed at a Marsh’s supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The first product to have a bar code included was a packet of Wrigley’s Gum. The national speed limit was lowered to 55 miles per hour. Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1974: $103,000 |
Doomsday Clock: 9 minutes to midnight, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. 1974: “South Asia gets the Bomb, as India tests its first nuclear device. And any gains in previous arms control agreements seem like a mirage. The United States and Soviet Union appear to be modernizing their nuclear forces, not reducing them. Thanks to the deployment of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), both countries can now load their intercontinental ballistic missiles with more nuclear warheads than before.” |
The Habits: CB Radio, Kung Fu Fighting, watching All In The Family on CBS, reading Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying 1st appearances & 1974’s Most Popular Christmas gifts, toys and presents: Connect Four, G.I. Joe with KUNG FU GRIP, Magna Doodle |
Best Film Oscar Winner: The Sting (presented in 1974) |
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1974: All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward The Bermuda Triangle by Charles Berlitz Burr by Gore Vidal Carrie by Stephen King Centennial by James A. Michener The Dispossessed by Urslua K. Le Guin The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth The Fan Club by Irving Wallace Jaws by Peter Benchley I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven The Pirate by Harold Robbins The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer Something Happened by Joseph Heller There’s a Wocket in My Pocket! by Dr. Seuss Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré Watership Down by Richard Adams Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein |
Broadway Show – The Magic Show (Musical) Opened on May 28, 1974 and Closed: December 31, 1978 Broadway Show – Equus (Play) Opened on October 24, 1974 and Closed: October 2, 1977 |
1974 Most Popular TV shows: 1. All in the Family (CBS) 2. Sanford and Son (NBC) 3. Chico and the Man (NBC) 4. The Jeffersons (CBS) 5. M*A*S*H (CBS) 6. Rhoda (CBS) 7. Good Times (CBS) 8. The Waltons (CBS) 9. Maude (CBS) 10. Hawaii Five-O (CBS) |
1974 Billboard Number One Songs: January 12 – January 18: January 19 – January 25: January 26 – February 1: February 2 – February 8: February 9 – March 1: March 2 – March 22: March 23 – March 29: March 30 – April 5: April 6 – April 12: April 13 – April 19: April 20 – May 3: May 4 – May 17: May 18 – June 7: June 8 – June 14: June 15 – June 28: June 29 – July 5: July 6 – July 12: July 13 – July 26: July 27 – August 9: August 10 – August 16: August 17 – August 23: August 24 – September 13: September 14 – September 20: September 21 – September 27: September 28 – October 4: October 5 – October 18: October 19 – October 25: October 26 – November 1: November 2 – November 15: November 16 – November 22: November 23 – December 6: December 7 – December 20: December 21 – December 27: December 28, 1974 – January 3, 1975: |
Sports: World Series Champions: Oakland Athletics Superbowl VIII Champions: Miami Dolphins NBA Champions: Boston Celtics Stanley Cup Champs: Philadelphia Flyers U.S. Open Golf Hale Irwin U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies) Jimmy Connors/Billie Jean King Wimbledon (Men/Women): Jimmy Connors/Chris Evert NCAA Football Champions: Oklahoma & USC NCAA Basketball Champions: North Carolina State Kentucky Derby: Cannonade World Cup (Soccer): West Germany |