Annual

1978 Trivia, History, and Fun FactsIn 1978, a human being was conceived outside the human body for the first time and born healthy in an English hospital, permanently altering the boundary of what medicine could do. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John told everyone they were getting chills that kept multiplying. 918 people died in the

1977 History, Facts, and TriviaIn 1977, Star Wars arrived, and the world was permanently divided into people who had seen it and those who were about to. Elvis Presley died in August. The Son of Sam was arrested. Roots aired on eight consecutive nights and drew the largest television audience in American history. Debby Boone

1976 History, Facts, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1976World Changing Event: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer on April 1, 1976, in the Jobses’ family garage in Los Altos, California. The first Apple I computer sold for $666.66.Top Song: “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” by Rod StewartInfluential Songs: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, “Do

1975 History, Facts, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1975World-Changing Event: HBO put itself on the pop culture map when it broadcast the “Thrilla in Manila” live from the Philippines — the heavyweight championship rematch between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Pay cable television had just announced itself.Top Song: Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain and

1974 Fun Facts, History, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1974World-Changing Event: Richard Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974 — the first and only American president to do so — rather than face certain impeachment over the Watergate scandal. Gerald Ford was sworn in immediately and told the country, “Our long national nightmare is over.”

1973 History, Facts, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1973World-Changing Event: The Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973, ending direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam — a war that had cost over 58,000 American lives, divided the country more sharply than any conflict since the Civil War, and produced the most sustained domestic protest

1972 History, Facts, and TriviaIn 1972, Richard Nixon went to China, signed an arms control treaty with the Soviets, won re-election in a landslide, and authorized a break-in at a Washington office complex that would eventually end his presidency. The Godfather arrived in theaters. Atari was founded with $250. HBO launched. ABBA came together in

1971 History, Facts, and TriviaIn 1971, cigarette advertising was banned from American television and radio, ending an era and beginning a public health reckoning that would take decades to complete. D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane, collected $200,000 in ransom, jumped out into a Pacific Northwest night, and was never conclusively identified. Jim Morrison died in

1969 History, Facts, and TriviaIn 1969, a human being stood on the Moon’s surface and spoke into a radio. The signal traveled 240,000 miles to Earth in 1.3 seconds and was heard by an estimated 600 million people. Four months later, half a million people gathered in a field in upstate New York for three

1967 History, Facts, and TriviaIn 1967, the Summer of Love drew somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 young people to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, the largest countercultural gathering the United States had seen. Aretha Franklin recorded Respect and defined what the word meant. Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant in Cape Town. Thurgood

 1966 History, Facts, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1966World Changing Event: Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in China — a decade-long political campaign that resulted in the persecution of millions, the destruction of cultural artifacts, and an estimated death toll of up to 2 million people.Top Song: “I’m a Believer” by The MonkeesMust-See Movies: Alfie,

1963 History, Facts, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1963World-Changing Event: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. He was 46 years old. The country had four days of uninterrupted television coverage and has never quite stopped talking about it.Other World-Changing Event: Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique and Martin Luther

1962 History, Facts, and TriviaIn 1962, the world came closer to nuclear war than it has before or since. For thirteen days in October, the United States and the Soviet Union faced each other over Soviet missiles in Cuba, and the outcome depended in part on decisions made by individual people in submarines and in

1961 Trivia, History, and Fun FactsIn 1961, Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth, and the Space Race had a clear leader. Alan Shepard followed fifteen minutes into space, and the gap began to close. John F. Kennedy was inaugurated and, within three months, had authorized the Bay of Pigs invasion, which failed spectacularly. The Berlin Wall

1959 Trivia, Fun Facts, and Pop Culture HistoryIn 1959, Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states, and the United States became geographically what it is today. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in an Iowa field on February 3, though the phrase “the day the music died” would not be

1956 Trivia, Fun Facts, and Pop Culture HistoryQuick Facts from 1956World Changing Event: Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956. Over 60 million Americans watched — roughly 82% of the TV-viewing audience. Ed Sullivan himself was so nervous about Elvis’s hip movements that he ordered cameras to film him only

1955 Trivia, History, and Fun FactsQuick Facts from 1955World-Changing Event: Dr. Jonas Salk began inoculating children against polio, one of the most feared diseases in American history. When journalist Edward R. Murrow asked Salk who owned the patent, he replied: “Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”Other

1954 History, Facts, and TriviaQuick Facts from 1954World-Changing Event: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, 1954, that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional — overturning Plessy v. Ferguson after 58 years and setting the legal foundation for the civil rights movementOther World-Changing Event: RCA put the