RUBIK’S CUBE – In 1974, Hungarian mathematician Erno Rubik invented a cube to help his students with math concepts. He sold 2 million in Hungary in the next few years. 1 in 5 Hungarians bought one. In 1980, the Ideal Toy Corporation began to sell them and they became a worldwide hit. Rubik has been called “the first self-made millionaire in a Communist country”. Uncle p. 26
#1 HIT SONGS
1970 – Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel
1971 – Joy to the World by Three Dog Night
1972 – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack
1973 – Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree by Tony Orlando and Dawn
1974 – The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand
1975 – Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain and Tennille
1976 – Silly Love Songs by Wings
1977 – Tonight’s the Night by Rod Stewart
1978 – Shadow Dancing by Barry Gibb
1979 – My Sharonna by The Knack
Billboard
LIFE IN 1970
– population = 205 million / 5% lived on farms
– life expectancy = 67 men / 75 women
– first marriage = 23 men / 21 women
– average salary = $7,564
– household size = 3.14
– strikes = 5,716
1970’s FIRSTS
1970 – Earth Day, Monday Night Football, Mary Tyler Moore Show, floppy disc, survivor of rabies (6 year-old boy), Earth Day, woman jockey in the Kentucky Derby (Diana Crump)
1971 – All in the Family, Columbo, hot pants
1972 – Nike running shoes, Pong video game, Sanford and Son, MASH, The Waltons, glitter rock (David Bowie), Title IX ensures equality for women in college sports
1973 – Dungeons and Dragons, disco, Kojak, The Young and the Restless, The 6 Million Dollar Man, designated hitter, state to decriminalize marijuana (Oregon), pet rock
1974 – pocket calculator, Happy Days, Monty Python TV series, Little House on the Prairie
1975 – Microsoft, Saturday Night Live, women in West Point, The Jeffersons, Saturday Night Live, Heimlich Maneuver approved, VCR
1976 – Apple, The Muppet Show, Laverne and Shirley, Charlie’s Angels, Presidential visit to China
1977 – bottled water, Family Feud, Three’s Company, The Love Boat, roller disco
1978 – test tube baby, Garfield comic, woman on a coin (Susan B. Anthony dollar), Fantasy Island, Dallas
1979 – nuclear accident (Three Mile Island), Dukes of Hazard
THREE MILE ISLAND – America’s worst nuclear accident occurred at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania on March 29, 1979. It was due to a combination of mechanical problems and human error. It started when the main water pumps stopped due to either mechanical or electrical failure. This caused the steam generators could not remove the heat given off by the reactor. The reactor automatically shut down. The pressure rose, so a relief valve opened, but when the pressure went down, the valve remained open. The operators were not given a signal that the valve was still open. Water left through the valve and the reactor overheated. Operators, unaware of the problem, reduced the flow of coolant. A hydrogen bubble developed and panic ensued. In the crisis, engineers were able to bleed the hydrogen into a containment room. Some radiation had been released into the atmosphere, but a later study by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determined that people living in the area were exposed to just 1 millirem. A chest x-ray is about 6 millirems. In spite of the fact that no one died, no new nuclear power plants have been built since then. Amazing 190-191
FIRST HAPPY MEAL – In 1979, McDonald’s came out with the first happy meal. It was called the Circus Wagon Happy Meal. It included a hamburger or cheeseburger, fries, a cookie, and a soft drink. The toy was either a McDoodler stencil, a puzzle toy, a McWrist wallet, an ID bracelet, of a McDonald’s character eraser. All this for $1. Lists 16
MOOD RINGS – These originated at a sensitivity training center in New York. They were supposed to give biofeedback. Inventors Josh Reynolds and Maris Ambats took the idea to market in 1975. The ring consisted of a stone of quartz filled with a thermotropic liquid crystal that reacted to body temperature. The warmest color was violet which meant you were happy. Blue meant calm. Green meant you were feeling okay. Yellow equaled tense. You were in a bad mood if your stone was brown, black, or gray. The first rings sold for $45. Lists 223
THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971
- women could not get a credit card without your husband’s signature – it was not until 1974 that a law was passed ending this requirement
- women were not guaranteed to not be fired because they got pregnant – this changed with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
- women could not serve on juries in most states – the rationale was that women were too important to the home to be taken from it, women were too fragile for gory trials, or women would be too sympathetic toward the defendant; it was not until 1973 that all states allowed women on juries
- women could not serve in a combat situation – until 1973, women who entered the military were restricted to support positions or nurses; it was not until 2013 that the armed forces allowed women in combat
- women could not get into most Ivy League colleges – only Yale and Princeton accepted females
- women could not take legal action against sexual harassment in the workplace in most states – it was not until 1977 that all states had laws against this
- women could not refuse sex to their husbands in most states – it was not until 1993 that all states had laws against spousal rape
- women could not get health insurance at the same rates as men – it was not until 2010 that sex discrimination was outlawed in health insurance
DRINKING THE FLAVOR-AID
This is the anniversary of the second worst mass civilian casualty event due to a deliberate act in American History. Here are some interesting facts.
- Jim Jones created the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1956. Jones, a civil rights activist, envisioned his organization to be an integrated congregation that worked to help people in need. Although it attracted needy people, it mainly consisted of adults who held jobs and their families. More than half the congregation was African-Americans. Over 60% of the people were female. The integrated nature of the church was appealing to many whites. The beliefs Jones preached combined socialism and fundamentalism. The Peoples Temple had friends in high places and had a good reputation for community service.
- The church moved to San Francisco, but in 1973, facing increasing media investigation, Jones relocated to Guyana. The agricultural commune was named Jonestown. It covered 4,000 acres and was isolated from society. Some members were reluctant to leave their lives in America, but Jones persuaded most to come. He argued that American society was evil and they needed to escape the sinfulness.
- Jones was a father figure to his community. Literally, because he was the biological or adopted father to many. However, power seems to have corrupted him, or revealed his true nature. As a child, he was described as a weird loner. He was fascinated with death and liked to perform funerals for pets. He studied the persuasive tactics of Hitler and Stalin.
- Jonestown was envisioned as a communist utopia. After working all day in the fields, the congregation gathered to listen to Jones harangue about communism or rant about some current event. He often showed Soviet propaganda films or political thrillers like “The Parallax View” and “The Day of the Jackal”.
- Some commune members were unhappy at Jonestown. They had to work in the fields for up to 12 hours a day with little water. Some of them and their relatives in the U.S. contacted elected officials to complain. Congressman Leo Ryan of California took up the cause. This fit his personality as he had a reputation for investigating injustices. He once got himself put in Folsom Prison to witness mistreatment of prisoners. He went to Canada to investigate seal hunting.
- Ryan visited Jonestown with reporters. Although Jones put on a show that indicated they were just one big happy family, some members approached Ryan and wanted to leave. He took the defectors with him when he left the next day. Ryan had indicated that he was going to file a generally positive report, so it may have been the defections that set off Jones. At the airport, gunmen sent by Jones opened fire and killed Ryan (who was shot more than 20 times), several journalists, and one defector. Jones knew the subsequent uproar would be very bad for his reign. He may have also been influenced by his deteriorating physical and mental health. He was said to be abusing drugs.
- The commune had been prepared for mass suicide. On evenings called “white nights”, the members would congregate in the center and practice drinking from barrels of a liquid. On Nov. 18, 1978, the gathering was the real deal. Jones described what they were going to do as “revolutionary suicide”. Although some members argued against it (there are gruesome tapes of the incident), most willing drank. Those who refused were threatened by men armed with guns or cross bows. The children went first, the idea being their deaths would give the adults nothing left to live for. Over 300 kids died. It took about five minutes for the poison to work on the kids, 20-30 minutes for adults. About 600 adults succumbed, some of them being shot or forcibly injected with poison. Jones died from a self-inflicted gunshot, although he may have been shot by his trusted nurse.
- Although the mass suicide (some call it mass murder) gave rise to the phrase “drink the Kool-Aid”, the beverage laced with cyanide was actually the knock-off Flavor-Aid.
- Some members survived, including eleven who claimed to be going off on a picnic when they read the writing on the wall and walked 35 miles to safety. One elderly woman lived because she slept through it!
- One of the victims was Jones’ pet monkey Mr. Muggs. The chimp was the cult’s mascot. He was shot.
https://historycollection.com/25-unpleasant-facts-about-the-jonestown-massacre/25/
https://vocal.media/criminal/10-facts-about-jonestown-you-didn-t-know
https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/jonestown-13-things-you-should-know-about-cult-massacre-121974/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown#Mass_murder-and-suicide
D.B. COOPER
The D.B. Cooper case is the only unsolved hijacking case in American commercial aviation history. The flight was from Portland to Seattle on Nov. 24, 1971 (Thanksgiving eve). A nondescript male in his mid-40s passed a note to a stewardess. The note read “I have a bomb in my briefcase.” He told the woman to sit next to him and proceeded to briefly open the case to reveal what looked like a bomb. He demanded $200,000 and four parachutes. When the plane landed in Seattle, Dan Cooper (the name he used purchasing the ticket – a newspaper reporter erroneously reported it as D.B. Cooper) received his ransom. He may have chosen the name Dan Cooper based on a Belgian comic book hero who sometimes parachuted into his adventures. He released the passengers and kept four of the six person flight crew. He ordered the pilot to fly to Mexico, but on the first leg to Reno for refueling, Cooper lowered the back stairs and jumped. The F.B.I. conducted an extensive investigation that filled 60 volumes. In 2106, it called off the investigation. There was not enough forensic evidence on the plane (e.g., Cooper kept the note) and all the suspects were cleared or had insufficient evidence against them. In 1980, an eight-year old Brian Ingram was digging in the sand along the Columbia River in Washington and found a bundle of $20 bills totaling $5,800. The serial numbers matched the ransom money. This finding backs up the strongest theory which is that Cooper did not survive his crime. He jumped in high winds during a thunderstorm over a dense forest and could easily have been killed.
https://www.history.com/news/who-was-d-b-cooper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper
https://www.britannica.com/biography/D-B-Cooper
THE WOUNDED KNEE OCCUPATION
The members of AIM walked out with their heads held high and with the knowledge that their cause had been advanced through publicity. This happened on May 8, 1973 when the Wounded Knee Occupation came to an end after 71 days. It all started with a dispute over leadership on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. “Traditionals” were upset with the dictatorial power of elected tribal chairman Dick Wilson. Wilson had his own private militia called the Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs) which supported his corruption and favoritism towards relatives and supporters. The American Indian Movement had been created in 1968 to protest police harassment in Minneapolis. It quickly expanded its issues to include better treatment of Native Americans, preservation of Indian culture, and renegotiating of land-grab treaties. It got involved in the challenge to Wilson’s reign. Led by Dennis Banks and Russell Means, and influenced by the tactics of Civil Rights activists, 200 members of AIM occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee. It was a publicity bonanza as the site reminded Americans of the shame of the last massacre of the Indian Wars and was thus a symbol of mistreatment of Native-Americans. Wilson saw the occupation as a threat to himself and garnered federal support. U.S. Marshals and the FBI were called out and laid siege to the hamlet, cutting off electricity, food, and water. Gunfire was exchanged almost every day. Two Indians were killed and a black civil rights activist named Ray Robinson disappeared, assumed murdered. The public sided with the militants and several prominent celebrities spoke in favor of AIM. Marlon Brando famously refused to attend the Oscars for his “Godfather” win, sending Native American woman to accept the award and make a speech supporting Indian rights. The occupation ended peacefully after both sides agreed to disarm and AIM was promised that treaties would be discussed. It was a hollow promise, but AIM had achieved its goal of bringing its views to the public.
https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/wounded-knee