18 Things That Happened in the ‘70s that You Probably Forgot About
2) Walt Disney World first opened.
3) Apple released the Apple II.
It’s hard to remember a time before people started carrying around computers that fit in their pocket, so it can be easy for some to forget that simply having a computer in one’s home was a big deal. The Apple II, helped lead a revolution, bringing computer technology to the masses.
4) “Bridget Loves Bernie” caused some controversy.
The CBS show starring Meredith Baxter and David Birney was a hit, but not with everyone. Religious groups took umbrage with the network’s decision to center a show around an interfaith couple
5) Sony unveiled the Betamax.
Betamax brought consumers’ favorite films into their own homes beginning in 1975, but unfortunately for Sony, their revolutionary video tape-playing product was eclipsed by VHS just two years later.
6) Ford Pintos started exploding.
Thanks to a design flaw in the Ford cars’ fuel tanks, the Pinto was especially vulnerable to bursting into flames if hit from the back in a collision. After an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford recalled all Pintos manufactured between 1971 and 1976
7) Cher dated David Geffen.
The music mogul and legendary singer & actress coupled up during the mid 1970s. Geffen helped Cher free herself from an unfair business arrangement with her estranged husband, Sonny Bono, and the two attended the 1974 Grammys together
8) HBO made its debut.
The channel that would go on to produce Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City had rather humble beginnings: Its first broadcast was a long-forgotten 1971 film starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda called Sometimes a Great Notion (which was followed by an NHL hockey game).
9) The Doors released Other Voices
The Doors were one of the most popular rock groups from the 1960s and even had a hit album to start off the 70s, but lead singer Jim Morrison’s untimely death in 1971 put the remaining members in a bind: Should they go on making music without their legendary frontman? While the choice may seem obvious now, the band decided to proceed with Other Voices, which is not held in the same esteem as their previous records (to put it mildly).
10) Papasan chairs were huge.
These round chairs became a fixture of many American households after being brought over from Asia during the Vietnam War.
11) “Funny Face” became “The Sandy Duncan Show.”
In 1971, the CBS series Funny Face was enough of a hit to warrant renewal for a second season. When the show—which starred Sandy Duncan along with Marian Mercer and Happy Days star, Tom Bosley—returned, not only were there new faces, but a new title as well: The Sandy Duncan Show. It was the show’s final season.
12) Jessica Lange dated Mikhail Baryshnikov.
The Oscar-winning actress and ballet legend dated into the early 80s, and even had a daughter, Aleksandra, together.
13) J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion” was published posthumously.
“The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” author died in 1973, but his oeuvre continued to grow thanks to his son Christopher’s efforts to publish his father’s work after his death. “Silmarillion,” which was released in 1977, was the first of his posthumous works to hit shelves.
14) Jaws 2 was a bit of a flop.
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was an instant classic, but the sequel went over less swimmingly. Though Jeannot Swarzac’s film, like the original, did well at the box office, it did not come close to the iconic status of its predecessor.
15) Home-workout equipment started catching on.
Thanks to machines like the Nautilus, it was now possible to get your workout in at home—which was a new trend itself. Group classes like Jazzercise and less strenuous techniques like jogging helped make fitness fun and accessible to the masses.
16) Space Invaders made its debut in arcades.
Arcade games came about around the 70s, with the multiplayer Atari cabinet Pong being one of the earliest versions of this in 1972. Space Invaders took the world by storm even more with more in-depth mechanics and higher challenge as players try to survive waves of alien ships.
17) The punk subculture moshed onto the scene.
While some may think of disco or funk as the ruling musical cultures of the 70s, we’d be doing a crime by not mentioning the hugely influential punk movement. Centered around aggressive punk rock music and also rooted in anti-conformity, punk produced some memorable fashion and fantastic art. It’s still a relevant community to this day.
18) MLB players go on strike to win better pensions.
Baseball walked off the pitch for thirteen days in 1972 in protest over low pension and healthcare plan contributions. Team owners pretty quickly folded after 86 games’ worth of lost revenue, an excellent win for the Major League Baseball Players Association, a young union that had been founded just six years prior in 1966.
