Culture
Not In Kansas Anymore: How 'The Wiz' Made An Urban Clas...
January 5, 2021
Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and The Lion embarked upon a soulful twist on their adventure to the magical land of Oz in the 1975 musical The Wiz. The ...
Did '55' Save Lives? How The National Speed Limit Faile...
January 2, 2021
In 1974, President Richard Nixon put a national speed limit of 55 miles per hour (mph) on every road in the United States, including interstate highways, in ...
Diane von Furstenberg's Wrap Dress: '70s Disco-Ready Fe...
December 31, 2020
The wrap dress created by Diane von Furstenberg is arguably the most important women's clothing item of the '70s and it remains fashionable today. It's simpl...
The Kecksburg Incident: Mysterious UFO Crash Of The '60...
December 10, 2020
The Kecksburg UFO incident that occurred on December 9, 1965, may have happened over Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, but it was seen by people across North America....
What Was The John Birch Society? Anti-Communist Fervor ...
December 8, 2020
The John Birch Society was the grassroots network of the American anti-Communist crusade of the '50s, '60s and '70s. Society members, called "Birchers," saw ...
8-Track Tape History: The Portable Music Format's Rise ...
November 29, 2020
Today the 8-track tape is the ultimate in obsolete technology, but it was once a revolution in music. Music in your car, and not just any music -- you had th...
D.B. Cooper, a 727, And $200,000: The Greatest Unsolved...
November 24, 2020
D.B. Cooper was a thief and a hijacker who escaped capture by jumping out of a Boeing 727 -- and left us with one of the biggest unsolved crimes of the '70s....
Abortion On A Sitcom? Bea Arthur's Dilemma On 'Maude'
November 22, 2020
In November 1972, the Bea Arthur sitcom Maude took on the topic of abortion, which was as much a hot-button issue then as now. The two-part story "Maude's Dilemma...
1968: The 'Heidi Bowl' Pre-Empts Namath And The New Yor...
November 17, 2020
Heidi (Jennifer Edwards) bumped Joe Namath and his Jets off the air. Sources: Amazon.com; Photo by Bill Young/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images The New...
What is LSD? Albert Hofmann's Invention, Explained
November 16, 2020
A man with LSD sign on May 5, 1967 in New York, New York. (Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty Images) LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide, or acid) permeates '60s and '70s pop ...
Hello Kitty: Origin Of Sanrio's '70s Phenom (Who Isn't ...
November 1, 2020
Who's British, loves apple pie, and looks like a cat but is actually a pre-teen girl and definitely isn't a cat? Clearly it's Hello Kitty, the Japanese chara...
Bebe Buell, Rock Star Arm Candy And Liv Tyler's Mom, Th...
October 17, 2020
Photo of Bebe Buell circa 1980. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Bebe Buell, mother of Liv Tyler, never liked the word "groupie" -- she prefers to ...
The Trial Of The Chicago 7: The Real Story Behind The N...
October 16, 2020
The members of the Chicago Seven (Rubin, Dellinger, Weiner, Froines, Hayden, Davis, Hoffman) pose with others holding a poster of Bobby Seale, Chicago, Illinois...
What Were The Black Panthers? Facts And Truth About A C...
October 15, 2020
The Black Panthers -- officially, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense -- strike a fearsome pose in the racial tumult of the late 1960s. The assassinatio...
Was Roger Moore The Best James Bond? The Case For Sean ...
October 14, 2020
Actor Roger Moore on the set of "Octopussy". (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) Is Roger Moore "your" James Bond? Or is Sean Connery the quin...
How The ABA Changed Basketball, Then Sold Out And Died
October 13, 2020
On October 13, 1967, the Oakland Oaks defeated the Anaheim Amigos in the debut game of the revolutionary American Basketball Association. Although short-lived, ...
Who Was Jay Sebring? The Celebrity Hairdresser And Mans...
October 10, 2020
Chic barber Jay Sebring, working on actor Paul Newman's hair while he is reading the paper, sitting on motorcycle (only seat available) on the set of the film M...
How The Chemical Companies Fought 'Silent Spring's Inco...
September 27, 2020
Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring questioned the use of pesticides, particularly DDT. Despite, and because of, chemical companies' campaign to discredi...
Chariots Of The Gods: Sketchy Tales Of Ancient Aliens B...
September 22, 2020
Erich Von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods told us that aliens were responsible for everything from the pyramids at Giza to the statues of Easter Island. The b...
'Daisy,' LBJ's Anti-Goldwater TV Ad That Ran Only Once ...
September 7, 2020
On September 7th, 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson's "Daisy" TV advertisement changed political campaigns forever. The ad, which presented Johnson as a peaceful lead...
Al Pacino's Gayest Movie: The 'Cruising' Controversy Of...
August 29, 2020
Al Pacino as an undercover cop trying to fit in at a leather bar in 'Cruising.' Photo by Lorimar/Getty Images. In 1980 William Friedkin and Al Pacino made Cru...
Slim Aarons, King Of Hollywood Photographers (A Story O...
August 26, 2020
Left: 'Poolside Glamour' by Slim Aarons. Right: Photographer Slim Aarons (right) on board a yacht off Capri, Italy, September 1968. Sources: Amazon.com; Slim Aa...
When The Grateful Dead Helped Lithuania Win Basketball ...
August 23, 2020
When Lithuania's men's basketball team played at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, they did so with help from the Grateful Dead. The relationship with the long...
How Julia Child Made Americans Want To Be French Chefs
August 15, 2020
Author and cook Julia Child during a 'Tonight Show' segment with host Johnny Carson on March 19, 1980 -- Photo by: Gene Arias/NBCU Photo Bank . Julia Child was on...
Remember Bell-Bottoms? History Of Flares Worn By Hippie...
August 14, 2020
American soul group Chairmen of the Board, featuring (L-R) Eddie Custis, Harrison Kennedy and General Norman Johnson, circa early 1970s. From Insight Talent Inc...
Easy Bake Oven: The Joy Of Cooking With A Light Bulb
August 5, 2020
In 1963, the light-bulb-powered Easy Bake Oven by Kenner arrived in stores, a thrilling development for young girls. The gender roles were set in stone, and the cu...
What Happened To Jimmy Hoffa? Facts And Theories About ...
July 30, 2020
James R. Hoffa, heir-apparent to the Presidency of the giant Teamsters Union, as he appeared before Senate Rackets probers on August 22, 1957. Source: Bettmann ...
S.E. Hinton: The Teenaged 'Outsiders' Author Who Invent...
July 22, 2020
Writing novels for and about teenagers -- The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, Tex and others -- S.E. Hinton invented the Young Adult (YA) fiction genre. Hinton wrote...
Hunter S. Thompson: Stories And Quotes From The '70s Go...
July 18, 2020
Known for his seminal works like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell’s Angels, Hunter S. Thompson was a journalist (or "gonzo journalist") who was down f...
The New York City Blackout Of '77: Darkest Day Of A Dar...
July 13, 2020
Aerial view of a building burning in the wake of the New York City blackout, Brooklyn, New York, New York, July 14, 1977. (Photo by Robert R. McElroy/Getty Imag...
What Changed Richard Simmons? The 'Fat People Die Young...
July 12, 2020
Richard Simmons has been a flamboyant fitness evangelist for over four decades. What makes him such a tireless fanatic? A near-death experience -- if only a ...
The Ford Bronco Was The Sexy SUV Of '66
July 9, 2020
The 1966 Ford Bronco was a different kind of four-wheeler, a truck with off-road capability that had a sports car's style -- in fact, in early advertisements, Ford called it "a...
Every Man A Master Chef: How Grilling Conquered America...
July 8, 2020
The portable grill -- the Weber kettle-style grill in particular -- changed suburban culture in the '50s. Apron-clad husbands and dads were inspired to take ...
A High School Kid Designed The American Flag And Got A ...
July 4, 2020
Do you dig the American flag? Thank Robert Heft. Through the years the American flag saw multiple variations as our great country added states to the Union. ...
Larry Walters: 'Lawnchair Larry's Balloon Flight Made H...
July 2, 2020
Larry Walters, or "Lawnchair Larry," took to the sky in 1982, ascending to a an altitude of over three miles in a chair lifted by helium-filled balloons. He'...
The Fondue Fad Was A Scam, And We Ate It Up In The Chee...
June 28, 2020
There's a fondue set, '60s or '70s vintage, in a frayed cardboard box, collecting dust in many an American attic or basement. And there's a reason for that. ...
Chuck Taylors: The Basketball Shoes That Went Punk Rock
June 24, 2020
Left: high-top Chucks in basic black. Right: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was always seen in his low-top Chucks. Sources: Wikimedia Commons; Kevin Mazur Archive 1/WireIm...
List Of Safe Social Distance Activities (That Were Arou...
June 23, 2020
circa 1955: A boy, who has just completed making a model of a F 92 jet plane at the Hunter College Elementary School in New York City. (Photo by Jacobsen /Three...
South Of The Border: The Tourist Trap Your Parents Neve...
June 17, 2020
A jovial fiberglass Mexican laughs at South of the Border, a Mexican-themed amusement park, hotel, gift shop, adult toy store, and neon-heavy rest stop on the N...
Monterey Pop, 1967: The Summer Of Love Begins (Facts An...
June 16, 2020
Jimi Hendrix performs onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 18, 1967 in Monterey, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Over three ...
Interracial Marriage Was Actually Illegal In 16 States ...
June 12, 2020
Married couple Mildred and Richard Loving (1933 - 1975) embracing at a press conference the day after the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in 'Loving v. Virgi...
Remember Sniglets? List Of Words That Should Have Been ...
June 10, 2020
Rich Hall. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) Comedian Rich Hall gave us the "sniglet" ...
'Have You No Sense Of Decency?' When Joseph Welch Owned...
June 9, 2020
Joseph N. Welch, during the Army-McCarthy hearings. (Photo by Hank Walker/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) In 1954, Joseph Welch took on Senator ...
When Everyone Was An Audiophile: Remember Your First St...
June 5, 2020
Debbie Harry, lead singer of the new wave group Blondie, sits in front of some stereo equipment, circa 1977. (Photo by Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Image...
Remember The 'Hippie Van?' The VW Microbus At Woodstock...
June 4, 2020
View of a Volkswagon van painted by Florida-based artist 'Scramble' and modeled after psychedelic art from the 1960s, mid 1990s. (Photo by Blank Archives/Getty ...
Who Shot (And Technically Killed) Andy Warhol -- And Wh...
June 3, 2020
Left: Actress Valerie Solanas (center), 28, is booked on June 3, 1968, in connection with the shooting a few hours earlier of pop artist Andy Warhol. Right: War...
1965: SpaghettiOs Were Invented And Sold For The First ...
May 16, 2020
Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs. It doesn’t seem like this would be the best tagline for a canned pasta-and-tomato-sauce meal that was meant to be a simple and easy way f...
1978: Phillie Phanatic Makes His First Ever Appearance,...
April 25, 2020
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda with the Phillie Phanatic during an MLB baseball game at Veterans Stadium circa 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. La...
Mac Facts: The Story Of Steve Jobs And His Revolutionar...
April 24, 2020
American businessman Steve Jobs (L), Chairman of Apple Computers, and John Sculley, Apple's president, pose with the new Macintosh personal computer, on January...
The Seattle Space Needle: Opened In 1962, A National La...
April 21, 2020
The Seattle Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair, is a structure that symbolizes its city like few others -- it does what the Eiffel Tower does for ...
Grace Slick Tried Dosing Nixon With 600mg of LSD, But H...
April 20, 2020
Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane went to the White House in 1970 with a plan: slip President Richard Nixon a dose of LSD. Slick was a powerful woman in the ...
1956: Grace Kelly Marries Prince Rainier of Monaco
April 18, 2020
Following their church wedding on April 19, 1956, the real Princess Grace and Prince Ranier wave from a palace window. Filed 1/11/1983. UPI/CORBIS-BETTMANN. BPA 2# 5454...
Ray Kroc: McDonald's Founder's Life, Legacy, And Storie...
April 15, 2020
The sign says McDonald's, but it's Ray Kroc whose name and face are on the plaque inside. Fast food as we know it was shaped by the late Kroc, who opened his...
1988: Sonny Bono Elected Mayor Of Palm Springs, Califor...
April 12, 2020
Palms Springs Mayor Sonny Bono in 1991. Source: Paul Harris / Contributor / Getty Images As mayor of Palm Springs, Sonny Bono added a new chapter to a life th...
1968 Academy Awards Postponed Due To Martin Luther King...
April 8, 2020
Sammy Davis Jr. and Barbra Streisand, as the latter presents him with an Oscar, for best song first used in an eligible motion picture, Talk to the Animals duri...
John Hinckley Jr. Shoots President Ronald Reagan In The...
March 30, 2020
Law enforcement officials escort John Hinckley, Jr. from a helicopter at the Marine Base in Quantico, Virginia. Hinckley tried to kill President Ronald Reagan. ...
March 29, 1973: The U.S. Withdraws From The Vietnam War
March 29, 2020
Army Chief Master Sergeant Max Bielke, Alexandria, Minnesota, was the last U.S. serviceman to leave Vietnam 3/29 as the role of U.S. forces officially ended. He is...
This 1950s High School Girl's Purse Was Found In Ohio, ...
March 26, 2020
Patti Rumfola's purse, found behind a locker at North Canton Middle School in Ohio wasn't just a purse -- it was an accidental time capsule. Rumfola graduate...
This 1970s Time Capsule Home For Sale In California Is ...
March 24, 2020
Lime green is a good color, for a lime. Or a key lime pie. Or lime sherbet or limeade. The lime green condo of Ramona, California, might cure you of limes fo...
Beautiful Photos Of NYC Parked Cars In The 1970s By Pho...
March 23, 2020
Between 1974 and 1976 Langdon Clay photographed the cars he found on the streets of New York and Hoboken, New Jersey whenever he was out on a late night walk...
Remember When Johnny Carson Caused A National Toilet Pa...
March 20, 2020
Tonight Show host Johnny Carson on August 3rd, 1971-- (Photo by: Fred Sabine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) It was the toilet...
That Time A Drunk Richard Nixon Ordered A Nuclear Strik...
March 17, 2020
President Richard Nixon and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat (not pictured) share a laugh during Nixon's visit to Egypt. (Photo by © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis v...
1959: When Congress Approved Hawaii As A State, And Hol...
March 12, 2020
Left: Wlvis Presley in a publicity photo for 'Blue Hawaii' (1961). Right: the cover of 'Hawaii in Stereo' by Leo Addeo and his Orchestra. Sources: Michael Ochs ...
1981: Disneyland's First Homicide As Teenager Stabbed I...
March 7, 2020
A porate chasing a wench in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. (Photo by Bruce Chambers/Orange County Register via Getty Images) On March ...
Charles Manson's Album 'Lie' Is On Spotify And You Can ...
March 6, 2020
American criminal Charles Manson at California Medical Facility, Vacaville, Solano County, California, US, August 1980. (Photo by Albert Foster/Mirrorpix/Getty ...
Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth: Cartoonist, Hotrodder Legend (1932...
March 4, 2020
Left: Ed Roth with his Excaliber Roadster in 1959, which he renamed The Outlaw. Right: Rat Fink sticker, Source: Photo by Colin Creitz/The Enthusiast Network vi...
1958: Pope Designates St. Clare Of Assisi Patron Saint ...
February 17, 2020
There had to be a patron saint of television -- sooner or later, it was bound to happen. Clare of Assisi got the job, due to a strange television-like abilit...
1967: The 25th Amendment (VP Succeeds President) Is Ado...
February 10, 2020
What happens if a U.S. President resigns -- or has to be removed from office? Until the 25th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted in 1967, there wasn't ...
1972: Bob Douglas Becomes The First Black Man Inducted ...
February 5, 2020
With thousands of wins under his belt and decades of experience as owner and coach of one of the most important and earliest black basketball teams, Bob Doug...
Execution In Saigon: The Famous Snapshot That Started T...
February 1, 2020
On February 1, 1968 the iconic photo of Nguyen Van Lem being executed on a street in Saigon went all the way around the world, exposing the realities of the ...
Legos: Facts, History And Trivia About The Universal Bu...
January 28, 2020
Legos are everywhere. At this point, several generations of people all over the world have grown up building things out of Lego bricks, and the toys have evo...
1977: Jimmy Carter Pardons Draft Dodgers On Day One (Bu...
January 21, 2020
President-elect Jimmy Carter talks with President Gerald Ford in the Blue Room of the White House before heading to Capitol Hill for Carter's inauguration Janua...
Nerds On Acid: The Internet's Founders Did LSD In The 1...
January 16, 2020
An unidentified boy wearing headphones and a 'psychedelic disk' on his forehead at en exhibition created by USCO (the 'Company of Us) at Riverside Museum, New Y...
How A Hockey Player Became Canada’s Starbucks
January 12, 2020
For most Americans Tim Hortons is only a name that we’ve heard in passing. Is it a coffee shop? A donut store? Do they sell guys named Tim? It’s a shame that so few Ame...
'Scared Straight:' Did The Famous 1978 Program Work? (N...
January 10, 2020
Starting with 1978’s Scared Straight, the TV special that sent at-risk teenagers to prison with adults in order to freak them out and turn them into respecta...
Sidney Gottlieb, MKUltra And Brainwashing's Mystery Man
January 8, 2020
In the Cold War years, we didn't even know about it: MKUltra, directed by Sidney Gottlieb of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). MKUltra aggressively researc...
Muriel Siebert: The First Woman To Have A Seat On The N...
December 28, 2019
January 16, 1968: Muriel Siebert appears pleased with what she sees on the ticker tape as well as hearing that she was elected to the New York Stock Exchange. T...
1966: The First Kwanzaa Is Celebrated In Long Beach, Ca...
December 26, 2019
Where did Kwanzaa come from? In 1965, while black Americans' struggle for Civil Rights was front page news, race riots broke out in the Los Angeles neighborh...
World Trade Center: The Tallest Building In The World
December 23, 2019
World Trade Center (Photo by Boris Spremo/Toronto Star via Getty Images) The World Trade Center will forever be associated with the tragedy of September 11, 2001, ...
Air Force's Operation Christmas Drop: Delivering Gifts ...
December 19, 2019
Santa Claus might ride in a sleigh, but the U.S. Air Force's Santas over Micronesian islands come swooping in on bomber planes to deliver their gifts. The hu...
