98 Fun Facts About 1970s Pop Culture

Which 1977 science fiction film became the highest-grossing movie of all time at that point?

Star Wars grossed about $410 million worldwide on its initial 1977 release, passing Jaws to become the highest-grossing film until E.T. in 1982. Counting later re-releases its total reached roughly $775 million.

What was the name of the shark-hunting vessel in the 1975 blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg?

The Orca was the name of Quint's fishing boat in Jaws. The film is widely credited with inventing the modern summer blockbuster.

Which band released the album "Rumours" in 1977, which became one of the best-selling albums of all time?

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide. The album was famously recorded while band members were going through painful breakups with each other.

What political scandal forced a U.S. president to resign in 1974?

Watergate — the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters and the cover-up that followed — forced Richard Nixon to resign on August 9, 1974, the first U.S. president to leave office that way.

Which 1977 John Travolta film helped popularize disco music and dance culture worldwide?

Saturday Night Fever (1977) starred John Travolta as Brooklyn dancer Tony Manero; its Bee Gees-driven soundtrack became one of the best-selling albums ever and turned disco into a worldwide craze.

Which 1977 home console dominated the market and popularized cartridge gaming?

The Atari 2600 was originally sold as the Atari VCS, and its interchangeable cartridge system brought arcade-style games into living rooms.

Which sketch comedy show debuted on NBC in October 1975 with George Carlin as its first host?

Saturday Night Live premiered October 11, 1975 with George Carlin hosting. It first aired as 'NBC's Saturday Night' because ABC was already using the name Saturday Night Live for a Howard Cosell variety show.

Which table tennis-inspired Atari arcade game of 1972 was among the first commercial hits?

Pong, released by Atari in 1972, was a simple but addictive table tennis simulation that helped establish the video game industry.

Which 1972 Coppola crime drama is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made?

The Godfather (1972) won three Academy Awards including Best Picture. Marlon Brando's portrayal of Don Vito Corleone became one of cinema's most iconic performances.

Which 1976 boxing drama won the Best Picture Oscar?

Rocky won three Oscars — Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing — while Sylvester Stallone was nominated for Best Actor but did not win. He wrote the screenplay in three and a half days after the Ali–Wepner title fight.

Which 1974 sitcom set in 1950s Milwaukee had a leather-jacketed greaser as its breakout character?

Happy Days ran from 1974 to 1984. Henry Winkler's Fonzie became a massive cultural icon, and the show spawned several spin-offs including Laverne & Shirley.

Which British rock band released the iconic album "The Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973?

Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon spent 741 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 from 1973 to 1988 and has sold an estimated 45 million copies worldwide.

Which military comedy-drama set during the Korean War ran on TV from 1972 to 1983?

M*A*S*H was based on the 1970 Robert Altman film. Its series finale in 1983 was watched by over 105 million viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast in American television history at the time.

Which David Bowie alter ego, an androgynous alien rock star who landed on Earth with a message of hope, debuted in 1972?

Ziggy Stardust came to Earth ahead of an apocalypse to deliver a message of hope, on the 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Which trio of brothers dominated disco with the hits "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever"?

The Bee Gees — Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb — held the top two Hot 100 spots in March 1978 with 'Night Fever' and 'Stayin' Alive', while five songs they wrote sat in the top 10 together.

What flared style of pants became a defining fashion trend throughout the 1970s?

Bell-bottoms flare out from the knee down, and Sonny and Cher helped push them into the American mainstream by wearing them on their television show.

Which punk band's 1977 single mocking the Silver Jubilee was banned by the BBC yet reached No. 2?

The Sex Pistols released 'God Save the Queen' on 27 May 1977, days before the Silver Jubilee; the BBC refused to play it, yet it reached No. 2 on the UK chart and appeared on Never Mind the Bollocks.

Which 1979 Ridley Scott film features a terrifying extraterrestrial aboard a commercial spaceship?

Alien (1979) was taglined 'In space, no one can hear you scream.' Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Ellen Ripley became one of the most iconic female action characters in cinema.

Which 1971 Led Zeppelin song is often cited as the greatest rock song ever despite never being released as a single?

'Stairway to Heaven', from Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album (1971), runs over eight minutes; Jimmy Page wrote the music and Robert Plant the lyrics, and the band refused Atlantic's requests to issue it as a single.

What thick-soled footwear was a major early-1970s fashion statement for both men and women?

Platform soles peaked in the early 1970s and came in every style from clogs and sandals to oxfords and boots, ranging from barely raised to many inches high.

Which 1978 musical film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John was set in a 1950s high school?

Grease (1978) became the highest-grossing musical film at the time. Its soundtrack produced multiple hit singles including 'You're the One That I Want' and 'Summer Nights.'

Which 1975 cult film features the 'Time Warp' at the castle of a sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania?

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) gave Tim Curry his film debut as Dr. Frank-N-Furter; its interactive midnight screenings, running continuously since 1976, made it the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

Which band's 1976 greatest-hits album overtook Thriller in 2018 as the highest-certified album in the US?

The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) first passed Thriller in 1999, lost the lead after Thriller's 2017 recertification, then reclaimed it in August 2018 at 38× platinum once streams counted toward certification.

Which drawing toy uses two knobs, one moving the line horizontally and the other vertically?

Etch A Sketch was invented in 1959 by French electrician André Cassagnes and launched by Ohio Art in 1960; its two knobs drag a stylus through aluminium powder clinging to the back of the glass screen.

Which 1979 Coppola film follows a journey upriver in Vietnam to find a rogue colonel?

Apocalypse Now, loosely based on Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness,' had an infamously troubled production in the Philippines. Marlon Brando starred as the enigmatic Colonel Kurtz.

Which electronic memory game by Ralph Baer and Howard Morrison has players repeat sequences of coloured lights?

Its gameplay was borrowed from Atari's unpopular 1974 arcade game Touch Me, whose buttons were all black; Milton Bradley launched Simon in 1978 with four colored buttons and musical tones.

Which 1960s sitcom about seven shipwrecked castaways became a hit again in 1970s reruns?

It ran on CBS only from 1964 to 1967, but afternoon reruns made it a 1970s staple and led to three TV movies, starting with Rescue from Gilligan's Island in 1978.

Which 1977 miniseries based on Alex Haley's book traced an African American family from enslavement to freedom?

Roots aired on ABC over eight consecutive nights in January 1977; its finale on January 30 drew about 100 million viewers, then a record for an entertainment broadcast on US television.

Which New York nightclub, opened by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in 1977, was the epicentre of late-1970s disco culture?

Studio 54 closed in 1980 after Rubell and Schrager were convicted of tax evasion, having skimmed millions from the door.

Which 1978 Taito arcade game had players slide a laser cannon to shoot descending rows of enemies?

Space Invaders (1978) designer Tomohiro Nishikado drew on Breakout, The War of the Worlds and Space Battleship Yamato; the tale that it caused a 100-yen coin shortage in Japan is a myth Nishikado himself doubted.

Which Bowery music venue became the birthplace of American punk rock in the mid-1970s?

CBGB, at 315 Bowery, stood for Country, Bluegrass, Blues (and OMFUG, Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers), yet from 1974 it became the cradle of the Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads.

Which rock band, fronted by Freddie Mercury, released the operatic epic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in 1975?

Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' defied convention with its six-minute length and operatic middle section. The song was initially dismissed by critics but became one of the most beloved rock songs ever recorded.

Which 1971 Kubrick film, from an Anthony Burgess novel, depicts a dystopia of ultraviolent youth gangs?

A Clockwork Orange (1971) starred Malcolm McDowell as the delinquent Alex; after the film was blamed for copycat violence, Kubrick himself had it withdrawn from British cinemas in 1973, where it stayed unseen until 2000.

Which 1975 fad came in a ventilated cardboard carrier with straw bedding?

Gary Dahl sold nearly 1.5 million Pet Rocks at just under $4 each and became a millionaire, after friends complaining about their pets gave him the idea.

Which 1976 Stevie Wonder album is considered one of the greatest in popular music history?

Songs in the Key of Life debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for 13 weeks. It featured classics like 'Sir Duke,' 'I Wish,' and 'Isn't She Lovely.'

Which 1973 horror film about a possessed 12-year-old reportedly made audiences faint in theaters?

The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, became the first horror film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It earned over $441 million worldwide.

Which reggae musician's 1977 album Exodus was named the 20th century's greatest by Time magazine?

Bob Marley's Exodus was recorded in London after an assassination attempt in Jamaica. The album included hits like 'Jamming,' 'Waiting in Vain,' and 'One Love.'

Which 1970s jewelry fad used a thermochromic stone that supposedly revealed the wearer's emotional state?

Mood rings were a 1975 craze launched by New York marketers Joshua Reynolds and Maris Ambats; the 'stone' is a liquid-crystal capsule whose colour tracks finger temperature, not emotion.

Which 1977 Woody Allen romantic comedy won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Diane Keaton?

Annie Hall took Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Diane Keaton and Best Original Screenplay, helped define the modern romantic comedy and gave its name to a fashion look.

Which George Clinton funk band performed in elaborate costumes and landed a mothership on stage?

Parliament-Funkadelic, George Clinton's collective, blended funk, rock and psychedelia; its 1976–77 P-Funk Earth Tour, promoting the album Mothership Connection, had a spaceship prop, the Mothership, land on stage each night.

Which 1970s TV detective, played by Peter Falk, was famous for his rumpled raincoat?

Columbo, played by Peter Falk from 1971 to 1978 (with later revivals), was known for his 'just one more thing' catchphrase. The show uniquely revealed the killer at the start, making each episode about how Columbo would catch them.

Which pocket-sized personal cassette player did Sony launch in July 1979?

The Sony Walkman TPS-L2, released on July 1, 1979, changed how people consumed music by making it portable and personal. Over 200 million units were sold across all models.

Which 1970s sitcom, set in a Chicago housing project, gave J.J. Evans the catchphrase 'Dy-no-mite!'?

Good Times (1974–79), a spin-off of Maude set in a Chicago housing project, was the first US sitcom centered on an African-American two-parent family; Jimmie Walker's J.J. made 'Dy-no-mite!' a national catchphrase.

Which 1978 John Carpenter film introduced the masked killer Michael Myers?

Halloween (1978) was made for about $300,000 and grossed some $70 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable independent films ever and setting many of the slasher genre's conventions.

Which 1977 Donna Summer hit is regarded as the first major disco song built almost entirely from synthesizers?

'I Feel Love' was produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte on a borrowed Moog modular; everything but Donna Summer's vocals and the kick drum was electronic. David Bowie recalled Brian Eno calling it 'the sound of the future.'

Which 1979 Comiskey Park promotion, where fans got in for 98 cents by handing over a record, ended in a riot?

Disco Demolition Night, July 12, 1979: radio DJ Steve Dahl blew up a crate of the collected disco records between games of a White Sox–Tigers doubleheader, and the torn-up field forced the second game to be forfeited to Detroit.

Which 1976 show about three women at an LA detective agency popularized feathered hair?

Charlie's Angels (1976–81) starred Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith as detectives taking orders from an unseen boss over a speakerphone; Fawcett's feathered hairstyle was copied by millions, and her red-swimsuit poster became one of the best-selling posters ever.

Which 1979 Monty Python film follows a man born in the stable next door to Jesus and mistaken for the Messiah?

Life of Brian (1979), financed by George Harrison's HandMade Films after EMI pulled out, was banned in Norway and Ireland for alleged blasphemy yet became a major commercial success.

All in the Family (1971) was adapted from which British sitcom?

Till Death Us Do Part (BBC, 1965–75), with bigoted patriarch Alf Garnett, was the model; Norman Lear bought the rights after reading about the show in Variety and recast Alf as Archie Bunker.

In which city did Mary Richards produce the news at station WJM?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show set WJM-TV in Minneapolis; the opening hat toss was filmed on Nicollet Mall in front of Donaldson's department store, where a bronze statue of Mary was unveiled in 2002.

In Mork & Mindy, Robin Williams's alien came to Earth from which planet?

Mork came from the planet Ork; Mork & Mindy was spun off from a 1978 Happy Days episode, 'My Favorite Orkan', in which Mork tried to abduct Richie Cunningham.

The General Lee in The Dukes of Hazzard was which model of car?

The General Lee was a 1969 Dodge Charger, painted orange with a Confederate flag on the roof and '01' on the doors; the stunts wrecked so many that roughly 300 Chargers were used over the series.

Which sweet did Telly Savalas's Lieutenant Kojak suck on in place of cigarettes?

Kojak's lollipop first appeared in a December 1973 episode, when he swapped a cigarette for a Tootsie Pop mid-interrogation to 'close the generation gap'; Telly Savalas used it to cut down his own smoking.

Who created Soul Train and was its first and longest-serving host?

Don Cornelius created Soul Train in Chicago in 1970, took it into national syndication in 1971 and hosted it until 1993, when he stepped down in favor of guest hosts.

Who created The Gong Show and ended up hosting it himself after NBC insisted?

Chuck Barris, producer of The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, never meant to appear on camera; he replaced the show's original host, John Barbour, and fronted The Gong Show from its 1976 NBC debut.

On Fantasy Island, which character rang the bell and shouted 'De plane! De plane!'?

Hervé Villechaize was dropped before the final season and replaced by a butler named Lawrence, who rang the bell with an electronic button.

Where in Milwaukee did Laverne and Shirley work as bottle-cappers?

Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney capped bottles at the fictional Shotz Brewery in 1950s Milwaukee; the show's theme, 'Making Our Dreams Come True', was sung by Cyndi Grecco.

Who wrote and sang 'Welcome Back', the No. 1 theme to Welcome Back, Kotter?

John Sebastian, former Lovin' Spoonful frontman, wrote and sang 'Welcome Back', a US No. 1 in May 1976; the show was to be called simply Kotter until his song's title was added.

The Love Boat (1977) was set aboard which real cruise ship?

The Love Boat sailed on Princess Cruises' Pacific Princess, with sister ship Island Princess standing in for some episodes; later renamed MS Pacific, the ship was scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey, in 2013.

ABBA won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with which song?

'Waterloo' won Eurovision for Sweden on 6 April 1974 at the Brighton Dome; it went to No. 1 in the UK and launched ABBA internationally, and the band posed at London's Waterloo station afterwards.

How old was Elvis Presley when he died at Graceland in August 1977?

Elvis Presley was 42, born January 8, 1935 and found dead at Graceland on August 16, 1977; he had been due to fly to Portland, Maine, that evening to open another tour.

Whose 1971 album Tapestry spent 15 straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200?

Carole King's Tapestry held No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 15 consecutive weeks in 1971 and won four Grammys in 1972, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Which rocker was on the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week in October 1975?

Bruce Springsteen appeared on the covers of both Time and Newsweek dated October 27, 1975, two months after Born to Run, as Columbia's 'future of rock and roll' publicity campaign peaked.

Which band put out four solo albums, one per member, on the same day in September 1978?

Kiss released the four solo albums — by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss — on September 18, 1978 through Casablanca; Frehley's, with the hit 'New York Groove', sold best.

Which disco group released 'Y.M.C.A.' in October 1978, with lead vocals by its costumed policeman?

Village People's 'Y.M.C.A.' was released in October 1978 with lead vocals by Victor Willis, the group's policeman; in 2015 a federal jury confirmed Willis co-wrote it with producer Jacques Morali.

Whose 1978 anthem 'I Will Survive' was first released as the B-side of 'Substitute'?

Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' went out in 1978 as the B-side of 'Substitute'; DJs flipped the record, it reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in March 1979 and won the only Grammy for Best Disco Recording.

Meat Loaf's 1977 album Bat Out of Hell was composed by which songwriter?

Jim Steinman wrote every song on Bat Out of Hell, which Todd Rundgren produced; the material grew out of Neverland, Steinman's futuristic rock musical based on Peter Pan.

In which NYC borough did DJ Kool Herc's 1973 party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue help birth hip hop?

1520 Sedgwick Avenue is in the West Bronx; on August 11, 1973 Kool Herc DJed his sister Cindy Campbell's back-to-school party in the building's recreation room, extending breaks across two turntables.

Which 1979 Sugarhill Gang single is credited with introducing rap to a wide audience?

'Rapper's Delight' (1979), by a trio Sylvia Robinson assembled for her Sugar Hill label, rode the bassline of Chic's 'Good Times' to No. 36 on the Hot 100 — the first rap record to reach the US top 40.

Which 1973 Elton John double album includes 'Candle in the Wind' and 'Bennie and the Jets'?

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) was Elton John's first double album; he and Bernie Taupin recorded it at the Château d'Hérouville in France, and its 17 tracks include 'Candle in the Wind' and 'Bennie and the Jets'.

Members of which punk band, formed in Queens in 1974, all adopted the same stage surname?

The Ramones — Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy — were unrelated; Dee Dee took the surname from Paul McCartney, who had checked into hotels as 'Paul Ramon' in the Silver Beetles days, and the others followed.

Which actress was on the cover of People magazine's first issue in March 1974?

Mia Farrow, then starring as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (released later that month), was on the cover of People's debut issue dated March 4, 1974.

The 1973 film The Sting revived interest in which ragtime composer's music?

Scott Joplin's 'The Entertainer' (1902), adapted by Marvin Hamlisch, gave The Sting a chart-topping soundtrack and a No. 3 single in 1974, sparking a ragtime revival seven decades after Joplin wrote it.

Which Wyoming landmark is the aliens' landing site in Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

Devils Tower, an igneous monolith in northeast Wyoming and America's first national monument (1906), is the landing site; Roy Neary is drawn to it by visions while the Army fakes a nerve-gas spill to clear the area.

Who played the Man of Steel in the 1978 film Superman?

Christopher Reeve played both the Kryptonian Kal-El and the mild-mannered Clark Kent, and returned as the Man of Steel for three sequels.

Which anchorman in Network (1976) urges viewers to shout 'I'm as mad as hell'?

Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch, delivers the 'mad as hell' speech; Finch died in January 1977 and won a posthumous Best Actor Oscar, the first posthumous acting win and the only one until Heath Ledger's in 2009.

Which 1975 film was the first since It Happened One Night to win the 'Big Five' Oscars?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) won Picture, Director (Miloš Forman), Actor (Jack Nicholson), Actress (Louise Fletcher) and Adapted Screenplay; The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is the only film to match the sweep since.

Which car does Burt Reynolds's Bandit drive in Smokey and the Bandit (1977)?

The Bandit's black-and-gold 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am was chosen by director Hal Needham from a promotional advertisement before the model went on sale; the film's success sent Trans Am sales soaring.

Where is the Delta fraternity of National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) located?

Animal House is set at fictional Faber College in the fall of 1962, pitting the Delta Tau Chi fraternity against Dean Vernon Wormer; the campus scenes were shot at the University of Oregon.

Which 1973 martial-arts film, an American-Hong Kong co-production, premiered six days after its star Bruce Lee died?

Enter the Dragon opened in Hong Kong on 26 July 1973, six days after Bruce Lee's death, and in Los Angeles a month later.

Whose 'Theme from Shaft' won the 1972 Oscar for Best Original Song?

Isaac Hayes became the first Black winner of a non-acting Oscar when 'Theme from Shaft' took Best Original Song in April 1972; he performed it at the ceremony in his signature chain-mail vest.

Which 1973 George Lucas film follows teens cruising Modesto, California, on one night in 1962?

American Graffiti (1973) drew on George Lucas's own teenage years cruising Modesto; made for under $1 million, it grossed over $100 million and its success let Lucas develop Star Wars.

Which Robert De Niro character asks 'You talkin' to me?' in a 1976 film?

Travis Bickle, the insomniac cabbie of Taxi Driver (1976), improvises 'You talkin' to me?' to his mirror; the line ranked No. 10 on the American Film Institute's 100 greatest movie quotes.

Who wrote the 1974 novel Jaws, which Spielberg filmed the following year?

Peter Benchley wrote Jaws, published in February 1974; the idea came from his interest in Frank Mundus, a Montauk fisherman who had harpooned a 4,550-pound great white in 1964.

The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by an architecture professor from which country?

Ernő Rubik, a Budapest architecture professor, patented the puzzle in Hungary in 1975 as the 'Magic Cube'; Ideal Toy renamed it Rubik's Cube for its 1980 international launch.

Which Kenner action figure, first sold in 1976, was revived by Hasbro in 2016?

Hasbro revived Stretch Armstrong in its original 1976 design at the 2016 New York Toy Fair, gel filling and all.

Which role-playing game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules?

Dungeons & Dragons, by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, was published in January 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, as a boxed set of three booklets; its first print run was 1,000 copies.

Which card game was created in 1971 by Merle Robbins, a barber in Reading, Ohio?

Uno was devised by Merle Robbins in 1971 to settle family arguments over Crazy Eights; he sold the first decks from his barbershop, then sold the rights in 1972 for $50,000 to a group led by Robert Tezak.

Which 1975 C.W. McCall novelty hit cashed in on the citizens band radio fad?

'Convoy', co-written by Bill Fries (C.W. McCall) and Chip Davis, topped both the country chart and the Hot 100 in January 1976 and inspired Sam Peckinpah's 1978 film Convoy.

At which 1974 ceremony did streaker Robert Opel run naked behind host David Niven?

At the 46th Academy Awards on April 2, 1974, Robert Opel streaked across the stage flashing a peace sign; David Niven quipped that the man's only laugh would come 'by stripping off and showing his shortcomings'.

Which designer introduced the knitted jersey wrap dress in 1974?

Diane von Fürstenberg introduced the jersey wrap dress in 1974; by 1976 she had sold over a million, landing on the cover of Newsweek, and her ad carried the line 'Feel like a woman, wear a dress!'

Which 1976 Olympic skating champion's 'wedge' haircut became a trend for women and girls?

Dorothy Hamill's wedge, cut by New York stylist Yusuke Suga, swept salons after her gold-medal skate at Innsbruck in 1976; Clairol later sold a 'Short & Sassy' shampoo on the look.

Which 55-year-old lost the 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' match at the Houston Astrodome?

Bobby Riggs, 55, lost 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 to 29-year-old Billie Jean King at the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973, before 30,472 spectators and an estimated 90 million TV viewers worldwide.

Which 14-year-old scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics at Montreal in 1976?

Nadia Comăneci, 14, scored the first Olympic 10 on the uneven bars in the team compulsories on July 18, 1976; the scoreboard showed 1.00 because it had only three digits, and she earned six more 10s and three golds.

In which country did Ali beat Foreman in the 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle'?

The fight was in Zaire on October 30, 1974 at the 20th of May Stadium in Kinshasa, where President Mobutu Sese Seko hosted it for the publicity; Ali knocked Foreman out in the eighth round.

Which Idaho chasm did Evel Knievel try to jump in a rocket-powered Skycycle in 1974?

Evel Knievel's steam-powered Skycycle X-2 failed to clear the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls on September 8, 1974: the drogue parachute deployed at launch and he drifted down to the canyon floor with minor injuries.

Who created the comic strip Garfield, which entered nationwide syndication in 1978?

Jim Davis created Garfield, which United Feature Syndicate launched in 41 newspapers on June 19, 1978; Davis had tested the cat in 'Jon', a strip that ran in Indiana's Pendleton Times from 1976.

Which strip became the first daily comic to win a Pulitzer Prize, in 1975?

Doonesbury's Garry Trudeau won the 1975 Pulitzer for Editorial Cartooning, the first time a daily comic strip rather than a single-panel editorial cartoon had been honored; the strip had entered syndication in October 1970.