50 Fun Facts About 1976

Israeli commandos freed 102 hostages from a hijacked Air France jet at Entebbe airport in which country?

The hijackers were welcomed to Uganda by its president and backed by over 100 Ugandan soldiers, 45 of whom died in the raid along with every hijacker. The lone Israeli death was Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of a future prime minister.

Which city's American Legion convention gave its name to a new pneumonia that killed 29 of the delegates?

Philadelphia's Bellevue-Stratford Hotel hosted the three-day convention in July, and the bacterium behind Legionnaires' disease was only identified months later and named Legionella pneumophila.

Which region's wines beat France's best in a Paris blind tasting judged by French experts, the 'Judgment of Paris'?

A Napa County, California wine was rated best in both the white and the red flight, to the shock of organiser Steven Spurrier, a British merchant who sold French wine and assumed the French would win.

Apple's first product, a pre-assembled board for hobbyists, went on sale at what price chosen for its repeating digits?

The Apple I cost $666.66 because Steve Wozniak liked repeating digits and it was a one-third markup on the $500 wholesale price; he said he had no idea about the number of the beast. Jobs's first order was 50 boards for the Byte Shop.

North Korean soldiers killed two US Army officers at Panmunjom who were leading a work party trimming what?

A poplar tree blocked the view between a UN checkpoint and an observation post, and three days later Operation Paul Bunyan felled it under a massive show of force, after which Kim Il Sung sent a message of regret.

Which Austrian city staged a second Winter Olympics in 12 years after Colorado voters refused to fund the original host?

Innsbruck had hosted in 1964 and stepped in after Denver became the only city ever to hand back a Winter Games, following a 1972 referendum, so a second cauldron was built and lit beside the first.

Which TV series' fans wrote to the White House to rename the first space shuttle, which was to be called Constitution?

Enterprise was rolled out at Palmdale on 17 September with Gene Roddenberry and most of the original Star Trek cast watching, after the president admitted he was 'partial to the name'. It never flew in space.

Anita Roddick opened the first branch of which chain, selling lotions in urine-sample bottles bought from a hospital?

The Body Shop opened in Brighton with nothing tested on animals, and running short of the hospital bottles is what created its refillable-bottle policy.

Muhammad Ali fought a 15-round draw in Tokyo with which Japanese wrestler, who lay on his back kicking Ali's legs?

Antonio Inoki kicked Ali's legs 107 times from the mat under rules agreed shortly before the bout, and the Budokan crowd threw rubbish into the ring and chanted 'Money back!' at the so-called War of the Worlds.

Which shark species was discovered when one became tangled in a US Navy research vessel's sea anchor off Oahu?

The megamouth shark was hauled up from about 165 metres on 15 November, and only around 300 have been seen since, making it one of the rarest large animals known.

Which virus, named after a river, was first identified in simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and present-day DR Congo?

Ebola took its name from the Ebola River near Yambuku, the village hit by the second outbreak, and the new virus was at first mistaken for the related Marburg virus.

Fearing a 1918 repeat, the US began mass vaccination against which flu after a soldier died at Fort Dix, New Jersey?

The swine flu never spread beyond Fort Dix, but the vaccine was linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, the programme was suspended within three months, and the affair is blamed for feeding vaccine hesitancy to this day.

Microsoft, founded a year earlier, was registered as a company name in November with which state's Secretary of State?

Microsoft was run from Albuquerque, New Mexico, beside its first customer, and only moved to Bellevue, Washington, in 1979 because top programmers would not relocate to Albuquerque. Revenue for the year was $16,005.

Which US note came back after a ten-year gap, Trumbull's Declaration of Independence replacing Monticello on its back?

The $2 bill's return in the spring coincided with the Bicentennial, which is why so many people believe it was issued to mark it, though the Treasury's real aim was to save on printing costs by replacing $1 notes.

Which president's debate claim of 'no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe' is blamed for losing him the election?

Gerald Ford made the gaffe in the second of the first televised presidential debates since 1960; in the first, the sound failed 81 minutes in and both candidates stood silently at their lecterns for 27 minutes.

Who became the first woman to co-anchor a US network evening newscast, joining ABC on a five-year, $5 million contract?

Barbara Walters sat beside Harry Reasoner, who disliked having a co-anchor at all, and the deal made her the highest-paid news anchor of either sex. She also moderated that year's third presidential debate.

Which reclusive tycoon died mid-flight from Acapulco to Houston, so wasted the FBI used fingerprints to identify him?

Howard Hughes, 6ft 4in tall, weighed barely 90 pounds with long hair and nails after a decade living in hotel suites, and with no valid will his estate was divided among cousins and other heirs.

Which Liberal leader quit in May amid rumours of a plot to kill ex-lover Norman Scott, whose Great Dane had been shot?

Jeremy Thorpe was tried at the Old Bailey in 1979 for conspiracy to murder and acquitted, but the scandal ended his career; the bungling hitman had shot Scott's dog Rinka instead of Scott.

Whose separation from Lord Snowdon was announced in March, after a tabloid printed a swimsuit photo of her on Mustique?

Princess Margaret had been photographed on the island with Roddy Llewellyn, 17 years her junior, and the couple acknowledged on 19 March that the marriage had 'irretrievably broken down'.

Which famous clock's chiming mechanism broke on 5 August when a fully wound four-ton weight spun its winding drum loose?

Big Ben's air-brake speed regulator failed from torsional fatigue after more than a century of use, and the clock was shut down for 26 days over nine months before full service resumed on 9 May 1977.

Which sports minister was named Minister for Drought in the last week of August, days before heavy rain brought floods?

Denis Howell was ordered by No. 10 to do a rain dance on the nation's behalf and was promptly renamed 'Minister for Floods'; in the harsh winter of 1978-79 he was made Minister for Snow.

Which body lent Britain $3.9 billion, its largest loan request ever, on condition of deep public spending cuts?

The IMF bailout let the Callaghan government steady sterling, yet only half the loan was ever drawn and it was repaid by 4 May 1979, the day after the election that brought Thatcher to power.

Which ex-MP, nearly bankrupted by a fraud, wrote Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less to clear debts of almost £500,000?

Jeffrey Archer lost his first fortune in the Canadian Aquablast scheme, gave up his Louth seat rather than sit as a bankrupt, and wrote the book in autumn 1974; it reached British shops in autumn 1976 after a US release.

Which writer died in January, before the October release of Sleeping Murder, a Miss Marple case written in the Blitz?

Agatha Christie wrote Sleeping Murder and Poirot's farewell Curtain during the Second World War and held them back for posthumous release, so it became the last Christie novel ever published.

Which Carry On star suffered a fatal heart attack on stage as the audience laughed, believing it was scripted?

Sid James collapsed at the Empire Theatre on 26 April during a revival of The Mating Season, four days after the sixth series of Bless This House ended, and the technical manager closed the curtain and called for a doctor.

Halifax inventor Percy Shaw, who died in September, had patented which road-safety device in 1934?

Cat's eyes reputedly came to Shaw when a cat on a fence reflected his headlights back at him on a dark Queensbury road, and the studs earned him an OBE for services to exports in 1965.

Which composer of Peter Grimes died at Aldeburgh months after becoming the first composer made a life peer?

Benjamin Britten became Baron Britten of Aldeburgh in the summer, died of congestive heart failure within six months, and was buried in the Suffolk town whose festival he had founded in 1948.

Which Sherlock star, born in London on 19 July, is a distant cousin of Richard III and read at his 2015 reburial?

Benedict Cumberbatch, the son of actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, is Richard III's third cousin 16 times removed and went on to play the king himself in The Hollow Crown.

Which Spice Girl, born in Finchley on 21 January, got her nickname as the youngest member, in pigtails with a lollipop?

Emma Bunton was 'Baby Spice', and after the group she co-presented Heart Breakfast in London with Jamie Theakston for five years.

Which Brazilian striker, born in Itaguaí on 18 September, scored both goals in the 2002 World Cup final in Yokohama?

Ronaldo took the Golden Boot with eight goals as Brazil won a fifth title, tying Pelé's Brazilian record of 12 World Cup goals in a comeback from knee injuries that had threatened his career.

Which Scottish track cyclist, born 23 March, overtook Steve Redgrave in 2012 as Britain's most successful Olympian?

Chris Hoy's sixth gold, in the London keirin, took him past Redgrave's five, and he had been inspired to cycle at age six by the film E.T. on a first bike that cost £5.

Which actress debuted on screen in Dino De Laurentiis's remake of King Kong, beating Goldie Hawn to the role?

Jessica Lange was a New York model when De Laurentiis spotted her, and she won the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year even though the film and her performance were widely panned.

Which gangster musical cast only children, Jodie Foster among them, and armed them with cream-firing 'splurge guns'?

Bugsy Malone was Alan Parker's feature debut, made after his eldest son suggested children should play the heroes, with Jodie Foster, then 13, and Scott Baio in the leads.

Laurence Olivier's Nazi dentist in Marathon Man drills Dustin Hoffman's teeth while repeating which three-word question?

"Is it safe?" ranks 70th on the American Film Institute's list of 100 movie quotes, and Olivier's Christian Szell, nicknamed the White Angel, was modelled on Josef Mengele.

Elton John's first UK number one was a duet with which singer, written under the pseudonyms Ann Orson and Carte Blanche?

'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' gave Kiki Dee her only number one too, topping the chart for six weeks as a pastiche of the Marvin Gaye duets; Elton later re-recorded it with RuPaul in 1994.

Which British group won Eurovision in The Hague with 'Save Your Kisses for Me', the biggest-selling winner ever?

Brotherhood of Man's song was the year's biggest-selling single in Britain, six weeks at number one and over a million copies, after the BBC had opened its selection to outside entries for the first time.

Which guitarist's drunken call at a Birmingham gig to vote for Enoch Powell led to the founding of Rock Against Racism?

Eric Clapton had had a 1974 hit with a cover of Bob Marley's 'I Shot the Sheriff', and an outraged letter to NME from Red Saunders and friends turned an idea into a movement in August.

Which city's Lesser Free Trade Hall hosted a June punk gig credited with spawning Joy Division, the Smiths and the Fall?

Manchester's gig on 4 June was booked by Pete Shelley and his Buzzcocks co-founder Devoto, and the upstairs room held only 150 people, yet Factory and Creation Records also trace themselves to it.

Which Four Seasons number one began life as a song about the 1933 repeal of Prohibition before Bob Gaudio rewrote it?

December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) was rewritten by Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker as the recollection of a first meeting, although the two did not actually meet until 1973, at Motown.

Derek Jacobi played the title emperor in which BBC adaptation of Robert Graves, with John Hurt as the lunatic Caligula?

I, Claudius was written by Jack Pulman, and Hurt turned Caligula down at first, changing his mind only after director Herbert Wise lured him to a pre-production party to meet the cast.

Leonard Rossiter faked his own drowning at West Bay, Dorset, in which sitcom about a Sunshine Desserts executive?

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin gave Britain CJ's 'I didn't get where I am today', and David Nobbs wrote the novel before MP John Stonehouse faked his own drowning the same way in 1974.

Which Two Ronnies sketch, first aired in September, came from a real mix-up in a Hayes hardware shop?

Four Candles turns on Ronnie Corbett mishearing 'fork handles', and it was voted the nation's favourite Two Ronnies sketch in a 1999 phone vote.

Which Czechoslovak chipped the winning penalty past Sepp Maier in the first European Championship final shoot-out?

Antonín Panenka feigned a shot to the corner so that Maier dived left, then floated the ball down the middle, and that style of penalty has carried his name ever since.

Which Second Division club won the FA Cup through Bobby Stokes's 83rd-minute goal, the last final Elizabeth II attended?

Southampton had finished sixth in the Second Division yet beat a United side that came third in the First, and a week earlier the club's women had won the WFA Cup, making it the first club to take both cups in one season.

Which 20-year-old from Paignton won the French Open and later presented A Question of Sport for 24 years?

Sue Barker beat Renáta Tomanová in the Paris final as she had at the German Open weeks earlier, expected more majors to follow, and never reached another Grand Slam final.

Who became the first British royal to compete at an Olympics, riding the Queen's horse Goodwill in Montreal eventing?

Princess Anne had won the individual European eventing title at 21 on her home-bred horse Doublet, which made her BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 1971.

Which Oxford biologist coined 'meme' in The Selfish Gene, a book he later wished he had called The Immortal Gene?

Richard Dawkins wanted a monosyllable that sounded like 'gene' and trimmed it from the Greek 'mimeme', and his old Oxford tutor Arthur Cain called the result 'a young man's book'.

Which Legally Blonde star, born in New Orleans on 22 March, claims descent from a Declaration of Independence signer?

Reese Witherspoon was born Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon at Southern Baptist Hospital and traces her family to the Scottish-born signer John Witherspoon; she won her Oscar for Walk the Line.

Which expansion team became the first to play a 14-game NFL season without a win or tie, scoreless in five games?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coached by the wisecracking John McKay, ended the year with 17 players on injured reserve, and later expansion teams were given more draft picks to avoid a repeat.

Which England captain vowed to make the touring West Indies 'grovel', then watched them win the series 3–0?

Tony Greig's word carried sinister overtones for West Indians of slave ancestry, and the South African-born captain only recovered some standing by leading England to a series win in India that winter.