12 Facts About the Year 1974

What do you remember from then?

Creative Commons: ttarasiuk

By 1974 I had graduated from high school and was blundering my way through the real world. My vocational odyssey included a stint working at a steel mill outside of Chicago. The money was good but the working conditions horrendous. It was not a long-term engagement.

Beyond my little world, Richard Nixon resigned as President as a result of the Watergate Scandal. Hank Aaron became baseball’s all-time home run leader when he hit home run number 715 off Dodgers’ lefty, Al Downing. To me, he’s still baseball’s home run leader. Now, on to some facts about 1974.

1: The big debate in the United States was” Tastes great, less filling.”

It was a simpler time.

2: The **highway speed limit was lowered to 55 mph in a n effort to increase fuel efficiency.**

Americans were going nowhere fast.

3: **The Cleveland Indians hosted Ten Cent Beer Night when they played the Texas Rangers. The results, predictably, were disastrous and the Indians had to forfeit to the Rangers.**

There’s a joke in there about Indians and alcohol, but I best not make it.

4: **Liposuction was invented in 1974. The inventor was Giorgio Fischer of Rome, Italy.**

The original name for the procedure was “fatosuction.” Hold on, being told that’s totally bogus.

5: The Rubik’s Cube made its debut in in 1974. Its inventor was Hungarian architect Erno Rubik.

It was originally called the Magic Cube. It was also called, “That blanky blank blank Cube” by those who tried to solve it.

6: Unemployment reached 7.2% in December while inflation remained steady at 11.04%.

Ah, the good old days. It’s actually hard to get that level inflation while reaching that level of unemployment.

7: NFL players went on strike for 41 days during the summer of 1974.

If the strike had gone on much longer husbands would have been faced with the prospect of having to communicate with their families.

8: A resigning Richard Nixon had one of the more notable quotes of 1974 saying, “You won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.”

Of course, just because he resigned didn’t mean people didn’t kick him around.

9: ‘All in the Family” was the top-rated TV show in 1974.

You might recall that Archie Bunker would spout his liberal views on the program. Hey, I know what you’re thinking but in today’s world Archie’s views might be considered liberal.

10: President Ford announced a “conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft-evaders.”

It provided a on ramp for Americans who opposed the Viet Nam War but lacked the bone spurs needed to get out of going to Viet Nam.

11: Chinese farmers discover the Terracotta Army on March 29, 1974. The Terracotta Army was made of 8000 clay warriors. The Army’s assignment was to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.

Say what you want about them, they’re still on the job.

12: India detonated an atomic bomb on May 18, 1974, becoming the sixth nation to do so.

When I was a kid, I was told to eat all my food because there were hungry kids in India. Maybe the money spent on an atomic bomb should have been spent for food.

If you’ve enjoyed what I’ve written, how about buying me some coffee? https://ko-fi.com/larryelambert89220

You can also support this starving artist by checking out the family website:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4403636270/vintage-heart-spoon-necklace https://www.etsy.com/listing/4403636270/vintage-heart-spoon-necklace?etsrc=s