DAILY DIRT: 1970’s — Gas shortages, death of Elvis and Charlie’s Angels all helped us put the 1960’s in the rear-view mirror

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Whatever happened to that Metric Conversion Act? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,239 of The Daily Dirt

1. After we survived the tumultuous ’60s, we spent the following 10 years in another equally interesting decade.

In yesterday’s Daily Dirt, we looked back at 10 random events and trends that characterized the sizzling 1960s, yet the ’70s found our daily lives influenced by an even wider combination of events. Gone was at least a sizable portion of the unrest brought on by the Vietnam War and other global events that dominated the latter half of the 1960s, and in its place was more of an accent on day-to-day happenings in the homeland. Gas shortages, Richard Nixon and the passing of Elvis helped punctuate the 1970s.

Here are 10 things, in no particular order,  I’ll always remember about the 1970s:

Watergate: Even if you could have cared less about politics, you had an opinion. Seeing the disgraced Richard Nixon leave the White House forever and get into a helicopter was one of the most unforgettably surreal moments of TV viewing for just about everybody in the country in the ’70s.

The Death of Elvis: I don’t think we’ll ever be able to wrap our arms completely around the impact Elvis Presley had on our nation. More than 500,000 visitors still make a pilgrimage each year to Graceland. I remember very well that August morning in 1977 when word of Presley’s death reached the newsroom of the paper I was working at back in Ohio. There was a hushed silence for probably more than a minute. He’s been gone close to 48 years, yet it still seems like yesterday when news of his death first surfaced.

Disco: To this day, I have to turn the radio channel if the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” comes on, and never, ever will I again watch “Saturday Night Fever”.

Atari: You just weren’t cool if you didn’t have one of the Atari game systems and sat for hours playing “Space Invaders”. I’ve tried to explain tis period of game systems to my grandkids, and all six look at me like I’m referencing something from the Stone Age.

Gas station lines: The 1973 oil crisis — and a repeat crisis a few years later — caused a nationwide panic resulting in around-the-block lines at the gas stations. I think it’s safe to say there were periods when you felt your next car trip might be your last because of the gas shortages.

“Charlie’s Angels”: Anyone alive at the time and old enough to watch the hit ABC television show had a favorite angel. Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson were must-see TV.

That metric thing: Thanks to the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, we were all prepared to start measuring things in meters, liters and grams rather than feet, pounds and quarts. Yeah, that didn’t quite work out, did it?

“Jaws”: The hit movie in 1975 had most of the nation scared to go near any large body of water that summer.

Typewriters: Can you even imagine any house today without multiple computers? But before the laptops and desktops we all took turns using the family typewriter.

Second-hand smoke: Smoking was still accepted in public way back in the ’70s — in restaurants, offices, airplanes and most public buildings. Thankfully, those days are long gone.

“American Pie”: Everyone loved this song from the moment it hit the airwaves in late 1971. It spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1972, and most people both then and now still do not completely understand all of the lyrics. But we’re still listening.

Tomorrow: The 1980s.

2. Did you know (Part 314)

That Jon Bon Jovi’s first professional recording was “R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” back in 1983.

That Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” on the same afternoon, back in 1973.

That the Nine Inch Nails album “The Downward Spiral” was recorded in the same Los Angeles home where actress Sharon Tate and four others were murdered in 1969 by the followers of Charles Manson.

That this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 is comprised entirely of major conference schools. Only four conferences are represented (Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC). The Big Ten and SEC have a combined 11 schools. The ACC has one. The four conferences represented in the Sweet 16 are the fewest in NCAA Tournament history.

That an Indian dog breeder recently paid 500 million rupees ($5.81 million) for a unique cross between a real wolf and a Caucasian Shephard, making it the most expensive canine in the world. Named Cadabomb Okami, the pricy canine was reportedly bred in the U.S. and purchased by a Bengaluru-based dog enthusiast and the president of the Indian Dog Breeders Association.

3. Here’s one man’s opinion on seven MLB records we will never see broken:

• Cy Young’s 511 career wins.
• Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.
• Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played.
• Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 career strikeouts.
• Ty Cobb’s .366 career batting average.
• Rickey Henderson’s 1,406 career stolen bases.
• Barry Bonds’ 73 home runs in a single season.

Did I miss any?

Steve Thought O’ The Day — This year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament is — so far, at least — the most watched in 32 years, averaging 9.4 million viewers a game. The single-game high to date was Sunday’s Kentucky win over Illinois, when 15.3 million viewers watched.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. This is the chalkiest tournament we’ve seen in years.