DAILY DIRT: If you discovered the love of music in the ’70s, you can probably thank some of these groups and singers

My personal favorites that decade were Nos. 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 852 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Were you a child of the 1970s?

If so, I’m pretty sure you had excellent taste in music.

According to Far Out magazine, the following were the top-selling bands of that decade — how many of their albums/CDs did you purchase as a young adult?

• 1. Pink Floyd, 171 million: The group’s philosophical lyrics and elaborate live shows set Pink Floyd apart from its contemporaries.
• 2. Eagles, 163 million: They took it to the limit for the first time in 1971. In 1998, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 3. Led Zeppelin, 138 million: The group’s original name was the New Yardbirds.
• 4. Queen, 129 million: On Nov. 23, 1991, lead singer Freddie Mercury publicly revealed that he had AIDS. Mercury died the next day.
• 5. Elton John, 129 million: At the height of his popularity, Elton had seven consecutive No. 1 albums.
• 6. ABBA, 125 million: “Waterloo” was the group’s first major hit, reaching No. 1 in nine different countries.
• 7. Rod Stewart, 108 million: Rod the Mod has had 10 No. 1 albums, which is five more than the number of women who have had his eight children.
• 8. Bob Marley, 107 million: The reggae legend died at age 36 in 1981.
• 9. Bee Gees, 104 million: It’s hard to believe, but the Bee Gees formed way back in 1958.
• 10. Fleetwood Mac, 95 million: The legendary group actually started out as a British blues band.

2. Here are some more unusual names of towns:

• Two Egg, Fla.: The town got its unique name during the Great Depression. According to local lore, two young boys needed cash so bad they paid a local shopkeeper for sugar with two eggs. Make-do business transactions like these happened regularly so people began referring to the place as a “two egg store.” Traveling salesmen caught on to the name and spread it to other towns.Uneedus, La.: The Lake Superior Piling Company established a settlement of model farms in the 1920s, and that brought prosperity to this area of rural Louisiana. Company owners tweaked their corporate slogan, “you need us,” right into the town’s new name. The feeling was mutual with residents. who allegedly started another community nearby, calling it Weneedu.Burnt Porcupine, Maine: Burnt Porcupine has sister sites nearby with intriguing names themselves: Bald Porcupine, Long Porcupine and Sheep Porcupine.
• Slickpoo, Idaho: It was originally the site of a Catholic mission, and was said to have been gifted to the missionaries by landowner Josiah Slickpoo.
• Screamer, Ala.: One legend has it that the town acquired its name in the 19th century when Native Americans used to heckle white train travelers who passed by their reservation.
• Nimrod, Minn.: The town takes up one square mile of the Gopher State, but it is the hometown of Dick Stigman, the pro baseball player who pitched for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox back in the 1960s. The name is also a Biblical reference. In the book of Genesis, Nimrod is described as “a mighty hunter before the Lord” who is credited in overseeing the construction of the Tower of Babel.
• Sandwich, Ill.: The town, which holds a Sandwich Festival annually,was originally called Almon after land developer Almon Cage founded it in 1855. Sandwich got the name from a train stop liaison who named it after his hometown of Sandwich, N.H.
• Sandwich, N.H.: The Fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montague, invented more than a lunchtime staple. It was in 1763 when he chartered a town between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
• Mud Butte, S.D.: Archeologists working near Mud Butte in 1981 unearthed the sixth Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered.
• Difficult, Tenn.: I hear this place is hard to find.
• Bugtussle, Ky.: The town lies on the Kentucky-Tennessee border and its name is an homage to the local bug population. According to the town’s oldest residents, workers helped out during harvest but they would often sleep in barns, on hay infested with doodlebugs. Legend states that the workers stayed so long that the bugs grew large enough to “tussle” for prime napping spots.
• Smackover, Ark.: This town of 1,800 people was settled by French trappers and the name may have originated from the name of a local creek.
• Candy Kitchen, N.M.: Candy Kitchen is sandwiched between the Zuni and Navajo reservations in western New Mexico. It reportedly got its name from a local moonshine distiller who needed a front to hide his operations during Prohibition.
• Gene Autry, Okla.: The community was formerly known as Berwyn, Okla. It took on the name of the famous singing cowboy after Autry came to town and bought a 1,200-acre ranch.

3. Here’s a good trivia question for today at lunch.

Can you name the teams in North American pro sports that share the same nickname?

Here you go:

• New York Rangers (NHL) and Texas Rangers (MLB)
• San Francisco Giants (MLB) and New York Giants (NFL)
• New York Jets (NFL) and Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
• Carolina Panthers (NFL) and Florida Panthers (NHL)
• Los Angeles Kings (NHL) and Sacramento Kings (NBA)
• St. Louis Cardinals (MLB) and Arizona Cardinals (NFL)

Steve Thought O’ The Day — For those who might be curious,  it is 882.5 miles from Quincy to Mud Butte, S.D.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He left one shared nickname out: Lions. The BC Lions (CFL) and Detroit Lions (NFL). He said NORTH AMERICAN pro sports franchises.