7 things to know about the 1970s

1.) MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW

CBS launched The Mary Tyle Moore Show in 1970. It was the first sitcom featuring a never-married, independent woman as the main character. It ran until 1977.

2.) SWEDISH DELIGHT

The pop band ABBA formed in Stockholm in 1972, and turned out hit after hit, including "Dancing Queen," "Mamma Mia," "SOS," "Waterloo" and "Take a Chance on Me." ABBA consisted of married couples Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad. Both couples divorced in the early 80s, and the band announced their breakup Dec. 11, 1982.

http://youtu.be/xFrGuyw1V8s

3.) IT’S A WRAP

In 1974, designed Diane Von Furstenberg introduced the wrap dress, which soon became a staple in the American woman’s closet. The typical Furstenberg wrap was long-sleeved and made out of clingy geometrical synthetic prints.

Even though Furstenberg is often credited as inventing the wrap dress, it dates back in the 1930s.

4.) NIXON RESIGNED

Amid the Wategate scandal, which involved members of the Nixon Administration and included illegal actitivies such as bugging the offices of political opponents and breaking into the Democratic party headquarters in the Watergate building in Washington D.C., support for President Richard Nixon waned. The famous “Smoking Gun Tape” was released Aug. 5, 1974, indicating that the president knew about the Watergate break-in soon after it happened on June 17, 1972. Four days later, likely facing impeachment, Nixon resigned.

5.) FROM BESTSELLER TO BLOCKBUSTER

Directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from Peter Benchley’s 1974 bestselling novel about a big, bad shark, the Hitchockian thriller “Jaws” became the highest-grossing film of all time in 1975 (that is, until “Star Wars” came along in 1977). Starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, “Jaws” is listed on the United States National Film Registry for its significance.

6.) A GALLON OF MILK

In 1976, the average price of a gallon of milk was $1.42. In 2016, it costs upwards to $4.05 a gallon in some places.

7.) SONY WALKMAN

In 1979, Sony began selling its revolutionary Walkman, a portable audio cassette, in Japan. The next year it was sold in the United States. It predates the CD Walkman, the Video Walkman, the MiniDisc Walkman, the Network Walkman, the Walkman MP3 and the Walkman Video MP3 Player.