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So quite a lot of stuff happened in the

year 1970. Here's some of it. Starting

with January.

Residents in northeastern Oklahoma

started their year with a fright when on

the 3rd of January, a meteorite lit up

the night sky as bright as the full

moon. It was one of the first meteorites

ever to be captured on film by multiple

cameras. And by running some fancy

calculations, researcher Gunter Schwarz

was able to pin down the likely landing

location and find a massive 9 kg rock

from outer space just sitting by the

side of the road. It was a pretty good

start to the year for him. Meanwhile,

Keith Moon of the rock band The Who had

a terrible start to the year, but not as

bad as that of his bodyguard and driver

Neil Boland. The pair were in Hatfield

in the UK attending the opening of a

disco tech when Boland got out of the

car to confront some hostile youths.

Panicking, an intoxicated moon took the

wheel and ran over his own bodyguard,

killing him instantly. Rockstar that he

was, though, it was ruled an accident.

On the 20th, one of the greatest

imagined boxing matches of all time was

screened in cinemas around the world.

The super fight was a totally fictional

bout between Rocky Marsiano and Muhammad

Ali. It was cut together using clips of

the two boxers sparring with the results

determined by the most complex computer

algorithms available at the time.

According to the data, if the two met in

their respective primes, Masiano would

have won by a knockout. Ali didn't

agree, though, and after watching the

film, he promptly launched a million

dollar lawsuit for defamation of

character. Later on the 22nd, the first

ever Boeing 747 jumbo jet took its

maiden flight from New York to London.

The flight went smoothly, but perhaps

not everyone enjoyed the new

state-of-the-art aircraft because 128 of

the 332 passengers cancelled the return

leg of their trip. You can't please

everyone, I guess.

February. This month, Warrick Davis was

born, Simon Peg was born, Black

Sabbath's first album went on sale, and

avalanches in the European Alps killed

at least 36 people.

On the 11th, Japan's space program took

a giant leap ahead with its first ever

satellite launch. The satellite, named

Usumi, was launched from the Kagashima

Space Center and completed seven

successful orbits of the planet before

signal was lost. The feat made Japan the

fourth nation after the Soviet Union,

the United States, and France to put a

satellite into orbit. March. On the 3,

150 people attacked two school buses in

the town of Lamar in South California.

The buses were carrying African-Amean

students to a predominantly white school

in line with recent racial desegregation

laws. The mob threw bricks and stones

and the students eventually had to be

rescued by highway patrol troopers. This

was sadly one of many, many violent

confrontations that marked the long

process of desegregation.

In more positive news, the nuclear

non-prololiferation treaty came into

effect. The basic aims of the treaty

were simple. Stop the spread of nuclear

weapons, push for nuclear disarmament,

and pursue the peaceful use of nuclear

energy. It certainly wasn't perfect, but

it was definitely a step in the right

direction after years of campaigning for

nuclear disarmament. Over in the UK, the

right to vote was given to citizens

under 21 for the first time, allowing

anyone over the age of 18 to vote in

parliamentary elections. Secretary Trudy

Celich, who had just turned 18 that

morning, was the first person to

actually cast a vote. Happy birthday,

Trudy. Also this month, the hilarious

spoofed disaster movie Airplane hit

cinemas. The 1970 World's Fair opened in

Aaka in Japan. Rapper and actress Queen

Latifah was born. And the first ever

issue of National Lampoon went on sale

in the US. Also in the US, troops were

brought in to deliver the mail in New

York after a series of postal worker

strikes. This was a big deal. Nixon even

went ahead and declared a national

emergency.

April. In April, Gambia became a

republic. The American Motors

Corporation debuted the iconic Gremlin,

and Paul McCartney quit the Beatles,

marking the end of an era for the

biggest rock band in history. Elsewhere,

King Frederick the 9th of Denmark

flipped his Bentley while out driving in

Copenhagen, but was mostly uninjured. He

was loaded into an ambulance, of course,

but after a few minutes, he politely

disembarked and announced that he would

walk it off on his way back to the

palace so as not to worry anyone. The

big story this month, though, was Apollo

13. The mission, intended to be the

third ever crude landing on the moon,

launched with barely a hitch, but ran

into difficulties when an oxygen tank on

board exploded. putting it mildly for

someone trapped on board a

malfunctioning spacecraft. Astronaut Jim

Levelvel uttered the immortal words,

"Whoa! We've had a problem." The landing

was called off and NASA scientists

worked furiously to find a way to bring

the crew of three safely back to Earth.

And what's more, they managed it. After

a frantic few days, Jim Levelvel, Fred

Hace, and Jack Swigert splashed down in

the South Pacific Ocean and were awarded

a Presidential Medal of Freedom of

Peace. You did not reach the moon, said

Nixon, but you reached the heart of

millions of people on Earth by what you

did. May, this was a month of firsts.

The first female generals in the US

armed forces were nominated. The first

LED wristwatch went on sale for a mere

$1,500.

And the first ever programmable desktop

computer was released with a whopping 8

kilob of memory. Well worth it for just

$1,200 a piece.

Less happily, we also saw the first ever

fatal injury to a spectator at a major

league baseball game when 14-year-old

Alan Fish was hit by a foul ball, fell

into a coma, and died 4 days later. The

Vietnam War took a turn when America

invaded Cambodia. Protests erupted

across the United States and just a

couple of days after the announcement

was made, four college students were

shot dead by the Ohio National Guard

during one such protest at Kent State

University. Huge and bitter

demonstrations both for and against the

war continued throughout the rest of the

year. Elsewhere though, the Soviets

showed off the capabilities of their

brand new Tuplev Tu44 supersonic plane

and two teenagers in Wales accidentally

burned down a 120-year-old bridge at a

total cost of around £3 million.

June. This month, the Soviet Union

launched the twoman Soyuse 9 on a

successful and record-breaking mission

into outer space. The world's first

video disc was demonstrated in Berlin,

boasting five whole minutes of recording

time. And the first ever gay pride march

took to the streets of Chicago with an

attendance of around 150. On the 4th,

Transorld Airlines made history by being

the first airline company to pay off an

American hijacker. Unfortunately, they

only paid him $100,000 as opposed to the

$100 million he'd wanted, leaving the

hijacker, one Arthur G. Barkley

extremely displeased. After an 8-hour

standoff, he was finally talked down and

then promptly found not guilty by reason

of insanity. The 1970s, it has to be

said, were a golden decade for

hijackers, and for that matter, for art

thieves. Two priceless masterpieces by

Paul Goan and Pierre Bonard were stolen

from a private dwelling in North London

this month and wouldn't be seen again

for 43 years when the turnup in the home

of an Italian mechanic who had no idea

what they were worth. He'd paid around

$25 for the pair and was delighted to

find that they were worth around $50

million and even more delighted when he

was allowed to keep one of them. The

thief, alas, was never found in America.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher

Doc Ellis had one of the most remarkable

games of his life, throwing a flawless

no hitter in a game against the San

Diego Padres's whilst also happening to

be high on LSD. When asked about it

later, he remembered little more than

being extremely hyperfocused on the

catch's glove and a sense of general

euphoria. In other news, the Argentine

military successfully overthrew the

government and Australia saw a regime

change of its own as it started the long

process of adopting the metric system.

July 19-year-old Roger Adams had the

worst month of his life after sneaking

into the lion enclosure of Portland Zoo

in Oregon in order to impress his

friends. He was immediately and

predictably mowled to death. In a much

less predictable turn of events, an

unknown person later took revenge for

Roger by shooting two of the lions dead.

A bad month for the zoo all round.

Elsewhere in the US, 25 judges spent a

single night in jail as part of an

experiment carried out by the University

of Nevada. After spending time inside,

some of them with actual prisoners and

some in solitary confinement, the judges

unanimously reported that they were all

now supporters of prison reform. In

Iceland, meanwhile, political chaos

ensued after the prime minister, Biani

Benedixen, died in a fire at his summer

house. After a bit of milling around,

the Minister of Justice was chosen to

replace him. At around the same time in

the UK, nearly 50,000 dock workers

walked out in a dispute over pay,

causing the queen herself to declare an

emergency. Ports and harbors were

brought to an absolute standstill until

a pay rise ended the dispute a week or

two later. British sailors were facing

problems of their own. After 238 years,

it was this month finally decided that

the tradition of giving every man a

daily tot of 95.5 proof rum should be

brought to an end. Sad news for the

nearly 40,000 sailors who previously

enjoyed it and even sadder news for

British rum makers. In Egypt, though,

good news. Work on the iconic Azwan Dam

was finally completed, successfully

daming the Nile River and creating Lake

Nassa. The dam stands to this day,

preventing drought in the area and

providing both water and clean

hydroelectric power to hundreds of

thousands.

August. This month, a twist in the tale.

Film director might Shyamalan was born,

as was rapper and musician Frederick

Durst. In the UK, 62-year-old Miriam

Hargreav broke her unlucky streak when

she finally passed her driving test on

the 40th try. For several years, she'd

been listed proudly in the Guinness Book

of World Records for the most

consecutive failed driving test attempts

and had become globally famous for this

feat. Once she finally passed, alas, she

found that she'd spent all her money on

test fees and couldn't afford a car.

Also in the UK, the third annual Isle of

White Festival took place on the tiny

southern island of the same name.

Originally intended to accommodate

50,000 visitors, the festival went

rather off the rails when an extra

200,000 people snuck in to see Miles

Davis, The Who, Joanie Mitchell, and

Leonard Cohen. The debacle led to a

massive bill for the organizers and

police having to be called in to quell

some minor riots. Truly, the fire

festival of its day.

In America, the United States Postal

Service was created, taking over from

the United States Post Office

Department. While in France, the soccer

team Paris Sanjgerine were formed by a

merger of two existing clubs.

On the 25th, a pilot saved a fully

loaded Boeing 707 from disaster between

Bangkok and Hong Kong by pulling off

some extreme evasive maneuvers to avoid

a collision with some rogue US Navy

jets. And on the same day in Hong Kong,

a seven-year-old boy survived a

ninestory fall from the window of his

family apartment by bouncing off the

canvas awning over a flower shop on the

street below.

Much less lucky were the 100 people on

board Lanza Flight 502, every single one

of whom perished when the Peruvian

Airlines flight crashed shortly after

takeoff. As if that wasn't bad enough,

the wreckage fell squarely onto two

farmers on the ground below, killing

them as well. Lanza already had a

reputation as an unsafe airline, a

reputation which this accident only

cemented.

September,

the first ever Glastonbury Festival took

place on a farm in England. At the time,

it was called the Pilton Pop Folk and

Blues Festival and attracted just 1,500

people with an entry price of just £1.

At the time, landowner Michael Evis had

absolutely no idea what this little

festival would go on to become.

It was a big month for music, whatever

way you look at it. American singer

songwriter Jimmyi Hendris passed away

due to an overdose of sleeping pills,

while rock and roll icon Elvis Presley

resumed touring after a 12-ear break. At

the same time, NASA canceled all its

plans to land on the moon again. And

Britain's own space program experienced

a setback with a failed satellite launch

that crashed into the Gulf of Carparia.

In Italy, an unexpected tornado struck

Venice, overturning a number of

Zaparetto water buses and killing 35

people. Tornadoes in Venice are

extremely rare, but it's still

considered one of the most tornado-prone

areas in Europe. In the US, impact

resistant eyeglasses became a thing, and

the Sky Marshall program was started in

an effort to address all the hijackings.

The scheme put armed guards on random

flights and also bumped up security on

the ground to some degree. Despite this,

occasional hijackings continued for

decades. Down on the ground, the first

ever New York City marathon took place,

offering Central Park joggers their

chance for glory. 126 runners took part,

a humble beginning for a race that now,

world famous, attracts more than 30,000

participants each year. And finally, New

Yorkers were also shocked when 150

starings flew directly into the side of

the Empire State Building and fell dead

onto the street below.

October

5 million Egyptians filled the streets

of Cairo this month for the funeral

procession of President Gaml Abdul

Nassa, who had passed away following a

sudden heart attack. Meanwhile, Austrian

racing driver Joken Brint won the title

of Formula 1 world driving champion

despite having been dead for almost a

month. The pointsbased victory is the

only win in the history of Formula 1.

But what about some winners who didn't

also die? Well, New Yorker George Ashton

became the first person to win a million

dollars in the lottery this month after

being given a ticket as a gift by his

sister-in-law. and Soviet writer

Alexander Solhanitsen scooped up a Nobel

Prize for literature, although

unfortunately he wasn't allowed to leave

the country to actually claim it. Fiji

became independent. Amtrak was founded.

Pink Floyd released their first number

one album. China, the Soviet Union, and

the US all conducted nuclear weapons

tests on the same day. And on the 20th

of October, the North Tower of the World

Trade Center officially became the

tallest building in the world,

outstripping the Empire State Building

by a respectable 2 m or 6 ft.

November. This month began with tragedy

when 146 people died in a nightclub fire

in France. The management of Club Sank

Sept had locked emergency exits to

prevent people sneaking in without

paying the cover charge and strung up

paper and plastic decorations which were

subsequently ignited by a cigarette.

Only around 30 people managed to escape

the inferno.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, politician

Lameidi Admi became the king of the

Euroba people. Following a ceremony, he

was crowned admi III and would go on to

rule for five decades until his death in

2022.

The Missworld beauty pageant took place

in London where women's liberation

protesters set off stink bombs on stage.

Also this month, artist Benjamin Mendoza

made an attempt on the life of Pope Paul

V 6 and succeeded in stabbing him twice

in the neck. He was arrested, of course,

and the Pope, who had been partially

protected from injury by a stiff medical

collar he was wearing, went on to give a

rousing speech later that same day,

December.

This month, Italy decided to make

divorce legal and in an entirely

separate development, a planned coup was

called off by its organizer, Prince

Junio Borghazi, leader of the Frontier

National Party. He later said it was

because of heavy rain, but there's a

good chance he just lost his nerve since

he fled to Spain immediately after. In

Pakistan, meanwhile, citizens saw the

first ever national election, and in

America, elected President Richard Nixon

had a busy month. He met Elvis Presley,

named George HW Bush as the next US

ambassador to the United Nations, and

topped it all off by signing into law

the use of child-resistant packaging on

medicines and dangerous chemicals.

The year ended on a bum note for

professional basketball player John

Warren, however, who cemented the

reputation of his team, the Cleveland

Cavaliers, as the worst in the US when

he scored a spectacular lastminute

basket in a close-run match. The only

problem, in a moment of confusion, poor

John had held up the court to the wrong

basket and scored spectacularly for the

opposing team.

And that in brief was the year 1970. As

busy and strange and wild and difficult

as any other year. Were you alive then?

What do you remember?