what happened in 1978?
Well today I turned 30….and instead of some lament about my youth being over and the things I’ve accomplished or have yet to accomplish lets look back at when I was born and amaze at how awesome a year 1978 was and how you all wish you were born on this year as well. Back then disco was king, bell bottoms were 3 feet wide and polyester was the only fabric to be seen at the club. And yes of course…gas was cheap. (you all were going to say it at some point anyways)
Enjoy.
In 1978….
- President: Jimmy Carter
- Vice President: Walter Mondale
- Median Household Income: $15,064
- Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.15
- Average Cost of new house $54,800.00
- Average Monthly Rent $260.00
- Cost of a gallon of Gas 63 cents
- 1LB of Bacon$1.20
- Dozen Eggs 48 Cents
- Gold reaches an all time high of $200.00 per ounce
The music we were listening to was Poco, Eagles, Loggins and Messina, James Taylor, Souther, Hillman and Furay Band, Steely Dan, Hall and Oates, along with the Doobie Brothers.
From the Billboard Top 100
1. Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
2. Night Fever - Bee Gees
3. You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone
4. Stayin’ Alive - Bee Gees
5. Kiss You All Over - Exile
There was no cable television, home computer, or cell phone. There were also no CD players or CD’s. The Walkman was the latest innovation.
On the Television
- For Children: Schoolhouse Rock
- Daytime Talk: Donahue
- Comedy: All in the Family
Cast of Saturday Night Live: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, Bill Murray, and Don Novello with the Paul Shaffer Orchestra.
At the Theater
- The Deer Hunter
- Midnight Express (those cheeky Turks)
- Heaven Can Wait
- Coming Home
- Grease
- Saturday Night Fever
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- National Lampoon’s Animal House
- Jaws 2
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (BEAT THAT!)
- Revenge of the Pink Panther
In Sports
- Muhammad Ali beat Leon Spinks for the world heavyweight boxing title.
- Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds had his 3000th major league hit.
In Technology
- Illinois Bell Company introduces first ever Cellular Mobile Phone System
- Space Invaders Launches Craze for Computer Video Games
- The first computer bulletin board system BBS is created
- 98% of all American homes have a television
- First Test Tube Baby is born in England a girl Louise Brown, from in vitro fertilization
In the News
- The comic strip character, Garfield, first appeared.
- Cardinal Karol Wojtyla becomes Pope John Paul II
- Serial killer David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam,” is sentenced to 25 years to life
- Lufthansa heist: Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City’s Kennedy airport. (yes same one from Goodfellas movie)
Pretty Good Year…..
