Population: 204,879,000
Unemployed in 1970: 4,088,000
National Debt: $382 billion
Average salary: $7,564
Food prices: milk, 33 cents a qt.; bread, 24 cents a loaf; round steak, $1.30 a pound
Life Expectancy: Male, 67.1; Female, 74.8
ATARI VCS
The introduction of “plug ‘n play” games made video game consoles even more popular.
Question 1: How much did the ATARI VCS cost and what came with the game console?
You’ve Got Mail
The birth of the “@” symbol started the trend of being able to send messages from one computer network to another computer network. Before, messages could only be sent from computer to computer on the same network.
Question 2: What was probably the first e-mail system and where was it used?
From Floppy Discs to Thumb Drives
Storing information on magnetic strips had become easier during the last 30 years. Floppy discs had a long life spanning the mid 1970’s to the early 1990’s. IBM created three different sizes through the years: an 8-inch, 5-¼ inch, and a 3-½ inch.
Question 3: What was an implication of changing the storage system so many times throughout the years? This will not be a black and white answer – you need to read the entire page history and think about it.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Scientists have been looking for method of viewing the body from the inside out for a long time. With the discovery of X-Rays, hard surfaces were visible but not soft tissue.
Question 4: What is the main (biggest and most important)component in an MRI?
Pocket Calculator
In the 1960’s, calculators were still too large and bulky to be considered “pocket” sized. They also needed an AC-power source for energy.
Question 5: How much did the “Busicom LE-120A HANDY-LE” retail for in 1971?
Smallpox Eradication
Smallpox has always been feared. It has a kill rate of about 30% and has been written about since around 400 B.C. The eradication of the virus has been claimed as one of medicines greatest triumphs.
Question 6: What was the principle behind “surveillance and containment?”
The Walkman
An iPod for a different time! This technology stayed around and was nearly unchanged for 20 years.
Question 7: How was the “walkman” promoted in Japan?
Gore-Tex
Jackets, gloves, boots, dry-tops, sleeping bags, bivy sacs, and tents – all necessary items to keep waterproofed. Gore-Tex is a new type of polymer that keeps liquid water out but allows water vapor to be eliminated.
Question 8: What year did Gore-Tex sell their fabric to Early Winters catalog?
In-vitro Fertilization
Mother Nature isn’t the only one that can make a baby. England paved the way for millions of people who couldn’t have children the old fashioned way.
Question 9: How much does one cycle of in-vitro cost a couple today?
Radio Telephone System
The first idea of the radio telephone system was introduced in the 1940’s but the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), only allotted space for 23 conversations to take place.
Question 10: Who made the first cell phone call in 1973 and what was the topic of the conversation?
Facts taken from:
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade70.html
