Billy Joel’s song was #1 for two weeks and remained iconic forever. See the 5th and final verse in pictures… 1. Birth Control In 1960, the first oral contraceptive hit the market. It was invented by American biologist, Dr. Gregory Goodwin Pincus. 2. Ho Chi Minh Image source: http://kalamu.com/neogriot/2015/05/19/video-happy-birthday-ho-chi-minh/ The Vietnamese call it “The American War.” Americans call it Vietnam, or Nam if you were there. Ho Chi Minh led the Vietnamese nationalist movement in North Vietnam. He fought against the Japanese, the French, and the Americans. 3. Richard Nixon Back Again Image source: www.nytimes.com In 1968, Richard Nixon won the White House. Eight years earlier, he lost to John F. Kennedy. 4. Moonshot Image source: www.educatinghumanity.com July 24, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Buzz used Armstrong’s reflective visor to take this stellar selfie. 5. Woodstock Image source: www.demilked.com 186,000 tickets were sold for the unprecedented three-day concert on a farm in Bethel, New York. Over 400,000 people showed up. (Why was it called Woodstock? That’s the name of the town where the organizers originally wanted to hold the event, 50 miles away.) 6. Watergate Image source: www.wsj.com After President Nixon tried covering up his staff members’ breaking into the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel, the President was forced to resign. 7. Punk Rock Image source: www.wsj.com In the mid-Seventies, a new rock genre hit the scene. Punk rock featured bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Ramones (pictured here). 8. Begin, Reagan Image source: timesofisrael.com President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, met to discuss the raging civil war in Lebanon…and Israel’s security. 9. Palestine The Palestinian intifada began against Israel. 10. Terror On The Airline Palestinians hijacked or attempted to hijack 29 passenger jets over the course of a decade. 11. Ayatollah’s in Iran Ayatollah Khomeini took over Iran after the Shah was overthrown, resulting in the U.S. embassy hostage crisis that lasted 444 days. 12. Russians In Afghanistan Proxy war. The Soviets were there to “protect” Communist interests and the rebels, supported by the U.S., fought them back. 13. Wheel of Fortune Image source: hesselblogger.com The game show rose in popularity to become the most successful syndicated show on TV. 14. Sally Ride Image source: www.nasa.gov Astronaut Sally Ride rode the space shuttle Challenger to become the first American woman to go into space. 15. Heavy Metal Image source: spin.com Black Sabbath (with Ozzy Osbourne) gave birth to the new genre of rock that bore groups like Iron Maiden, Megadeath, and Metallica (pictured here). 16. Suicide Image source: http://wallpaperbackgrounds.com Many argued there was a connection between a rise in teenage suicides and heavy metal music. There were even lawsuits filed against certain bands. 17. Foreign Debts Image source: qz.com U.S.inflation grew thanks to foreign debts. 18. Homeless Vets Image source: www.aviewfromtheattic.com Vietnam Vets found themselves on the streets, losing everything to drug and alcohol addictions. 19. AIDS Image source: http://www.sfchronicle.com The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) spread throughout the world. 20. Crack Image source: global.rakuten.com Crack cocaine, or “crack,” became the hottest street drug. 21. Bernie Goetz Image source: global.rakuten.com Bernhard Goetz shot four men who tried to mug him on a New York subway, sparking heated, nationwide discussions about vigilante justice. 22. Hypodermics On The Shores Image source: http://www.cbc.ca Hundreds of carelessly discarded hypodermic needles washed up on New Jersey beaches. 23. China’s Under Martial Law Image source: www.theatlantic.com Chinese students began a protest in Tiananmen Square that lasted eight months. The military ultimately moved in and hundreds were killed. 24. Rock and Roller Cola Wars Image source: abcnews.go.com Pepsi and Coke took to televisions across the country with entertaining commercials in a battle to be #1. 25. I Can’t Take It Anymore! Image source: www.youtube.com We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning. We didn’t start the fire. No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it. [Featured Image Credit: www.avclub.com]
