Monday, August 27, 2007

1970s - the "Me Decade"

A famous writer called Tom Wolfe named the 1970s the “Me Decade.” Throughout this decade, there are many technological improvements and many inventions. The power of feminism grew stronger by the end of the decade and the hippie culture reached its peak in this decade. Many legendary rock bands also formed in this decade like Van Halen, Black Sabbath, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and more. It is the decade where electronic devices started coming into the world market. Liberty and Freedom was the idea that triggered many movements in the decade.


People

Pol Pot

One important people of the 1970s is Pol Pot. He is the leader of the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. Pol Pot made all the people in the city areas go out into the rural areas to farm and do other labors. He thought that by getting everyone to farm, he could restore the Golden Age to Cambodia. During the Khmer rouge time, he massacred around 2 million Cambodians. He ordered his soldiers to kill anyone who is educated. In 1979, Cambodia was invaded by Vietnam. Therefore, Pol Pot fled and hid in the jungles in the North western part of Cambodia. After that, he was put into prison by other Cambodian leaders.

Pol Pot - the Khmer Rouge Leader

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon became the president of the United States from 1969-1974. He was the only president in USA that resigned from his position. During his presidency, he took the last American troops out of Vietnam. Nixon visited both China and Russia to make the relationship between USA and these two countries stronger. He also supported Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistan war. Nixon resigned from his position when everyone found out that he went through a number of illegal activities on his administration. His illegal activities were called Watergate. After he resigned in 1974, Gerald Ford took his position.

Richard Nixon - the 36th president
of the United States

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt was the chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. Brandt was elected as the chancellor of West Germany in 1969. During his time, he tried to improve the relationship with East Germany because they were having problems since World War II. He also tried to improve his relationship with the other Eastern countries like the Soviet Union, and Poland. Willy Brandt was named Man of the Year by TIME magazine. The magazine praised Brandt as the person who is bringing a good relationship between East and West and ending the problem lasting for 25 years. Because of improving his relationship with East Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union, Brandt was rewarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Willy Brandt - the Chancellor of West Germany
http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-9041/Willy-Brandt


Events

Munich Massacre

In 1972, the summer Olympics was hosted in Munich, Germany. During that Olympic, Palestinian terrorists stormed into where the Israeli athletes were staying. They shot and killed two athletes and took 9 more as a hostage. They had some demands but when they figure out that they were not going to get what they wanted, they made a demand for a plane to fly them to Egypt. German police force tried to stop the terrorists at the airport and rescue the hostages, but they failed. It turned into a shootout at the airport and all the hostages were killed. All of the terrorists but three of them were killed. The 3 that was left was caught. Because of this event, Olympic Games in the present have tighter security.
A member of Black September, the terrorist
group that was responsible for the Munich Massacre

Earth Day

In 1970, a new celebration took place. The celebration was called Earth day. Earth day was first held on April 22, 1970 with 20 million of people participating in this event. It is a day aim to celebrate the Earth we live in today. The idea of Earth day was proposed by a United States Senator called Gaylord Nelson. He called for Earth day because there have been some environmental changes during the past decade. On the first Earth day, thousands of schools, colleges, and universities in USA joined in. The Earth day in 1970 was important because after the first Earth day, the Congress passed many laws about the environment like the Clean Air Act, and other laws to protect the oceans, wild lands and drinking waters. If there were no Earth day, the Earth could be ten times more polluted than it is today.
Earth day is celebrated on April 22

Discovery of the Terracotta Army

In March 1974, a local farmer was drilling a water well when suddenly he discovered something extraordinary. The farmer accidentally found a life size soldier statue hidden under the ground. This was the discovery of the Terracotta Army. Under the ground near Shaanxi province, there are 8,099 life-size terracotta soldiers standing. The statue consists of both men and horses. The terracotta figures are believed to be buried with the Emperor Qin more than 2000 years ago. It was said that its purpose was to help Qin in ruling another empire in the afterlife. This sight is interesting because in the 8,099 figures, no two statues look alike each other. This Terracotta Army became a great tourist site in the present and it has become one of the most interesting places to visit in China.
The Terracotta Army consists of
8,099 life-sized statues


Technological Improvements


LCD Screen

In 1971, James Fergason created the LCD which became widely famous in the whole world. It was first put to use on the quartz watches and the calculator. Then later it was used on computer displays, medical devices, and other electronics. James Fergason first made the LCD in 1970 but it was not good enough because it has a low visual quality, and it used too much power. It had influenced many electronic devices in the modern world. Nowadays, nearly all computers have an LCD screen and nearly every small electronic working devices have an LCD screen.
The first effective LCD screen was made in 1971


Pong

In 1972, the first arcade video game was invented. The game was called Pong. This was created by the company Atari Inc. It was the first game that was popular all over the whole world. There are many versions of Pong. At the arcade shop, there will usually be a Pong Doubles, so that 4 people can play the game at the same time. This invention was the start of video games that is so famous to kids in the present.

Pong - the first arcade video game on the planet


Walkman

The first walkman was released in 1979 by the company called Sony. It was first designed by an engineer in Japan because his boss wanted to listen to opera during his plane trips. Therefore, he ordered an engineer in Sony to create a machine. Sony’s plan was for everybody to have this walkman, so that they could take it everywhere to listen to music. The function was easy to use, and there were headphone stereos. It was important because it led to the CD walkman later.


The first walkman was created by Sony


Scientific Discovery

Test Tube Baby

In July 25, 1978, the first test-tube baby was born to this world in England. The technique was developed by Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe. Test Tube Baby is a method in which egg cells are taken out of the women and then put together with the sperm of the men so that the sperm can fertilize the egg outside of the women’s womb. This method is used for people who have problems with their reproductive system. It is important because nowadays, people who have problem with their reproductive system can still have a baby if they want.

Louis Brown - the first test tube
baby

Consumer Product


Microwave Oven

A Consumer product in the 1970s is the microwave oven. The microwave oven was invented long ago in the year 1945. The microwave oven was too expensive back then because of the technology so it did not sell well. However, in the late 1970s, the price of the microwave oven dropped rapidly due to the more advanced technology. Because of the cheap price, the microwave oven became a famous consumer product. Microwave oven is an electrical appliance that is used to heat food. It became one of the standard appliances in everyone’s kitchen. This consumer product is important because nowadays, everyone uses this appliance to heat their food.
Microwave Oven - hit the market in the late 1970s

Music

The Eagles

The Eagles was one of the top rock bands in the 1970s. Their album, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 was the best-selling album in USA until today. None of the other band sold as much albums as this one. Another of their albums is Hotel California. The album was ranked number 1 for 8 weeks in a row before it came down. They were considered one of the most successful rock bands in the 1970s.

The Eagles - one of the most popular rock
bands in the 1970s
http://www.frontrowking.com/concerts/The%20Eagles/The_Eagles.jpg





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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