McCurdy Found In Funhouse
26. In 1976, the mummified body of an American bank and train robber named Elmer McCurdy was discovered in a California funhouse. McCurdy had died in a shootout in 1911 and his body had been used ever since as a sideshow attraction. His discoverers only realized that it was a human body when his arm broke off, revealing bone and muscle.
27. American singer Billy Joel attempted suicide in 1970. He did it by drinking furniture polish because “It looked tastier than bleach.” He later released a song called “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)” to discourage teenage suicide.
28. In 1970, Jimmy Carter allowed a prisoner named Mary Prince, who had been convicted of murder, to get work release so she could serve as a maid at the governor’s mansion. He was so impressed with her work that when he was elected president in 1976 he volunteered to be her parole officer and let her continue working at the White House. She was later exonerated.
29. In July 1975, a 17 year old boy was killed while riding his moped. He was killed exactly a year after his 17 year old brother was killed while riding the same moped, in the same intersection, by the same taxi driver carrying the same passenger.
30. The first ever documented “high five” was between LA Dodger teammates Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke on Oct 2, 1977. After Baker hit his 30th home run of the season, Burke met him at home plate with his hand held high over his head and Baker smacked it, later saying “It seemed like the thing to do.”
31. A researcher carried out a 1970s experiment in which participants were blindfolded and told they would play tug-of-war against another team. When they were informed that 3 others were pulling with them, they pulled 18% less strenuously than when they were told they were alone. This effect is now known as social loafing.
32. American swimmer Mark Spitz, 9-time Olympic champion, jokingly told the Russian swim team coach in 1972 that his mustache made him faster in the water by deflecting water away from his mouth. Next year, every single Russian swimmer was sporting a mustache.
33. In 1971, a man named John List murdered his family to “save their souls” and laid their bodies out on sleeping bags. He then cleaned up, cut himself out of the family’s photos, turned on a religious radio station, and fled. Only after the lights in the house had burned out one by one did neighbors call police.
34. In 1976, Eric Clapton gave a speech at a concert urging the British audience to vote for British politician Enoch Powell, saying that Britain needed to “get the foreigners out, get the wogs out, get the coons out”, and repeatedly shouting “Keep Britain White”. In response, Rock Against Racism was formed.
35. Clint Eastwood removed Philip Kaufman as director of The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and took over the role himself. In response, the Directors Guild of America created the Eastwood Rule that prohibits an actor or producer from firing the director and then becoming the director himself.
Preston’s White House Helicopter
36. In 1974, a US soldier named Robert K. Preston stole a helicopter and flew to the White House in Washington, D.C. While he hovered over the south grounds, the Executive Protective Service shot and wounded him, making him land. He received only a one-year prison sentence and $2,400 in fines.
37. A 1978 study called “Where Are They Now?” tracked 515 people who had been stopped from trying to kill themselves by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge from 1937 to 1971. Roughly 90% were either still alive or had died from natural causes, leading to the conclusion that “suicidal behavior is crisis-oriented” rather than inexorable.
38. When Australian driver Alan Jones won the 1977 Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the race organizers did not have a copy of the Australian national anthem to play at the podium ceremony, unaware that it was “God Save the Queen.” Instead, a drunk person played “Happy Birthday” on a trumpet.
39. In 1970, the Oregon Highway Division tried to blow up a dead sperm whale that had washed ashore, using half a ton of dynamite to get rid of its rotting carcass. The blast sent whale flesh more than 800 feet away, crushing cars and nearly killing bystanders.
40. In 1976, a 3500 mile horse race was setup to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States, and it was won by a mule.
41. During the 1970s, Boeing laid off 63,000 workers in Seattle alone, and unemployment climbed to 14%, the highest in the United States. A billboard was put up that said, “Will the last person leaving Seattle – Turn out the lights.”
42. David Bowie described himself as a “closet heterosexual,” after saying he was gay in 1972 and bisexual in 1976, but later admitted that those statements were a mistake.
43. In 1977, singer Tom Waits was arrested outside a coffee shop for trying to stop men from bullying other patrons. The men were plainclothes officers, and Waits and his friend were arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. The jury found Waits not guilty; he sued the police department and was awarded $7,500 compensation.
44. In 1978, the Knox-class destroyer escort USS Stein (FF-1065) was attacked by an unknown species of giant squid. Almost all of the cuts on the sonar dome contained traces of sharp, curved claws from suction cups on squid tentacles. Those claws were much larger than any squid claws that had been discovered at that time.
45. A drunk driving incident destroyed the Soviet spy network in the UK. After being arrested in London in 1971, a KGB agent named Oleg Lyalin panicked and gave the names of every Russian spy in the UK. The UK government expelled 105 people from the country, and the Soviet spy network in Britain “never recovered.”
Bohemian Rhapsody Dismissed
46. When Queen wanted to release Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975, various executives told them that, at 5 minutes and 55 seconds, it was too long and would never be a hit.
47. Under the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, people in Cambodia were killed in the killing fields for being academics or even for merely wearing eyeglasses, as it suggested literacy.
48. In the 1970s, professional 10 pin bowlers earned twice as much money as NFL players.
49. Chilean Sea Bass is just a fancy name that was invented in 1977 to get Americans to eat the Patagonian Toothfish.
50. Robert Williams, a Ford assembly line worker, is the first human in history to have been killed by a robot. He was struck by a robotic arm in 1979.
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