50 Fun Facts About 1968

Which landmark did American tycoon Robert McCulloch buy in 1968 and rebuild in the Arizona desert?

London Bridge could no longer carry the city's traffic, so London put it up for sale. McCulloch shipped its granite blocks to Lake Havasu City to draw land buyers to his new town.

Which famous photograph did Bill Anders take while orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968?

Earthrise shows a half-lit Earth hanging above the Moon's gray horizon. It has been called the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.

Which burger, created by a Pittsburgh-area franchisee, did McDonald's take nationwide in 1968?

The Big Mac had flopped under two earlier names, the Aristocrat and the Blue Ribbon Burger. A 21-year-old secretary at McDonald's headquarters came up with the one that stuck.

Which ruined landmark does Charlton Heston find on a beach at the end of 1968's Planet of the Apes?

The Statue of Liberty, half buried in the sand, reveals that the 'alien' planet is Earth after a nuclear war. The twist survived from a script by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling.

Which singer relaunched his career in a black leather suit on an NBC special in December 1968?

Elvis Presley sweated so much under the lights that the suit stuck to his skin. The show topped the week's TV ratings and became known as the '68 Comeback Special.

Which everyday computer device did Douglas Engelbart show the public at a December 1968 demo?

The mouse let Engelbart move around the screen, highlight text and resize windows. The same 90-minute show also previewed hypertext and video conferencing.

Which spy novelist wrote the children's book behind the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, invented the flying car as a bedtime story for his son Caspar. He died two months before the book was published.

Which line of die-cast toy cars did Mattel launch in 1968 to compete with Matchbox?

Hot Wheels began after Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler watched his son play with Matchbox cars. He wanted wilder hot rods, with big rear tires and flame paint jobs.

Which Funny Girl star shared the Best Actress Oscar for 1968 in a tie with Katharine Hepburn?

Barbra Streisand accepted with 'Hello, gorgeous!', her opening line from the film. Presenter Ingrid Bergman had gasped 'It's a tie!' on reading the result.

Which three-digit phone number got its first-ever call in Haleyville, Alabama, in 1968?

911 was chosen by AT&T because it was quick to dial on a rotary phone, unlike Britain's 999. A small Alabama phone company then raced to switch it on first.

In which city was Martin Luther King Jr. shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in April 1968?

Memphis had drawn King to support the city's striking sanitation workers. The night before, he gave his 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech, which proved to be his last.

Robert F. Kennedy was shot in June 1968 just after winning which state's Democratic primary?

California voted on June 4, and Kennedy was shot leaving his victory party through a hotel kitchen hallway. His death led the Secret Service to start protecting presidential candidates.

Which sitting vice president narrowly lost the 1968 presidential election to Richard Nixon?

Hubert Humphrey led a bitterly divided Democratic Party and trailed badly at first. He narrowed the gap late by calling for Vietnam peace talks, but not by enough.

Which president stunned TV viewers in March 1968 by announcing he would not seek another term?

Lyndon B. Johnson said 'I shall not seek, and I will not accept' his party's nomination. He quit weeks after antiwar senator Eugene McCarthy nearly beat him in New Hampshire.

Which city's police clashed with antiwar protesters outside the Democratic convention in August 1968?

Chicago was run by Mayor Richard J. Daley, who was determined to stop the protests. The crowd control by police and the National Guard devolved into what was called a police riot.

Which country did Warsaw Pact tanks invade in August 1968 to end Alexander Dubček's reforms?

Czechoslovakia had enjoyed months of liberalisation known as the Prague Spring. About 250,000 troops crossed the border overnight in what was code-named Operation Danube.

Which French president vanished to a military base in West Germany during the strikes of May 1968?

Charles de Gaulle slipped away by helicopter to Baden-Baden, leaving his prime minister shouting 'He has fled the country!' About ten million workers were on strike at the time.

Which country seized the US spy ship USS Pueblo in January 1968 and held its crew for 11 months?

North Korea later put the ship on show as a museum exhibit in Pyongyang. Its captive crewmen ruined staged propaganda photos by secretly giving 'the finger'.

Which CBS anchor told viewers in February 1968 that the Vietnam War was 'mired in stalemate'?

Walter Cronkite had just returned from covering the fighting in Vietnam himself. He was often called 'the most trusted man in America' after an opinion poll named him so.

The Tet Offensive of January 1968 broke a truce that was called for which Vietnamese holiday?

Lunar New Year, or Tết Nguyên Đán, meant many of South Vietnam's soldiers were away on leave. One team of attackers even blasted its way into the US Embassy compound in Saigon.

Which 1968 Beatles single, written to comfort John Lennon's young son, spent nine weeks at number one?

Hey Jude began as 'Hey Jules', Paul McCartney's song for five-year-old Julian Lennon during his parents' split. It was also the first release on the band's own Apple label.

Which prison did Johnny Cash sing about in 1955 and then record a live album inside in January 1968?

Folsom gave Cash the album that revived his career after several years of limited success. Its live take on 'Folsom Prison Blues' was his first top-40 hit since 1964.

Which soul singer's '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' became a posthumous number-one hit in 1968?

Otis Redding recorded the song just three days before he died in a plane crash in December 1967. No single had ever topped the American chart after its singer's death before.

Which 'tribal love-rock musical' reached Broadway in April 1968 and caused a stir with its nude scene?

Hair follows a tribe of hippies in New York City resisting the Vietnam draft, and it gave pop radio the anthem 'Aquarius'. It ran for 1,750 performances.

Which guitarist's 1968 cover of Bob Dylan's 'All Along the Watchtower' became a Top 20 hit single?

Jimi Hendrix started recording it in January 1968 for his album Electric Ladyland. The song is now more strongly identified with his version than with Dylan's original.

Which CBS newsmagazine, later famous for its ticking stopwatch, made its debut in September 1968?

60 Minutes did not show its trademark stopwatch on the first broadcast; it turned up several episodes later. Creator Don Hewitt built the show around reporter-centered investigation.

Which soft-spoken children's TV host in a cardigan and sneakers made his national debut in February 1968?

Fred Rogers chose sneakers because they were quieter than work shoes when he moved around behind the set. His Neighborhood stayed on American public television until 2001.

Which Star Trek officer kissed Captain Kirk in a November 1968 episode that worried NBC executives?

Lieutenant Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols, kissed Kirk in 'Plato's Stepchildren'. NBC feared angering stations in the Deep South, but the fan mail was large and very positive.

Which NBC sketch comedy show, launched as a series in January 1968, made 'Sock it to me' a catchphrase?

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In usually followed the line by dropping Judy Carne through a trap door or dousing her with water. Even Richard Nixon turned up to say it on camera.

Where were the 1968 Summer Olympics held, the first Games ever staged in Latin America?

Mexico City sits 2,240 metres above sea level, and the thin air shaped many events. These were also the first Olympics run on an all-weather track instead of cinders.

In which event did Bob Beamon beat the world record by 55 centimetres at the 1968 Summer Olympics?

The long jump mark of 8.90 metres so shocked Beamon that his legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees. Nobody beat it for almost 23 years.

Which American won 1968 Olympic gold by clearing the bar backwards, a technique still named after him?

Dick Fosbury invented his 'flop' because he found the standard straddle technique too hard to coordinate. A hometown reporter wrote that he looked like 'a fish flopping in a boat'.

Which French skier swept all three men's alpine skiing golds at the 1968 Winter Olympics?

Jean-Claude Killy had flopped at the 1964 Games, falling in the downhill and losing a binding in the slalom. He also won the first two World Cup titles, in 1967 and 1968.

Which team won Super Bowl II in January 1968 and carried coach Vince Lombardi off the field?

The Green Bay Packers won 33–14 amid rumors that Lombardi would retire from coaching afterward. At halftime, guard Jerry Kramer urged teammates to play the second half 'for the old man'.

Which amateur won the 1968 US Open men's singles title but could not accept the $14,000 winner's cheque?

Arthur Ashe was still registered as an amateur, so the first prize went to the man he beat in the final, Tom Okker. Ashe was the first Black man to win the tournament.

Which club beat Benfica at Wembley in May 1968 to become the first English winner of the European Cup?

Manchester United scored three quick goals in extra time to win 4–1. One of them was a header from Brian Kidd, who was celebrating his 19th birthday.

Which children's film did NBC cut to in November 1968, hiding the wild finish of a Jets–Raiders game?

Heidi began on schedule, so viewers in the East missed Oakland scoring two touchdowns in the final minute. NBC later installed special 'Heidi phones' so staff could always get through.

Which book of the Bible did the Apollo 8 crew read from while circling the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968?

Genesis gave the three astronauts the creation story, which they recited from text printed on fire-proof paper. The idea came from Christine Laitin, once a teenage member of the French Resistance.

Which celebrated cosmonaut was killed in March 1968 when the MiG-15 fighter jet he was piloting crashed?

Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, had been banned from further spaceflights because officials feared losing a national hero. He died on a flight with an instructor.

Which soft-voiced computer turns on the crew in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey?

HAL 9000 sings 'Daisy Bell' as he is shut down, a nod to the first song ever sung by a real computer, an IBM machine in 1961. On screen he is mostly a glowing red camera lens.

Which chipmaker did Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore found in 1968 after rejecting the name 'Moore Noyce'?

Intel is short for Integrated Electronics; 'Moore Noyce' was dropped because it sounded like 'more noise'. The founders then had to buy the rights to the name from a hotel chain.

Which jumbo jet with a humped upper deck rolled out of a new factory in Everett, Washington, in 1968?

The Boeing 747 got its hump because the cockpit sat above a nose designed to open for freight. Its builders worked at such a pace that they were nicknamed 'The Incredibles'.

Which animals flew around the Moon aboard the Soviet probe Zond 5 in September 1968, before any human?

Tortoises were chosen because they were easy to secure tightly. The flight was planned for cosmonauts, but after two failed launches the Soviets sent a pair of reptiles instead.

Which Greek shipping magnate did former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marry in October 1968?

Aristotle Onassis had carried on a well-publicised affair with opera singer Maria Callas. Soon after the wedding he announced a $400 million plan to build industry in Greece.

Which Australian wore a human rights badge beside Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the 1968 Olympic podium?

Peter Norman, the silver medallist, suggested the two Americans share one pair of black gloves after Carlos left his behind. Both men were pallbearers at his funeral in 2006.

Which Detroit Tigers pitcher won 31 games in 1968, the last 30-win season in Major League Baseball?

Denny McLain deliberately lobbed a soft pitch to Mickey Mantle during his 31st win, days before Mantle's final game. McLain was also a talented organist.

Which Canadian's 1968 rise to prime minister set off a wave of fan excitement nicknamed a 'mania'?

Pierre Trudeau inspired 'Trudeaumania' when he ran for the Liberal leadership in April 1968 and then won a strong majority. He went on to serve over 15 years as prime minister.

Which former New York assemblywoman became the first Black woman elected to the US Congress in 1968?

Shirley Chisholm titled her 1970 autobiography Unbought and Unbossed. In Congress she led the expansion of food and nutrition programs for the poor.

Which type of star, first labelled 'LGM' for little green men, got its lasting name in print in 1968?

Pulsar signals arrived every 1.337 seconds, so regular that discoverer Jocelyn Bell could not at first rule out another civilization. A second source elsewhere in the sky ended that idea.

Which former Alabama governor ran for president in 1968 as the American Independent Party's candidate?

George Wallace chose retired Air Force general Curtis LeMay as his running mate. His campaign had also considered KFC founder Harland Sanders for the ticket.