Jul 20
Apollo 11 — Man Walks on the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon while 600 million watched on TV. 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'
🇺🇸United States · 60s
One Giant Leap
The Moon, Woodstock, and the end of the Sixties dream.
What happened
5 milestones of 1969
Aug 15-18
Woodstock Festival
400,000 people gathered on a dairy farm in Bethel, NY for 'three days of peace and music.' Hendrix, Joplin, The Who, Santana. The defining moment of counterculture.
Jun 28
Stonewall Riots
LGBTQ+ patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York City fought back against a police raid. Six days of protests launched the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
LGBTQ+ rights — honor the courage of marginalized community fighting for dignity
Oct 29
ARPANET — The Internet is Born
The first message was sent between UCLA and Stanford Research Institute on ARPANET. They tried to type 'LOGIN' — the system crashed after 'LO.'
Aug 9
Manson Family Murders
Charles Manson's followers murdered Sharon Tate and four others in Los Angeles. The horror shattered the Summer of Love's idealism.
Violent crime — factual, no glorification, acknowledge victims
What was playing
70% local · 30% international
What was in cinemas
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
George Roy Hill — Newman and Redford. The coolest outlaws in cinema.
Easy Rider
Dennis Hopper — The counterculture on two wheels. A generation's road movie.
Midnight Cowboy
John Schlesinger — First X-rated Best Picture winner. Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight.
True Grit
Henry Hathaway — John Wayne's Oscar-winning role.
100 Rifles
Tom Gries — Box office hit in the US — TMDB 5.9
What was on TV
Sesame Street
1969-present — Big Bird, Oscar, and counting — children's TV reinvented.
The Brady Bunch
1969-1974 — The blended family America adopted as its own.
Apollo 11 broadcast
Jul 1969 — 600 million viewers watched the Moon landing live.
How much things cost
Currency: USD
Gallon of milk$1.10
Gallon of gas$0.35
New house (median)$25,600
Movie ticket$1.42
Inflation: 5.5%
Vietnam spending drove inflation up. The postwar boom was fading.
Then vs. Now
Inflation-adjusted values
Gallon of milkBLS
1969 (USD)
$1.10
→
Today's value ($)
--
Gallon of gasEIA
1969 (USD)
$0.35
→
Today's value ($)
--
New house (median)Census Bureau
1969 (USD)
$25,600
→
Today's value ($)
--
Movie ticketNATO
1969 (USD)
$1.42
→
Today's value ($)
--
Technology
Apollo 11 computer
The guidance computer had less power than a modern calculator — and it got humans to the Moon.
ARPANET
The first internet message was sent between two California universities.
ATM machines
Chemical Bank installed one of the first ATMs in New York.
Concorde first flight
The supersonic jet flew for the first time (Anglo-French project).
Pop Culture
Fashion
Tie-dye everythingBell-bottomsFringe jacketsHeadbands and long hair
Slang
Far out— Amazing, mind-expanding
Bread— Money
Bummer— Bad experience or disappointment
Behavior
- Counterculture peaked — communes, protests, free love
- Anti-Vietnam War protests were massive and mainstream
- The Moon landing united the country for one brief, shining moment
Share
Download or share cards from this year
1200×630 · WhatsApp/Facebook