45 Random Trivia Tidbits About the 1970s That Should Have Been on ‘Battle of the Network Stars’

The story of the 1970s ‘Black Widow’ TV show — revealed
45 Random Trivia Tidbits About the 1970s That Should Have Been on ‘Battle of the Network Stars’

Battle of the Network Stars was a quintessential 1970s premise for a TV show — take mostly half-baked stars from all three networks and make them do the dumbest nonsense you can dream up. But man, did it work. I mean, what about having Robert Conrad race Gabe Kaplan in a 100-yard dash called by Howard Cosell where at least two-thirds of the spectators are smoking doesn’t work? 

As great as the show was, though, it doesn’t have anything on these 45 trivia tidbits, because they’re truly the most quintessential ‘70s thing ever.

Thumbnail photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

"Hey, isn't that John Quincy Adams?"

The oldest existing photograph of a US President was bought at an antique shop for 50 cents. CRACKED COM The image is from August 1843, of a then 76-year-old John Quincy Adams who did not ар- prove any of the photos taken that day- but a daguerreo- type from that sitting surfaced at an antiques shop in 1970, priced at 50 cents.

NY Times

Horror

Kent State, May 4th, 1970 On his lunchbreak from the photo equipment room journalism student, John Filo. took this iconic photo. As he was taking phot

Sonny & Cher

In A 1970 AD In TVGUIDE CRAGKEDCOM sonnY And cHEiR endorsed THE BIBLE. Look who reads the Bible. The me mle Ble Bee sen that vadoller. Hard thiNES YOU

No jail can hold you when you're a professor of acid

On January 21, 1970, psychologist and LSD advocate Timothy Leary was sentenced to 20 years in prison for marijuana possession: once in prison, he was

Getting pulled over by Eddie Haskell must have been a trip

Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell in Leave It to Beaver) was almost killed on duty as a cop. He joined the LAPD in 1970 and, 10 years later, he got shot three

Source: The Beach Reporter

"We'll give you fifty bucks"

Southern Utah State's marching band bought Nixon's abandoned White House guard uniforms for $90. In January 1970, Richard Nixon unveiled wildly unpopular uniforms for the White House guards, which were quickly retired and sold off to the college marching band. CRACKED.COM

Source

This scans for Bill Murray

Bill Murray once got arrested for possessing 10 pounds of marijuana. At an airport in 1970, he joked he had bombs in his suitcase - U.S. Marshals sprang up and checked the suitcase, finding no bombs but lots of weed. CRACKED.COM

Source

Memorable, anyway

45 Random Trivia Tidbits About the 1970s That Should Have Been on ‘Battle of the Network Stars’
Source: The Guardian

Every home with a 20-piece bucket under the tree

Japan CRACKED cO If you ever end up in Japan on December 25, you'd better get your KFC order in early. KFC launched a Christmas meal there in 1970 and

Source: Mashed

Word

Ladies do not start fights but they can finish them. This badass line was spoken by.... Cute, cuddly Marie in Disney's The Aristocats (1970) CRACKED

Don't ever ask a Boomer about the finale

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM M*A*S*H Remember your grandma talking about M'A'S'H all the time? This is what she's talking about. The film setting is the Korean War, but is really about the Vietnam War, which was taking place during the film's release in 1970.

Source: The Attic

"Sorry, you can't come into a park built around a talking mouse looking like that"

Until 1970 Disney banned men with long hair from entering the park. When they finally relaxed the dress code in 1970, a band of hippies entered the park and staged an attempted coup of Tom Sawyer island in protest against the Vietnam War. CRACKED.COM

source: Snopes

This is just about as good as the actual story

In 1970, Philip K. Dick wrote a book titled Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. He later met a woman who not only had the same name as a character in

Patton, not known for his subtlety

PATITON In the 1970 film starring George. C. Scott, General Patton delivers an impressive-yet profanity free speech boasting about how the Allies are

Total monster

Leal Edward EImer Solly was arrested for killing his girlfriend's two-year-old child in 1970 and escaped prison four years latero He forged documents

Getting real used to stuff like this now

45 Random Trivia Tidbits About the 1970s That Should Have Been on ‘Battle of the Network Stars’
Source: Seattle Times

'X-Y Position Indicator' is actually a pretty awesome name

The first computer mouse Douglas Engelbart's 1970 X-Y Position Indicator patent looks and sounds dopey as hell, but imagine how stunted society woul
Source: Wired

Scary indeed

Children's media can be scary as all hell. But if you thought things were spooky in the '9Os, get a load of what was marketed to kids in the '70s: CRA

Loch Ness Monster

CRACKED cO A SONAR SCAN DISCOVERED A LOCH NESS MONSTER PROP ...IN LOCH NESS. 1970's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes featured Sherlock investigatin

The Mouse has its own army

IN 1970, YOUTHS STORMED ToM SAER'S ISLAND DISNEY CALLED IN THE RIT POLICE. The 300 protesters- -members of the Yippie movement- -raised their flag (

Each Fact As Good As The Last!

CRACKED ON ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE HRIST OTOFET PRIDE DAY GAY LIBERATION 1970 In the first ever Pride march, the police had their backs turned to the para

Richard Petty

CRACKEDCON The King Dinoco, from Cars... 43 ...is based on and voiced by Richard Petty, and designed to look like Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superb

There's a great animation about the story of this

In 1970, Pittsburgh P Pirates pitcher Dock EIlIS threw a no-hitter while ES under the effects Of LSD. DOCK ELLIS 1970 PITTSBUROH CRACKED.COM

Spiders in space = cool

NASA sent two spiders into space in the 1970's. It took the spiders a cou- ple days to figure it out, but they eventually end- ed up making webs that were finer and more com- plex than their earth counterparts. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Source

Both iterations are great

Sealab 2021 2000-2005 CRACKED GO Before Archer, the creators made this animated show, inspired by the short-lived 1970's Hanna-Barbera cartoon Sealab 2020.

Good lord

CRACKED.COM MARINE MIDLAND HAS A CREDIT CARD so SAFE, EVEN YOUR WIFE CAN'T USE IT. 1970 print ad by Master Charge (now known as MasterCard) Apparently

This is SO dumb

FORGET THE MOON LANDING HOAX... BECAUSE THE MOON DOESN'T EXIST! 1970: IWo Soviet scientists Theorize that the moon is an ancient extraterrestrials spa

Nice optimism, but no, and not even close

By the mid 1980's, automated autos, noiseless pneumatic sub- ways and luxury-liner hovercraft will have radically restructured our surface mobility David Rorvik in the October 1970 issue of CRACKED.COM Playboy magazine

Source

Don't try Trudeau

In 1970, terrorists in Montreal were abducting public officials, and Canada's government sent troops to patrol Montreal. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

Yeah 'Dolittle' was terrible

CRACKED VS ON SCREEN ROLES EARLY CAREER LATE CAREER CRACKED COM His first venture A 5 year old back to the silver Downey Jr. screen after a debuted in decade in the Marvel 1970's blockbuster Pound, one tentpole was 2020's Dolittle, of his which was... not father's films great

Tags:

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

VIRAL ON CRACKED

A WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF
JOKES + TRIVIA

Forgot Password?