In 1978 one of the most popular pair of shoes were Dr. Scholls’ wooden clogs. As good as they were for your feet, they were also super hard to adapt to!
I wore them for a couple years and was very happy when they came out with soft sole clogs.
In 1978 the Punk Rock scene is hit with one of their own murdering his girlfriend.
Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols is stabbed to death in October of 1978.
The months prior to the stabbing, Vicious and Spungen spiraled into deeper drug abuse, punctuated by domestic violence within which Vicious allegedly attacked Spungen. Their relationship ended violently on October 12, 1978, when Spungen was found under the sink in the bathroom of their hotel room, dead from a single stab wound to the abdomen, later traced to a knife owned by Vicious. This was reportedly a “007” hunting knife he had obtained after seeing Dee Dee Ramone give one to The Dead Boys’ Stiv Bators, although conflicting reports claim the knife to be a Jaguar K-11 with a five-inch blade. Vicious was immediately arrested and charged with second degree murder. Vicious pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. Four months after Nancy’s death, incarceration at Riker’s Island before bail and drug rehabilitation, he overdosed taking a lethal amount of heroin, and died before the trial could take place. After Vicious died the police closed the case. Nancy was buried in her hometown in Philadelphia, Her Hebrew name is inscripted on her gravestone: “Haya-Leah daughter of Ephrayim-Aharon”.
The number one non-fiction book in 1978 is Erma Bombeck’s ’If Life Is A Bowl Of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pits?’
I LOVE Erma!!
Lava Lamps are very popular in 1978!
A lava lamp (or Astro lamp) is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of coloured wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from an incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava, hence the name.
1978 is THE YEAR for John Travolta! With two mega hit films under his belt in one year he is literally the talk of the town - even ending up on the cover of Rolling Stone.
In 1978 the TV show Lavern and Shirley is a big hit, which isn’t bad for a spin-off show, (from Happy Days).
- CAST -
Penny Marshall - Laverne De Fazio
Cindy Williams - Shirley Feeney
Michael McKean - Leonard “Lenny” Kosnowski
David Lander - Andrew “Squiggy” Squigman
Phil Foster - Frank De Fazio
Eddie Mekka - Carmine “The Big Ragu” Ragusa
- Top Ten Songs In 1978 -
1. Baby Come Back … Player
2. Stayin’ Alive … Bee Gees
3. Thicker Than Water … Andy Gibb
4. Night Fever … Bee Gees
5. If I Can’t Have You … Yvonne Elliman
6. With a Little Luck … Wings
7. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late …Johnny Mathis & Denise Williams
8. You’re the One That I Want…John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
9. Shadow Dancing … Andy Gibb
10. Miss You … Rolling Stones
*I had to go with the Stones, ‘Miss You’ :)
Space Invaders, an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado is released in 1978.
Space Invaders was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japana nd was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. In designing the game, Nishikado drew inspiration from popular media: Breakout, The War of the Worlds, and Star Wars. To complete it, he had to design custom hardware and development tools.
It was one of the forerunners of modern video gaming and helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry. When first released, Space Invaders was very successful. Following its release, the game caused a temporary shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan and grossed US$2 billion worldwide by 1982.
The game has been the inspiration for other video games, re-released on numerous platforms, and led to several sequels.
