The Year 1978 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1978. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, historic firsts, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. In 1978, Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia) was the president of the United States, and Walter Mondale (D-Minnesota) was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 6.0%, the nation’s inflation rate was 7.59%, and America’s violent crime rate was 51.4 per 1,000 people.
3. The median household income in the U.S. was $15,064, the average cost of a new house was $62,500, and the average monthly rent was $260.
4. At the grocery store, bacon was $1.89 for a one-pound package, eggs were 59 cents a dozen, and milk cost $1.33 a gallon. Cheerios were 69 cents for a 15-ounce box, potatoes cost 98 cents for a five-pound bag, and Land O’Lakes butter was $1.33 for a one-pound package.
5. American companies and brands established in 1978 included Banana Republic, Ben & Jerry’s, the Bombay Company, Grease Monkey, Home Depot, Monster Cable, and Raw Books.
6. Consumer products launched during the year included 2000 Flushes, Burger King specialty sandwiches, Cabbage Patch Kids, Coors Light, Dry Idea, Huggies, the LaserDisc and LaserDisc player, Simon (game), Speak & Spell (toy), and the Trapper Keeper.
7. On January 13, NASA unveiled the first group of female astronauts, including Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride.
8. On January 19, the last Volkswagen Beetle manufactured in Germany left VW’s plant in Emden. (Beetle production continued in Latin America until 2003.)
9. On January 23, Sweden became the first country in the world to ban aerosol sprays that contained chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the propelling agent.
10. From January 25 to 27, the Great Blizzard of 1978 devastated the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region and caused 51 deaths in Ohio alone.
11. On February 1, abolitionist Harriet Tubman became the first African American woman to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp.
12. From February 5 to 7, a blizzard ravaged both New England and the New York metropolitan area, killing about 100 people and causing over $500 million in damage.
13. On February 6, the first Home Depot store opened in Marietta, Georgia.
14. On February 11, China lifted a ban on the writings of Aristotle, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens, as “the end of censorship was foreshadowing other important reforms.”
15. On March 4, the Chicago Daily News, founded in 1875, published its last issue.
16. On April 3, at the 50th Academy Awards, Annie Hall won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Woody Allen (Annie Hall) won an Oscar for Best Director. Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Diane Keaton (Annie Hall) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
17. On April 17, 63,500,000 shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange—setting a record.
18. April 16: By a vote of 68 to 32, the Senate ratified the Neutrality Treaty, which stated that “the United States could use its military to defend the Panama Canal against any threat to its neutrality, thus allowing perpetual U.S. usage of the Canal.”
19. April 18: By another vote of 68 to 32, the Senate ratified the Panama Canal Treaty, which stated that “the Panama Canal Zone would cease to exist on October 1, 1979, and the Canal itself would be turned over to the Panamanians on December 31, 1999.”
20. On May 3, Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager who was promoting a new model of computer, sent the first spam email. He sent the correspondence to about 600 prospects via ARPANET (the precursor to the Internet), and “complaints started coming in almost immediately.”
21. On May 26, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opened for business in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
22. On June 19, the first Garfield comic strip appeared in 41 newspapers throughout the U.S. It focused "on the life of a lazy and often sarcastic cat named Garfield."
23. On September 17, at the 30th Primetime Emmy Awards, All in the Family (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and The Rockford Files (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
24. On October 10, President Carter signed a bill that authorized the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
25. On October 17, President Carter signed a bill restoring U.S. citizenship to Jefferson Davis, “an American politician who served as president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865.”
26. On November 27, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were both assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.
27. On December 4, Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco’s first female mayor.
28. On December 13, the first Susan B. Anthony dollar went into circulation.
29. On December 15, Cleveland, Ohio, became the first major American city to go bankrupt since the Great Depression.
30. On December 17, OPEC “raised oil prices by 18% and agreed on a 14.5% petroleum price increase for 1979, to be implemented quarterly.”
31. In 1978, Golda Meir, Harvey Milk, Hubert H. Humphrey, Pope John Paul VI, Jack Warner, and Norman Rockwell all passed away.
32. Laverne & Shirley (ABC) was the most popular TV show, Grease was America’s favorite film, and James A. Michener’s Chesapeake was a best-selling book.
33. The news magazine 20/20 premiered on ABC, and the all-night Larry King Show made its national radio debut on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
34. Here are some sports facts from 1978: The Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl, the Washington Bullets were the NBA champs, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup.
35. In addition, MLB legends Eddie Mathews, Addie Joss, and Larry MacPhail were all inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/1978-trivia-history-and-fun-facts/
2. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1978
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_in_the_United_States
4. https://www.actionnews5.com/2021/06/16/breakdown-why-hurricane-names-used-only-be-named-after-women/
5. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
6. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1978.html
7. https://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1978.htm
8. https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/released-in-1978
9. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1975.html
10. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1978

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor