1972 This year is marked as a black year in history due to the use of terrorism entering sport with the massacre of 11 Israel Athletes by Arab Gunman. Also this is the beginning of the biggest political scandal in modern times and the start of the Watergate Scandal. On the other side of the Atlantic a worsening of the problems between the IRA and the British government see wrongs from both sides and innocent lives are lost.

Cost of Living 1972

How Much things cost in 1972
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.27%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1020
Average Cost of new house $27,550.00
Average Income per year $11,800.00
Average Monthly Rent $165.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 55 cents
Roxanne Ladies Swimsuit $30.00
Kodak Pocket Camera History $28.00
Wrangler Jeans $12.00
ladies Timex Watch From $30.00



What Events Happened in 1972

• 11 Israel Athletes murdered by Arab Gunman at Munich Olympics
• Three gunmen open fire at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 26 people and injuring dozens more
• Bloody Sunday - the British Army kills 13 unarmed Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in Derry, Ireland.
• The British government declares a state of emergency over 47 day miners' strike
• Earthquake lasting 20 seconds destroys most of Bingol, Turkey - more than 1000 dead, 10.000 made homeless
• Earthquake in the town of Ghir, in southern Iraq leaves over 5,000 dead
• Hurricane Agnes kills 117 in US east coast.
• 16 survivors from plane crash survive and are rescued after practicing cannibalism
• Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee ( the start of the Watergate Scandal.
• Last US ground troops withdrawn from Vietnam
• Earthquake in Nicaragua kills 5000-10.000 in the capital Managua
• The last major epidemic of smallpox in Europe breaks out in Yugoslavia.
• The Black Lung Benefits bill signed into law by President Nixon
• Bloody Friday 22 bombs explode in Belfast Ireland and 9 people are killed with a further 130 seriously injured.
• Bloody Sunday 14 unarmed Catholic protesters are gunned down by British Police on bloody Sunday
• IRA bomb explodes at the 16th Parachute Brigade headquarters at Aldershot
• The Equal Rights Amendment which provided for the legal equality of the sexes passed by the U.S. Senate
• Pilots organize worldwide strike protesting increased Air Piracy / Hijacking and lack of government action.
• CND ( Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ) organizes a series of demonstrations against nuclear arms
• The Second Cod War between UK and Iceland
• The worlds leaders agree to banning biological warfare
• Antiwar demonstrations draw 100,000 demonstrators in US cities
• Palestinian hijackers hijack a Lufthansa jet
• The ex RMS Queen Elizabeth Sets on Fire and Sinks in Hong Kong
• Ceylon becomes a republic and changes its name to Sri Lanka
• General Idi Amin of Uganda takes control of British firms and interests in the country
• UK unemployment rises to one million for the first time since the depression years of the 1930s
• The Dow Jones closes above 1000 for the first time in history
• The Largest Diamond The Star of Sierra leone is unearthed it is 969.8 carats
• Flash Flood caused by dam burst in Rapid City, South Dakota kills over 200
• Richard Nixon Visits China
• A dam In West Virginia’s Buffalo Creek Valley collapses killing 118 people
• American Swimmer Mark Spitz wins a record 7 gold medals in the Summer Olympics in Munich
• Bangladesh Gains Independence From Pakistan
• Cameroon Gains Independence From France and Britain
• The Winter Olympic Games are held in Sapporo, Japan
• Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments come into force
  

Popular Culture 1972

Popular Films

• The Godfather
  
• Fiddler on the Roof
  
• Diamonds Are Forever
  
• What's Up, Doc?
  
• Dirty Harry
  
• The Last Picture Show
  
• A Clockwork Orange
  
• Cabaret
  

Popular Musicians

• ABBA
  
• Roxy Music
  
• The Eagles
  
• John Lennon
  
• Paul Simon
  
• Simon and Garfunkel
  
• Rod Stewart
  
• Don Mclean with " American Pie "
  
• Michael Jackson with " Ben "
  
• Don McLean
  
• Elton John
  
• The Moody Blues
  
• David Bowie
  
• Led Zeppelin

Popular TV Programs

• Monty Python's Flying Circus
  
• Sesame Street
  
• The Benny Hill Show
  
• The Brady Bunch
  
• Dad's Army
  
• Hawaii Five-O
  
• Here's Lucy
  

Technology 1972

• HBO launched in US , first subscription cable service
• Richard Nixon orders the start for the space shuttle program
• Apollo 16 lands on the moon where the Lunar Rover is tested by astronauts John W Young and Charles M Duke
• Digital Watches are introduced
• First scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced (price $395).
• The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the most popular car ever sold with in excess of 15 million sold.
• Atari kicks off the first generation of video games with the release of PONG, the first game to achieve commercial success
  

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )

• Artificial Heart USA Willem J Koiff
• Optical Fiber USA