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On the date

Sunday, July 20, 1969

From the day

Perspective: The Anxious Local · Sight

The flickering black-and-white glow of the television is the only thing cutting through the humid summer dark, illuminating the terrifying headlines about the Moon Lander descending toward the craters. My nerves are frayed raw; between the surging cost of a loaf of bread and the constant shadow of the draft, this whole "flower power" era feels more like a fever dream than a revolution. I stare at the news tickers mentioning new-fangled things like UNIX and ARPANET, wondering if these unseen machines will finally track us all down while those astronauts drift into the void. It is a gnarly sight—men walking on dust while the streets back home are still burning with unrest.

Memories from that day

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World Mood

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100

In the Year 2525

Zager and Evans

The must-have

Nerf Ball

On This Day

  • A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War".

    Wikipedia →
  • Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

    Wikipedia →

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

bummerfoxhunkscam

Hippie

flower powergroovyheavyout of sightright on

Surfer

cowabungahang tenwipe outgnarly

Catchphrases of 1969

  • That's one small step for man

Tech Check

ARPANET (Internet Precursor), Moon Lander & UNIX.

Cost of Living (1960)

Loaf of Bread

$0.20

Gallon of Gas

$0.31

Average Home

$11,900

New Car

$2,600

Time Elapsed

20,774 days ago

(56 years, 334 days)