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12 Facts About the Year 1979

3 min readJan 5, 2026

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It was a particularly newsy year.

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Creative Commons: Todd MacDonald

Looking back at various years, some years are heavier with news stories, while others had more cultural stuff going on. The year 1979 was more news oriented, which, from the perspective of writing about various years, makes it not as fun. Some things are just harder to put a humorous spin on than others.

Personally, 1979 was a down year economically for me. And based on my financial history, that’s saying something. In the conglomerate of the 1979–80 time frame, I did some janitorial work and worked at a glove factory. I was cutting leather for gloves and getting paid by the piece. It was like the movie, “Norma Rae,” minus the union.

The glove factory shut down, but the exit was particularly inglorious. Rumors were swirling around about the factory closing for months. On a Friday we were called into the warehouse for a meeting. At the meeting we were told there was nothing to those rumors. The next Tuesday the plant closed. That has helped shape my view of the corporate world.

Now, on to some facts about 1979.

1: The Three Mile Island nuclear accident took place in 1979.

A documentary about the incident revealed the root cause of “The Pepsi Syndrome.” Hold on, being told that was actually a SNL…

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Larrylambert
Larrylambert

Written by Larrylambert

You probably don't know my name, but have likely seen my work. I've written for numerous syndicated cartoon strips and my gags have appeared in national pubs.