“Unearthed Secrets: The Bizarre Events of the 1970s That Shaped a Generation!”
The 70s rose against social upheaval, political unrest, and cultural development. These were the craziest and weirdest historical events of the 70s.
1. Jonestown Massacre in Guyana
In an unfortunate state of events, a cult leader in Guyana misled his congregants to commit mass suicide. Over 900 people perished after their leader, Bill Jones, tricked them into drinking a fruit drink laced with Cyanide on November 18, 1978.
Many religious leaders today still enjoy a fanatic-like following from the congregants. While we haven’t witnessed a massacre of the same magnitude, many people are still obliviously but dangerously toying with cults.
2. New York Blackout
Extreme weather sometimes causes blackouts, but no outage has beaten the 1977 New York blackout. Lasting about 25 hours, the power outage that left New York in the dark was caused by a series of lightning.
As expected, the episode was marked by chaos, looting, arson, and more crime. At least three people lost their lives.
3. A Presidential Resignation
The year 1974 saw the only resignation of a sitting US president, Richard Nixon, mostly as a result of his role in the Watergate affair. The Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., was broken into during the 1972 presidential campaign, which sparked the controversy.
The Watergate scandal reminds us of the foundational principles essential for a robust democracy.
