The World in 1969 the year boots pressed into moon dust
1 in 3US homes with a colour TV
600MWatched the Moon landing
1stCrew swap in orbit (USSR)
35ยขGallon of gas (US)
$1.42Movie ticket (US)
$1.60US minimum wage per hour
50pBritain's new seven sided coin
130 mphTop speed of Japan's bullet train
1,000thPele's goal, scored in Brazil
Apollo 11 came back with about 47 pounds of rock and dust, roughly the weight of a large dog. Laboratories are still testing pieces of it.
Life back then

Television was the thing everyone did at the same time. Three networks filled the evening, and after midnight the picture faded to a test pattern until morning. Colour sets were spreading, but most families watched the Moon landing in black and white. In November a new children's show called Sesame Street arrived on public stations and taught letters with puppets. Nothing was recorded at home, so a missed episode was just gone.
The year in 8 events
- ๐คJan 30 The Beatles play a short set on a London rooftop. It is their last public performance.
- ๐ซMar 2 Concorde takes off on its first test flight in Toulouse, France.
- ๐๏ธMar 17 Golda Meir becomes prime minister of Israel, the first woman to lead the country.
- ๐Jul 20 Apollo 11 lands on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the surface while Michael Collins circles above.
- โ๏ธAug 14 British troops arrive on the streets of Northern Ireland after nights of rioting in Derry and Belfast.
- ๐ธAug 15 The Woodstock festival opens on a dairy farm in upstate New York.
- ๐ฉSep 1 Young officers led by Muammar Gaddafi seize power in Libya while the king is abroad.
- ๐Oct 29 A team at UCLA in Los Angeles sends the first message over the ARPANET, the network that grew into the internet.