Welcome back to 1973, the year when everything felt possible, slightly chaotic, and totally groovy.
Picture it: KISS tearing up their first-ever concert in a tiny venue where the amps were loud, the makeup was fresh, and the crowd had no idea they were witnessing a monster being born. Meanwhile, somewhere on a New York sidewalk, the first cell-phone call crackled through the air, one giant “Can you hear me now?” before the phrase even existed. And floating above all of it was Dark Side of the Moon, soaring to Number One and gluing itself into the soundtrack of everyone’s soul.
But those are just the headliners. 1973 was stuffed with surprises, oddities, forgotten moments, and memories hiding under the fuzzy carpet. Click through and let’s jog that boomer brain; 20 things from a year that still hums like a vinyl needle hitting the perfect groove.
1
The U.S. opened the Alaska Pipeline for approval...
but major construction didn’t begin until 1974.
2
“Schoolhouse Rock!” debuted and taught kids through music
The educational animated series first aired in January 1973, using catchy songs to teach grammar, math, and civics.
3
The U.S. had nationwide speed limits varying by state
The universal 55 mph limit didn’t arrive until the 1974 energy crisis.
4
The very first KISS concert happened… in a school cafeteria
KISS played their debut show on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club (also known as the Coventry) in Queens and rehearsed in a school cafeteria.
5
“Westworld” became the first major film to use computer-generated images
Michael Crichton’s Westworld (1973) is often overshadowed by later CGI milestones, but it was the first feature film to use digital image processing, creating the pixelated android-vision shots.
6
The first issue of Ms. magazine with national distribution was published
Though many remember the magazine but forget the year it truly went mainstream.
7
The last regularly scheduled U.S. troop withdrawal from Vietnam happened in March...
months before the more famous events of 1975.
8
The ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) became its own bureau...
separate from the IRS, a bureaucratic shift most people never noticed.
9
The first handheld consumer calculators with memory functions hit the market
Costing the equivalent of several hundred dollars today.
10
“Dark Side of the Moon” debuted at #1 but didn’t stay there for long
Its record-breaking chart longevity mostly happened in later years.
11
The UPC bar code was invented in 1973...
but wouldn’t appear in stores until the next year.
12
The U.S. quietly ended the “Saturday mail delivery cancellation” debate
Which has resurfaced many times since.
13
The CB radio craze was just starting...
well before it became a full cultural phenomenon in the late ’70s.
14
8-track tapes were outselling cassettes...
even though cassettes would soon dominate.
15
The first modern “supergraphics” building designs appeared
With bold colors painted across architecture (very fashionable then, mostly forgotten now).
16
The Endangered Species Act passed the Senate unanimously
An almost unimaginable margin today.
17
Federal Express (FedEx) began operations with just 14 planes...
nearly going bankrupt in its first months.
18
Skylab’s micrometeoroid shield tore off during launch...
forcing an emergency repair mission that summer.
19
The very first cellphone call in history happened in 1973
Made by Motorola engineer Martin Cooper on a 2.5-lb device.
20
The Sears Tower was completed and became the tallest building in the world
A title many forget it held for decades.
