1964 History, Trivia and Fun Facts

• Politics: The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits a poll tax for voting.
• The Top Song was I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles
• The Big Movies included Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady and Goldfinger
• Price of 1 pound Bananas in 1964: 15 cents
  Dumont Color TV: $499.00
• The World Population was ~ 3,270,000,000
• The US Army used AQM-34 Ryan Firebees in Vietnam. They are the earliest drones.
• Robert Moog invented the electronic sythesizer in 1964.
• Jean Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964 but declined it, saying "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution".
• And... Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots were introduced. Their names are Red Rocker and Blue Bomber.

The Sherman Brothers claimed to have made up the word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" for the 1964 film Mary Poppins, yet the writers of a 1949 song called "Supercalafajaistickespeealadojus" unsuccessfully sued Disney. Disney's lawyers argued both were "nonsense words".

The first person to register for the first comics con, held in New York in 1964, was George R.R. Martin.

Swedish journalist exhibited paintings done by a chimpanzee under the name Pierre Brassau. The journalist was testing whether critics could tell the difference between true avant-garde modern artwork and a chimp's work. They could not, and in fact, praised the works.

Before the Star Trek's Vulcan nerve pinch, Ian Chesterton's character from a 1964 Doctor Who episode gripped an Aztec warrior between the shoulder and neck rendering him unconscious.

The modern version of the Hippocratic Oath was written in 1964 by a man named Louis Lasagna.

William Fullingim's marriage to Nancy Watson lasted for almost 85 years. They got married in 1879 (when William was 24 and Nancy was 18) and remained married until Nancy's death at age 103 in 1964. William died the next year at age 110.

Robert Moog develops his first electronic music synthesizer. RCA created the first music sythesizer in 1953.

Stephen Spielberg directed his first feature film, Firelight (1964), which was released at his local cinema. It was shot on a budget of $500, and took $501 at the box office, giving the film an official profit of $1

The Ford Mustang was introduced. Teacher Gail Wise was the first ever purchaser of a Mustang, paying $3419.

Japan's Hiroshima Peace Flame has been burned continuously since it was lit in 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.

After Bob Dylan offered The Beatles marijuana when he first met them in 1964 he was shocked to find out they weren't regular smokers. Dylan had misheard the lyric 'I can't hide' from I Want To Hold Your Hand as 'I get high'.

The very first use of audio feedback on a commercial pop record is the intro of the song I Feel Fine by The Beatles

Februay 9 - The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.

The Beatles' three-month stay atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 was ended by jazz legend Louis Armstrong with Hello Dolly!

The reason you find so many 1964 nickels is that people thought that was the last year they contained silver so people hoarded them. The mints struck more coins to make up for the shortage. In reality, they were just made of nickel.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was supported by 80% of the Republican (with 61% Democrat) House members, and 82% of the Republican (with 62% Democrat) Senate members.

During their first American tour, The Beatles refused to play their scheduled concert in Jacksonville until the audience was desegregated.

For the 1964 World's Fair in New York, Wisconsin created a 34,951lbs cheddar cheese from the milk of 16,000 cows.

The Sharpie marker was introduced. The extra fine point came out in 1979 and the ultra fine point was released in 1989.

The BASIC (Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) computer language was created.

Jazz artist Dizzy Gillespie ran for president, promising to rename the White House "the Blues House" and appoint Ray Charles librarian of Congress, Miles Davis head of the CIA, and Malcolm X attorney general.

George R. R. Martin reputedly purchased the first ticket to attend the first Comic Con, held in New York in 1964.

Sitcom Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. was set in a marine base 1964 through 1969. The word 'Vietnam' was never once mentioned in it's 5 year run.

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', cowritten by Phil Spector, was first performed by the Righteous Brothers. The song has received more airplay on radio and television than any other song in the past century.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special in history. Santa never went back to the Island of Misfit Toys as he had promised and many children wrote in and complained, so a new credits sequence in 1965 showed Santa returning to the island, which was the sequence that has been used ever since.
What was wrong with Rudolph's Dolly for Sue?

The US Congress named bourbon whiskey as the official National Booze.

The Beatles released seven platinum records - in 1964 alone. Introducing... The Beatles, Meet the Beatles!, The Beatles' Second Album, A Hard Day's Night, Something New, Beatles for Sale, and Beatles '65 each sold over one million copies.

Easy Bake Oven, G.I. Joe, Rat Fink Collectible Hot Rod Figures, Password Game , Mighty Tonka Dump Truck (made popular due to the elephant stepping on it during a commercial), PLASTIC Mr. Potato Head, Wham-O Professional Frisbees, Monster Magnet, Rube Goldberg's Animated Hobby Kit, Hand's Down (with Slam-O-Matic)

Fashion designers Andre Courreges and Mary Quant introduced the miniskirt, scandalizing conservatives and signaling the rapidily changing mores of the decade.

David Bowie's first TV appearance was in 1964 at the age of 17, but was not for his music; he was interviewed on the BBC's Tonight Show as the founder of 'The Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men'.

Creepy Magazine (1964-1983)