APRIL 15, 1972

Full News Archive

• Headline: Delay in Antitrust Suits Against TV Networks. Impact: The delay in the antitrust suits created a legal bottleneck that allowed TV networks to thrive for a year and a half, leading to the creation of reality TV—because nothing says 'sophisticated entertainment' like people arguing over who can make the best sandwich.. Fact: Fun fact: Kleindienst is a name that sounds like a German pastry. Maybe if he had baked, he wouldn’t have needed to worry about lawsuits..
• Headline: Food Additives and Mice Health Concerns. Impact: The findings about BHA and BHT led to a global health scare that ultimately caused humans to question everything they eat. This existential dread spawned a billion-dollar organic food industry, where kale became the de facto currency.. Fact: In a twist of fate, mice are now the leading experts in food safety, far surpassing human scientists who are still debating whether gluten is the real enemy..
• Headline: BALANCHINE WORK DANCED AT CENTER. Impact: Balanchine’s work inspired a whole generation of dancers who felt that ballet was not just an art form but a way to express their existential crises and questionable life choices through pirouettes.. Fact: Did you know that Balanchine had a penchant for naming his ballets after things he found in his fridge? Just kidding, but wouldn't that be a fun twist?.
• Headline: Industrial Output Showed A Strong Gain for March. Impact: The strong gain in industrial output led to a false sense of economic security, which eventually culminated in the Great Recession where people began hoarding beanie babies instead of savings.. Fact: Economists often say that what goes up must come down. Clearly, they never tried to ride a roller coaster while holding a piñata..
• Headline: THE 1972 CAMPAIGN. Impact: Wallace's attacks on his opponents fueled a firestorm of political debates, leading to a genre of political commentary that remains a staple of late-night television today. Thanks, Wallace, for giving comedians job security!. Fact: Humphrey and Muskie might have been shaking in their boots, but little did they know, history would remember them as footnotes in the saga of political mischief..
• Headline: Man on Earth. Impact: Rabinowitch’s article prompted environmental movements worldwide; ironically, it also led to the creation of chemical insecticides that were marketed as 'eco-friendly'—because who doesn’t love a little greenwashing?. Fact: Funny enough, the phrase 'toxic relationship' now has more literal meanings than just dating advice..
• Headline: THE 1972 CAMPAIGN. Impact: The reversal of ffrench-Beytagh's conviction set a precedent for legal reform in South Africa, albeit with the unintended outcome of inspiring a plethora of courtroom dramas that made 'Law & Order' a staple in global TV culture.. Fact: Did you know that the only thing more complicated than South African legal codes are the plot twists in TV courtroom dramas? Who even writes this stuff?.
• Headline: Dean in South Africa Is Cleared On Appeal in Subversion Case.