Fun Facts about 1979

In celebration of the fortieth anniversary of For Better or For Worse, we thought we would take a look at what life was like at the time Lynn produced her original comic strips.

1979 was a year on the cusp of change. Lynn had already completed several collections of her comic panels centered around marriage and parenthood, and Universal Press Syndicate was about to launch For Better or For Worse on Sept. 9.

Here is a quick look at what 1979 looked like!

Marriage & Families:

A typical 70s family.

Average Age: 24 (men) 22 (women)

Divorce Rate: 7.02 divorces for every 1000 marriages

Average Family Size in Canada: 2.78 people

Life Expectancy in Canada: 78.59 years (women) , 71.32 years (men)

Jobs:

Minimum wage in Canada: $2.90/hour
The Average Household Income: $53,589
The Average Individual Income: $22,986

1970

1970s-style dollar bill.

Popular careers: Traditional jobs like construction for men and office work for women were still common, but tech careers were relatively new, with businesses slowly making the move to computer technology.

Cars:

Average Cost for a Car: $5,920
Most Popular Car: Oldsmobile Cutlass

The beloved Cutlass Supreme in classic 70s brown.

Songs & TV:

5 Most Popular Songs

The roommates from Three’s Company

  1. My Sharona – The Knack
  2. Bad Girls – Donna Summer
  3. Le Freak – Chic
  4. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy – Rod Stewart
  5. Reunited – Peaches and Herb

5 Most Popular TV Shows

  1. 60 Minutes
  2. Three’s Company
  3. That’s Incredible!
  4. Alice
  5. M*A*S*H

Names:

5 Most Popular Names for a Boy

  1. Michael
  2. Christopher
  3. Jason
  4. David
  5. James

Most Popular Names for a Girl

  1. Jennifer
  2. Melissa
  3. Amanda
  4. Jessica
  5. Amy

Fads:

Popular fads of the 1970s included

  1. Disco music and Dancing
  2. Streaking
  3. Video games (Pong, then Atari Home system)
  4. C.B. Radio
  5. Pet Rocks
  6. Bell bottom pants and butterfly collar shirts
  7. Mood rings
  8. Jogging
  9. Macramé
  10. Shag carpeting

World Events:

10 Events that that happened in 1979…

  1. UN declares 1979 to be the International Year of the Child
  2. Voyager 1 sends back pictures of Jupiter’s rings
  3. Oil reaches a record high of $24/barrel
  4. Margaret Thatcher elected Prime minister of UK on May 3
  5. Board game Trivial Pursuit is launched
  6. Sahara desert has 30 minutes of snow
  7. Montreal Canadiens winners of Stanley Cup over NY Rangers
  8. The first functional space shuttle, Columbia, is prepared for its first mission at Kennedy Space Center in Florida
  9. Joe Clark is voted in as the 16th Prime Minister of Canada
  10. For Better or For Worse debuts!