By the Numbers in 1978
World Population
—
UK Life Expectancy
57.0 years
US Life Expectancy
57.3 years
Gold Price (per oz)
$497.32
Dow Jones Index
939
US National Debt
—
Sovereign Nations
148
How Much Did Things Cost in 1978?
| Item | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | £15,594 | $55,700 |
| Average salary | £4,700 | $15,100 |
| Pint of milk | 12p | $0.45 |
| Loaf of bread | 25p | $0.35 |
| Dozen eggs | 46p | $0.82 |
| Pint of beer | 32p | $1.10 |
| Gallon of petrol/gas | 84p | $0.63 |
| Cinema ticket | 85p | $2.34 |
Technology and Inventions in 1978
The first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in Oldham, representing a breakthrough in reproductive medicine. The LaserDisc format launched, offering the first optical video playback for consumers. Texas Instruments introduced the Speak & Spell, pioneering synthesised speech. GPS satellite navigation began its development phase.
- ● Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, born on 25 July in Oldham
- ● LaserDisc format launches for home video
- ● Texas Instruments releases the Speak & Spell electronic toy
- ● The first spam email is sent on ARPANET
Shop 1978 memorabilia on eBay/Amazon