The Year 1968 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1968. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, the cost of living, sports facts, retail prices, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. In 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas) was the president of the United States, and Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minnesota) was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.4%, and the nation’s inflation rate was 4.19%.
3. The median household income in the U.S. was $7,743, and the average number of hours in a workweek was 40.8 to 42.
4. The average new home cost $26,600, and a new house in the U.S. had an average floor area of 1,665 square feet.
5. Central air conditioning was found in about 45% of American homes.
6. In 1968, a gallon of milk cost $1.07, eggs were 53 cents a dozen, and Jell-O cost seven cents a package. Maxwell House coffee was 69 cents for a one-pound can, three ears of fresh corn cost 29 cents, and six lemons were 25 cents.
7. Surf laundry detergent cost 64 cents for a 50-ounce box, and Dove dishwashing soap was 57 cents for a 22-ounce bottle.
8. Bactine antiseptic spray cost $1.49 for a 4.5-ounce container, and Prell shampoo was 99 cents for an 11-ounce bottle.
9. A 30” gas range cost $129.88.
10. A boy’s sports coat cost $19.95 to $24.95.
11. A first-class stamp cost six cents.
12. A Hotpoint washing machine cost $159.00, and a Hotpoint refrigerator (11.6 cubic feet) was $199.95.
13. A men’s golf jacket cost $4.88 to $8.95.
14. A two-gallon watering can was $1.66.
15. A women’s knit dress was $17.99 to $23.00.
16. Movie tickets were $1.50 apiece.
17. The annual tuition at Harvard University was $2,000.
18. The average price of house paint was $4.69 to $5.99 a gallon.
19. Women's Naturalizer shoes were $11.00 to $19.00 a pair.
20. American companies and brands established in 1968 included Calvin Klein, Casey’s, Countrywide Financial, Crabtree & Evelyn, Entercom, Intel, The North Face, Red Lobster, Rent-A-Wreck, and TransUnion.
21. Consumer products launched during the year included bean bag chairs, Hunt’s Snack Pack, Pringles, Steak-umms (thinly sliced steaks), Tic Tacs, and Ziploc bags.
22. On January 1, ABC Radio split its network operations into four demographic networks—American Contemporary Radio, American Entertainment Radio, American Information Radio, and ABC FM Radio. The four new networks started with about 600 affiliated stations across the U.S.
23. On January 7, the American Surveyor program launched Surveyor 7—the final "lunar lander"—from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Over 45 days, an estimated 21,091 pictures of the Moon’s surface were transmitted from Surveyor 7 back to Earth. (Just so you know, the American Surveyor Program was a NASA program established in May 1966 to explore the surface of the Moon.)
24. On January 31, an estimated 85,000 North Vietnamese troops launched the Tet Offensive—a coordinated series of attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. While the Tet Offensive was an ultimate victory for the United States and South Vietnam, it turned “American public opinion against the war by revealing the conflict was far from over.”
25. On February 1, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged. Oreilly.com explains that “This was the largest merger to date: it created America's sixth-largest corporation and the nation's largest transportation company. A merger of such size and consequence was without precedent.”
26. On February 11, New York City’s Madison Square Garden closed. Built in 1925, MSG III “was the home of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association and also hosted numerous boxing matches, the annual Millrose Games, concerts, and other events.”
27. On February 16, the first 911 call in the U.S. was made in Haleyville, Alabama. It was a friendly greeting exchange between Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite and Tom Bevill, a U.S. congressman representing Alabama's 4th congressional district. Sarpy.gov points out that 911 technology has changed, but the initial call “proved the 911 concept worked.”
28. On February 19, the acclaimed children’s show, Mister Rogers, debuted on NET (now PBS). Fred Rogers created and hosted 895 episodes of the program until 2001.
29. On March 12, public opinion polls revealed that after the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, President Johnson's overall approval rating had slipped to 36%, while approval of his Vietnam War policy had fallen to 26%.
30. On March 16, General Motors manufactured its 100 millionth automobile, an Oldsmobile Toronado.
31. On April 4, civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, by James Earl Ray, a convicted felon whose criminal history spanned nearly 20 years. Following King’s assassination, riots broke out in over 100 U.S. cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC.
32. On April 10, the 40th Academy Awards honored the best films of 1967. Here were some of the winners: In the Heat of the Night won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Mike Nichols (The Graduate) won an Oscar for Best Director. Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) won an Oscar for Best Actress. Finally, George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke) won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde) won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
33. On April 11, President Johnson signed the 1968 Civil Rights Act into law.
34. On May 10, “peace talks began in Paris between the U.S. and North Vietnam but soon were stalled as the U.S. insisted that North Vietnamese troops withdraw from the South, while the North Vietnamese insisted on Viet Cong participation in a coalition government in South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of five years of on-again, off-again official talks between the U.S. and North Vietnam.”
35. On May 19, at the 20th Primetime Emmy Awards, Get Smart (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Mission: Impossible (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Don Adams (Get Smart) (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series, and Lucille Ball (The Lucy Show) (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series.
36. On May 25, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was dedicated.
37. On June 5, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles shortly after midnight PST. “Earlier that evening, the 42-year-old junior senator from New York was declared the winner in the South Dakota and California 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries.” Kennedy’s assassin was 24-year-old Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian Christian militant. In 1969, Sirhan was convicted of murdering Senator Kennedy and sentenced to death. In 1972, his sentence was lessened to life in prison.
38. On June 8, James Earl Ray, the alleged assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., was captured.
39. On July 9, 15.68" of rainfall fell in Columbus, Mississippi, setting a 24-hour state record.
40. On October 7, the Motion Picture Association of America adopted the current film-rating system. FilmRatings.com explains that “MPAA chairman Jack Valenti replaced the earlier moral censorship guidelines, known as the Hays Code, with a revolutionary new parent-focused rating system.”
41. On October 18, the Circus Circus Hotel opened in Las Vegas and was one of the first family-oriented casinos in the gambling capital of the world.
42. On November 5, Republican Richard M. Nixon defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey in the U.S. presidential election.
43. On November 27, President-elect Nixon asked Harvard professor Henry Kissinger to become his National Security Advisor. Kissinger accepted.
44. By year’s end, U.S. troop levels in Vietnam had reached 495,000. An estimated 30,000 Americans had died thus far in the war, and over a thousand soldiers perished every month during 1968.
45. In 1968, McDonald’s launched the legendary Big Mac.
46. The first Red Lobster restaurant opened in Lakeland, Florida.
47. Smucker’s introduced Goober—a combination of peanut butter and jelly in a single jar.
48. Funny Girl was the highest-grossing film, and Bonanza (NBC) was a top-rated TV show.
49. The ever-popular news magazine, 60 Minutes, debuted on CBS.
50. Country singer Glen Campbell released his 12th album—Wichita Lineman.
51. Actor and singer Richard Harris released the iconic song MacArthur Park.
52. Cars introduced in 1968 included the Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Charger III, Ford Corcel, Ford Falcon (XT), Ford Torino, Mercury Montego, Opel GT, Plymouth Road Runner, Triumph TR5, Triumph TR6, and the Volkswagen Type 4.
53. In 1968, famous birthdays included Barry Sanders, Celine Dion, Gary Coleman, Gillian Anderson, Kenny Chesney, Lisa Marie Presley, and Rachael Ray.
54. Here are some sports facts from 1968: The Boston Celtics were the NBA champs, the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup. In addition, Vince Lombardi stepped down as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
55. In 1968 as well, the words "bank machine," "bells and whistles," "car seat," "cash bar," "coronavirus," "PCP," "penny loafer," "sick day," "talk radio," "tough love," "wall system," "word processor,” “workfare,” and “yippie” all appeared in print for the first time.

References:

1. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1966.html
2. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/29/487821128/the-economy-and-politics-of-1968-now-playing-in-reruns#:~:text=In%201968%2C%20GDP%20growth%20was%20running%20at%204.9%20percent.&text=%22We%20are%20optimistic%20that%20overall,good%20ye
3. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1968.html
4. https://www.onthisday.com/deaths/date/1968
5. https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/101/2/396/155646?redirectedFrom=PDF&login=false
6. https://reason.com/2018/11/28/cars-houses-health-and-college/
7. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
8. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/g26899440/50s-60s-nostalgia-foods/
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_in_the_United_States
10. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1968
11. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1968

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor