July 29, 1972

A Big Mac cost $0.60 that summer of 1972, and the Dow Jones sat at 1,020 — while the Senate was voting 49 to 47 to adopt a proposal for ending the war in Vietnam, signaling that public and political pressure to withdraw from Southeast Asia was reaching a critical threshold. On movie screens across the country, "The Godfather" was pulling in record crowds and cementing itself as the dominant film of the year, while Bill Withers held the top spot on the radio with "Lean On Me," a song built around themes of community and mutual support that resonated widely. That same summer, the United States sent its athletes to the Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, where they returned with 33 gold, 31 silver, and 30 bronze medals, a total of 94, making it one of the most decorated American Olympic performances of the era.