1971, Science and Technology: First 8-inch Floppy Disk by IBM

In 1967, IBM began developing a drive that led to the creation of the world’s first floppy disk (diskette) and disk drive. It was commercially introduced in 1971 in an 8-inch (20 cm) read-only format. The inspiration came from the flexible magnetic disk used by Telefunken in its "Plattendiktiergerät Traveller" from 1959.

Left to right: 8-inch, 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disk

A diskette is divided into tracks (radially) and sectors (angularly), whereas the Telefunken disk featured gramophone-like grooves. The first read-write floppy disk drive was the Memorex 650, introduced in 1972. Various storage capacities were available in the early years due to a lack of standardisation, a situation that persisted until the later years of the third generation (3.5-inch) floppy disks.

Telefunken "Plattendiktiergerät Traveller" 1959

Telefunken "Plattendiktiergerät Traveller" disc 1959

Properties of he IBM standard format

• disk diameter 20 cm (8-inch).
• SD (single density) with 250 kbit/s data rate or / DD (double density) with 500 kbit/s data rate
• 360 rpm (revolutions per minute)
• 26 sectors/track; 73 data tracks, 1 index track, 2 spare tracks, 1 reserved track
• 128 bytes/sector
• total disk capacity 3203128 bits (242944 bytes of data with this format)

Left to right: 8-inch, 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disk drives

Trivia

• In late 1976, the 5.25-inch floppy disk and disk drive were introduced to the market by Shugart Associates.
• The first 3.5-inch diskette was introduced by Sony in 1981.

1970, Film: Le Mur de l'Atlantique

The French-Italian war comedy "Le Mur de l'Atlantique" premiered on 14 October 1970. It was directed and written by Marcel Camus, with dialogue by Marcel Jullian. The screenplay is based on the memoirs of Colonel Rémy, a well-known French Resistance fighter and secret agent in occupied France during the Second World War. The music was composed by Claude Bolling.

The leading roles were played by Bourvil as Léon Duchemin, Peter McEnery as Jeff, Jean Poiret as Armand, Sophie Desmarets as Maria Duchemin, Reinhardt Kolldehoff as Lt. Heinrich Jakobus Steinbichler, also known as Totor, and Sara Franchetti as Juliette Duchemin.

"Le Mur de l'Atlantique" poster

Synopsis
Early 1944. Léon Duchemin (Bourvil) is a respectable restaurant owner who runs a small establishment in a Normandy village together with his sister Maria (Sophie Desmarets). Among his customers are members of the German occupying forces, French resistance fighters, and black marketeers. His peaceful life is disrupted at the studio of the painter Charlus (Yvon Lec), whom he had asked to repaint the restaurant's façade. While visiting the studio, Léon is mistaken by the Germans for the painter, as he happens to be holding samples and rolls of material. They take him to their local headquarters, where he is ordered to carry out renovation work. By accident, a top-secret document ends up hidden among Léon’s sample rolls. Meanwhile, Jeff (Peter McEnery), a British Royal Air Force pilot who has been shot down, crashes through the roof of Léon’s house. He is hidden and cared for by Léon’s daughter, Juliette (Sara Franchetti)…

Bourvil as Léon Duchemin

Bourvil as Léon Duchemin and Reinhardt Kolldehoff as Lt. Heinrich Jakobus Steinbichler

Sophie Desmarets as Maria Duchemin and Bourvil as Léon Duchemin

Main cast

• Bourvil as Léon Duchemin
• Peter McEnery as Jeff
• Sophie Desmarets as Maria Duchemin
• Jean Poiret as Armand
• Reinhardt Kolldehoff as Lt. Heinrich Jakobus Steinbichler aka Totor
• Sara Franchetti as Juliette Duchemin
• Pino Caruso as Lt. Friedrich
• Terry-Thomas as Comm. Perry
• Jean-Pierre Zola as Colonel Muller
• Georges Staquet as Hippolyte
• Jacques Préboist as Ernest
• Johannes Eppler as Erwin Rommel
• Annabel Leventon as Sybil
• Jackie Sardou as Angèle Charlus
• William Mervyn as Jeff's Father
• Jess Hahn as British Colonel
• Patrick Préjean as British Officer
• Michel Robin as The Shoemaker
• Jacques Balutin as Gendarme

Sara Franchetti as Juliette Duchemin and Peter McEnery as Jeff

Peter McEnery as Jeff and Jean Poiret as Armand

Terry-Thomas as Comm. Perry

Trivia

• It was Bourvil's final film; he passed away at the age of 53, three weeks before its release on 23 September 1970.
• The film was the second most popular in France in 1970, after "Le Gendarme en balade", starring Louis de Funès and Michel Galabru.
• Johannes Eppler, who played Field Marshal Rommel, had actually served under the real Erwin Rommel as his aide-de-camp during the Second World War.

Trailer

1969, Car Spotting: Heuvel, Oosterhout, Netherlands

Left to right

First row
Volkswagen 1500/1600 Variant (Type 3).

Second row
Renault 8.

Third row, bottom to top
Fiat 1300, Citroën Ami 6, Auto Union 1000, Citroën ID/DS Safari, Volkswagen Transporter T1 (Type 2), Opel Kapitän A / Admiral A / Diplomat A, Austin / Morris Mini, Ford Transit MkI, Simca 1000.

Fourth row, bottom to top
Ford Taunus Transit, Volkswagen 1200/1300 (Type 1, Beetle), Vauxhall Viva HB, Volkswagen 1600  Sedan, Simca 1000, Volkswagen 1300 (Type 1, Beetle), Opel Kadett A, Opel Rekord C Coupé or Opel Commodore A Coupé, Citroën 2CV Fourgonnette.

Fifth row, bottom to top
BMW 1500/1600/1800 (New Class Sedan), Austin / Morris Mini, Simca 1100, Volkswagen 1200/1300 (Type 1, Beetle), Volvo 144, Volkswagen 1200/1300 (Type 1, Beetle), Ford Taunus 12M (P4).

Sixth row, bottom to top
Renault Frégate, unidentified three-wheeler truck, DAF Military Truck.

1968, Music: Belgian Single Charts 04/05/1968

N° 20
Jess & James With The J. J. Band – Something For Nothing

- Country: Belgium
- Music/Lyrics: Pierre Tubbs
- Highest Position: N° 16
- Weeks in the charts: 2
- Video clip

N° 19
Arthur Conley – Funky Street

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: Arthur Conley, Earl Simms
- Highest Position: N° 15
- Weeks in the charts: 5
- Video clip

N° 18
The Four Tops – If I Were A Carpenter

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland
- Highest Position: N° 12
- Weeks in the charts: 8
- Video clip

N° 17
The Box Tops – Cry Like A Baby

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: Dan Penn, Linden Oldham
- Highest Position: N° 4
- Weeks in the charts: 9
- Video clip

N° 16
Petula Clark – Kiss Me Goodbye

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: Les Reed, Barry Mason
- Highest Position: N° 2
- Weeks in the charts: 11
- Video clip

N° 15
Egbert Douwe – Kom uit de bedstee mijn liefste

 - Country: Netherlands
- Music/Lyrics: Peter Koelewijn, Eric Anderson
- Highest Position: N° 7
- Weeks in the charts: 8
- Video clip

N° 14
Georgette Plana – Riquita

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: Ferdinand Louis Benech, Ernest Dumont
- Highest Position: N° 11
- Weeks in the charts: 10
- Video clip

N° 13
The Monkees – Valleri

 - Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart
- Highest Position: N° 11
- Weeks in the charts: 4
- Video clip

N° 12
Engelbert Humperdinck – A Man Without Love

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: Roberto Livraghi, Daniele Pace, Barry Mason, Mario Panzeri
- Highest Position: N° 1
- Weeks in the charts: 21
- Video clip

N° 11
Otis Redding – (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: Steve Cropper, Otis Redding
- Highest Position: N° 11
- Weeks in the charts: 8
- Video clip

N° 10
Ronny Temmer – 100.000 rozen

 - Country: Belgium
- Music/Lyrics: Mie Rakel, Al Van Dam
- Highest Position: N° 10
- Weeks in the charts: 1
- Video clip

N° 9
The Equals – I Get So Excited

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: Eddy Grant, Dervin Gordon
- Highest Position: N° 9
- Weeks in the charts: 6
- Video clip

N° 8
1910 Fruitgum Co. – Simon Says

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: Elliot Chiprut
- Highest Position: N° 6
- Weeks in the charts: 10
- Video clip

N° 7
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu

 - Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley
- Highest Position: N° 6
- Weeks in the charts: 9
- Video clip

N° 6
Johan Stollz – Concerto voor Natasha

- Country: Belgium
- Music/Lyrics: Will Ferdy, Joannes Stolle, Henk André
- Highest Position: N° 6
- Weeks in the charts: 10
- Video clip

N° 5
The Beatles – Lady Madonna

 - Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
- Highest Position: N° 3
- Weeks in the charts: 10
- Video clip

N° 4
Marc Dex – Niet huilen mama

- Country: Belgium
- Music/Lyrics: Yan Nick, Bobbejaan Schoepen, Karel Van Herck
- Highest Position: N° 3
- Weeks in the charts: 13
- Video clip

N° 3
Esther & Abi Ofarim – Cinderella Rockefella

- Country: Israël
- Music/Lyrics: Mason Williams, Nancy Ames
- Highest Position: N° 2
- Weeks in the charts: 11
- Video clip

N° 2
Tom Jones – Delilah

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: Les Reed, Barry Mason
- Highest Position: N° 1
- Weeks in the charts: 16
- Video clip

N° 1
Cliff Richard – Congratulations

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
- Highest Position: N° 1
- Weeks in the charts: 14
- Video clip

1967, Belgian Comics: Kari Lente, Het Zwaard Van Goochem

In 1965, the ninth "Kari Lente lost het op" ("Kari Spring Will Solve It") album, "Het Zwaard van Goochem" ("The Sword of Goochem"), was published by NV Standaard Boekhandel. The story first appeared in the Belgian newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen in 1966. The "Kari Lente" series, originally titled "Kari Lente lost het op", was created by Bob Mau (1926–2006) in 1962.

Kari Lente, Het Zwaard Van Goochem, Cover

"Het Zwaard van Goochem"
- brown/blue
- never published in English
- story and drawings by Bob Mau

Bikkel and Kari Lente

Sus Pens ans Bikkel

Titus and Bikkel

Main Characters
The main character of the comic is the journalist Kari Lente (Kari Spring), accompanied by her loyal little cat Titus and fellow journalist Bikkel. Other characters in this album include Sus Pens, Amelia, Archie, Koeman, Sheikh Balamoer of Boekweit, Ib’n Koeskoes, and Rachmed.

Sus Pens, Kari Lente, Archie, Amelia and Bikkel

Sheikh Balamoer of Boekweit and Rachmed

Synopsis
Sus Pens locates a lost brooch using his pendulum and is spotted by a servant of Sheikh Balamoer of Boekweit. The Sheikh, who can no longer remember where he left the Sword of Goochem after a blow to the head, asks Sus Pens, Kari, and Bikkel to help recover the sword using the pendulum...

Koeman and Sheikh Balamoer of Boekweit

Rachmed and Ib’n Koeskoes

Cars

• Simca Vedette (Second generation)
• Simca 1000
• Fiat 600 (pre 1958)

Simca Vedette (Second generation)

Simca 1000

Fiat 600 (pre 1958)

References

• Rachmed Ben Bond 007 is a reference to James Bond 007
• Reference to Lot’s wife from the biblical story. When Sodom was destroyed, Lot, his wife, and their children were given the chance to escape. The condition was: leave the evil behind, go, and do not look back. Lot’s wife ignored this warning and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Reference to James Bond 007

Reference to Lot’s wife

1966, Film and Television Awards: Étoiles de cristal (France)

Grand prix (Best French Film)
'La guerre est finie' (Alain Resnais)

'La guerre est finie' poster

Meilleur acteur (Best Actor)
Yves Montand as Diego Mora in 'La guerre est finie'

Yves Montand as Diego Mora in 'La guerre est finie'

Meilleure actrice (Best Actress)
Brigitte Bardot as Marie Fitzgerald O'Malley (Maria II) in 'Viva Maria!'

Brigitte Bardot as Marie Fitzgerald O'Malley (Maria II) in 'Viva Maria!'

Prix international (Best Foreign Film)
'Lásky jedné plavovlásky' (Miloš Forman)

'Lásky jedné plavovlásky' poster

Meilleur acteur étranger (Best Foreign Actor)
Oskar Werner as Dr. Schumann in 'Ship of Fools'

Oskar Werner as Dr. Schumann in 'Ship of Fools'

Meilleure actrice étrangère (Best Foreign Actress)
Vivien Leigh as Mary Treadwell in 'Ship of Fools'

Vivien Leigh as Mary Treadwell in 'Ship of Fools'