1976 was a year in which the future seemed to arrive slightly ahead of schedule. Concorde began carrying paying passengers at twice the speed of sound, Apple Computer was founded in a California garage, and NASA’s Viking 1 became the first US spacecraft to land successfully on Mars — although Martian tourism remained disappointingly underdeveloped. America celebrated its bicentennial, while the Montreal Olympics produced one of sport’s great moments when 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics history. Britain, meanwhile, sweltered through one of its hottest and driest summers on record, leading to hosepipe bans, emergency water measures, and the appointment of an actual Minister for Drought — shortly before, with impeccable comic timing, the rain returned.

Politically, Harold Wilson unexpectedly resigned as British prime minister and was replaced by James Callaghan, while Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford to become US president. Culturally, things were getting louder, stranger, and considerably less polite: the Sex Pistols released “Anarchy in the U.K.,” punk began elbowing its way into the mainstream, and Rocky arrived in cinemas to prove that running up some steps could be genuinely inspirational. The Muppet Show also made its television debut, while ABBA were busy conquering the charts with “Dancing Queen.” So, in summary: supersonic travel, Mars landings, punk rock, perfect 10s, a spectacular heatwave, Kermit the Frog and most importantly the arrival of Emma Finnigan— 1976 was not short of incident.