Time Capsule: Dec. 1, 1976

The Sex Pistols became household names 32 years ago when they appeared on ITV's Today Show and launched into a string of expletives.

The Pistols were taunted by Today Show host Bill Grundy, who dared them to say something ridiculous. The group had already accidentally said "fuck" and Johnny Rotten had uttered "shit," but after Grundy started hitting on Siouxise Sioux, who was in the audience, guitarist Steve Jones decided to take things up a notch. The exchange was as follows:

Steve Jones: You dirty sod. You dirty old man.
Bill Grundy: Well keep going chief, keep going. Go on. You've got another five seconds. Say something outrageous.
SJ: You dirty bastard.
BG: Go on, again.
SJ: You dirty fucker.
BG: What a clever boy.
SJ: What a fucking rotter!

Britain went mad. The headlines the next day screamed things like, "The Filth And The Fury" (which would later become the title of a Pistols documentary) and "Punk? Call It Filthy Lucre." Grundy was suspended from his job over the incident, which pretty much ended his career.

Here's the whole thing on video: