Author Archives: dcaligari

August 12, 1981 –IBM introduced its Personal Computer (PC) also known as the IBM Model 5150 on this date. Developed in less than a year, using existing off-the-shelf components, it proved a runaway success in the small business market, and launched the era of the personal computer. IBM’s first PC ran with a 4.77 MHzContinue reading “The first PC went on sale”

August 12, 1939 – The Bugs Bunny everyone knows takes another step forward when Hare-um Scare-um debuted on this date. It was during production of this cartoon that Bugs Bunny’s name originated. Designer Charles Thorson redesigned the rabbit character and labeled the model sheet “Bug’s Bunny,” after co-director Ben Hardaway’s nickname, Bugs. It’s also theContinue reading “Hare-um Scare-um premiered”

Today is National Vinyl Day (and not Record Store Day which was April 22nd this year.) National Vinyl Record Day is celebrated every year on August 12 (commemorating the day Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877) to remember the culture, art, the very sound of the vinyl record. Don’t forget, whatever you do today,Continue reading “Fire, water, gravel and vinyl.”

August 12, 1939 –Considered one of the highlights of the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Wizard of Oz debuted on this date in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Judy Garland had to wear a painful corset-style device around her torso so that she would appear younger and flat-chested, as she was 16 years old at the time ofContinue reading “The Wizard of Oz premiered”

August 12, 1997 –MTV debuted the Fleetwood Mac reunion concert The Dance, on this date, marking the first time the five had been on stage together since 1982. This special MTV concert was recorded at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California on May 23, 1997 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their bestselling album Rumours.

August 11, 1942 –Actress Hedy Lamarr (that’s Hedy not Hedley) and composer George Antheil received a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that will later became the basis for the technology behind Wi-Fi and wireless telephones. In 1997, she and George Anthiel were honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award.Continue reading “The Hollywood Actress Who Helped Invent WiFi”

August 11, 1929 –Booze hound and notorious whore monger Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run at Cleveland’s League Park on this date, becoming the first baseball player to do so. He ended his career in 1935 with 714 career home runs – still the third best in Major League Baseball history.

August 11, 1995 –The Hollywood Picture film, Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, and Courtney B. Vance, debuted in US theaters on this date. The movie’s soundtrack tops the Billboard albums chart thanks to its lead single, Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise. Originally entitled My Posse Don’t Do Homework, the name of the book from which this trueContinue reading “Dangerous Minds premiered”

August 11, 1991 – The first regularly scheduled episode of The Ren and Stimpy Show aired on The Nickelodeon channel on this date. Originally, the microphone was planned to go into Stimpy’s mouth during the end of part one (Stimpy’s Big Day.) However, it seemed to remind Nickelodeon executives of a certain sexual act, soContinue reading “The Ren and Stimpy series premiered”

August 11, 1973 –A DJ named Kool Hercat (Clive Campbell) played at a back-to-school party for his sister, Cindy Campbell, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, and Hip Hop was born. Since then, hip-hop has evolved and it has exploded. The influence of artists such Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z among others,Continue reading “It was some party”