Author Archives: dcaligari

July 29, 1965 – The Beatles movie Help! premiered in London on this date. One of this movie’s original taglines was, “Please do not reveal the beginning of this movie to your friends (they’d never believe it, anyway)”. This is a spoof of the tagline from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which implored its audience, “Please doContinue reading “Help! premiered”

I’m not going to lie to you – I don’t believe you can just whip up a lasagna together in a day. It’s going to take you a day or two just to collect all of the ingredients. Why not have a nice family dinner this coming weekend by planning on making a nice trayContinue reading “Today is Lasagna Day.”

July 29, 1982 –Professional wrestler Jerry Lawler slapped actor Andy Kaufman in the face on the program Late Night with David Letterman, a staged event that prompted a several month ‘war’ between the two of them. It remains among the greatest Letterman moments of all time. The video went viral long before the Internet gaveContinue reading “Even Professional Wrestling interviews are faked”

July 28, 1973 –Bill Graham produced the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen Rock Festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway, that featured the Allman Brothers, the Band, and the Grateful Dead. The concert drew some 650,000 people, the single largest paying crowd in concert history. And so it goes

Today is Milk Chocolate Day. American eat on average 12 lbs of chocolate per year; The Swiss on the other hand eat a little more than 26 lbs a year (that works out to about 450 bars of chocolate.) If you don’t keep this increase in choco-gorging, the terrorist have won. (Psst, I’ve mentioned thisContinue reading “It melts in both your mouth and hands”

July 28, 1932 –(More things your teacher never told you …)Federal troops under the order of President Hoover forcibly dispersed the “Bonus Army” of (17,000 World War I veterans) who had gathered in Washington, D.C. on June 17th to demand money they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945. The troops under the command of GeneralContinue reading “Bonus Army violently dispersed”

July 28, 1957 –After being rejected from appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show due to his outrageous performance style, Jerry Lee Lewis (nicknamed The Killer) made his TV debut on The Steve Allen Show on this date. On the show, he showcased some of the moves he was known for – slamming on the keys,Continue reading “Jerry Lee Lewis first TV appearance”

July 27, 1953 –The armistice that ended the Korean War was signed on this date. It was a war that began in June 1950 when North Korea invaded the south. Almost 35,000 Americans were killed in the conflict, more than 5,000 captured or went missing. A corporal in the 1st Marine Division named Anthony EbronContinue reading “The Korean War ends (sort of)”

July 27, 1984 –Warner Bros. gift to an unsuspecting world, Purple Rain, starring Prince, premiered on this date. A few days before the premiere, Prince had a nightmare that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert despised the film, with Ebert ripping the film apart. He said, “I dreamed those two guys on the TV were reviewingContinue reading “Purple Rain premiered”

July 27, 1940 –Bugs Bunny made his debut in a cartoon called A Wild Hare, on this day. Warner Brothers’ writers and animators set out to make a rabbit who would be the epitome of cool. They modeled bugs on Groucho Marx with a carrot instead of a cigar. Mel Blanc gave him a BrooklynContinue reading “The first Bugs Bunny Cartoon”