Author Archives: dcaligari

June 19, 1954 – … All the world loves a lover, but in this case, we’ll make an exception. The Tasmanian Devil, Taz, made his debut in the Looney Tunes cartoon, Devil May Hare, on this date.

European history would have been dramatically different if only for a higher fiber diet. One of the most decisive battles in the history of Europe was fought in Belgium on June 18, 1815, as a resurgent Napoleon Bonaparte launched his last military offensive against the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Marshal Blücher. Nearly 50,000Continue reading “Eat your vegetables kids”

June 18, 1966 –The Beach Boys release the single Wouldn’t It Be Nice (with God Only Knows on the flip side of the 45), on this date. Brian Wilson wrote the song with contributions from vocalist Mike Love and lyricist Tony Asher. Asher wrote all of the lyrics except for the “Good night, my baby,Continue reading “Wouldn’t It Be Nice was released”

June 18, 1948 –Goodbye to our old 78’s A CBS employee named Edward Wallerstein walked into a room at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York with Goddard Lieberson, the president of Columbia Records and publicly unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record, the 33 1/3, on this date. Unlike the standard 10-inch 78 rpm record, whichContinue reading “Things that draw you to vinyl – the expense and the inconvenience”

June 18, 1983 –Almost 20 years to the day after the USSR sent Valentina Tereshkova into orbit, the United States sent its first woman astronaut into space. Sally Ride, an astrophysicist from Stanford University, and four other colleagues lifted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger. During the six-day mission, Ride operated the robot’s arm, whichContinue reading “Sally Ride in space”

June 18, 1956 –The pilot episode for the quiz show To Tell the Truth premiered on CBS on this date. The series debuted on CBS on December 18, 1956. The series outlasted most of the others of the period, especially after the 1958 quiz-show scandal, partly because every contestant was supposed to be untrustworthy.

You have 24 more hours – The corner drug store has a full selection. Demand Euphoria!

June 17, 1972 –Perhaps the former President might be interested in the following – Five men broke into the Democratic Party National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington, DC on this date. They had hoped to bug the offices but were arrested before they could release any insects. President Richard Nixon would laterContinue reading “It was 50 years ago today”

June 17, 1928 –Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a transatlantic flight, when she took off from Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m on this date. Amelia Earhart was the passenger (and keeper of the flight log,) in a plane named Friendship with co-pilots Wilmer “Bill” Stultz and Louis “Slim” Gordon. TheContinue reading “There was not restroom on board, by the way”

The Statue of Liberty, France’s gift to the United States marking the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885 on board the French frigate Isere (only nine years after the gift was offered.) To prepare for transit, the Statue was reduced to 350 individual pieces andContinue reading “Don’t complain about your mail being late”