Author Archives: dcaligari

July 19, 1941 –MGM released the Hanna/ Barbera cartoon, The Midnight Snack, starring Tom and Jerry, on this date. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera originally had the cat named Jasper and the mouse was Jinx, in 1940’s Puss Gets the Boot cartoon. This is the first cartoon with their names, Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse.

July 19, 1960 –The initial pilot for what would become The Dick Van Dyke Show, Head of the Family, premiered on this date. Carl Reiner has said that he let this pilot sit for about a year after it didn’t sell, and then he showed it to Sheldon Leonard who told him he liked itContinue reading “Head of the Family premiered”

July 18, 1936 –The first Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rolled out of General Body Company’s factory in Chicago (when Carl Mayer approached his uncle Oscar with the idea of driving a giant hot dog through Chicago streets.) on this date. The Wienermobile started as a smallish 13-foot affair (Carl Mayer drove around with his head stickingContinue reading “Oscar Mayer Wienermobile”

July 18, 1980 –Billy Joel held the top position of both the US albums and singles charts, on this date. His album Glass Houses contained his first and biggest No.1 hit, It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me. In this song, Billy Joel was making a comment on musical styles and trends. At the endContinue reading “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me goes to the top of the charts”

July 18, 1947 – British seized the Exodus 1947 ship of Jewish immigrants to Palestine on this date. The British Royal Navy intercepted the ship President Warfield, which had been renamed Exodus by its passengers, forcing the 4,000 Jewish would-be immigrants aboard back to Displaced Person camps in Germany. Britain was still the ruling powerContinue reading “The Exodus incident”

July 18, 1992 –A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web, on this date. Les Horribles Cernettes, or The Horrible CERN Girls, was an all-female parody-pop group, self-labelled as “the one and only high energy rock band”, formed by CERN (European Organization forContinue reading “The first photo posted on the web”

July 18, 2008 –Warner Bros. released the Christopher Nolan superhero film The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Heath Ledger, in US theaters, on this date. While filming a chase scene on Lake Street, the Chicago Police Department received several calls from concerned citizens stating that the police were involved in a vehicleContinue reading “The Dark Knight premiered”

July 18, 1986 –A Minnesota local news crew, KARE 11’s chopper pilot Max Messmer and photographer Tom Empey, captured unbelievable footage of a tornado moving through the Twin Cities area, on this date. The video, which was shown live during the 5 p.m. news, (which was the first time a tornado was broadcast live inContinue reading “Tornado on live TV”

July 17, 1955 –That place is my baby, and I would prostitute myself for it. – Walt Disney Disneyland, the happiest place in the world, opens in Anaheim, California on this date. Things didn’t go so well on that first day. A 15 day heat wave raised temperatures up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, dueContinue reading “Disneyland opens”

July 17, 1975 –Launched two days previously, Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 successfully docked and crew member of the two shuttles shook hands in space on this date. It was the first orbital docking of spacecraft of two different nations