Author Archives: dcaligari

July 10, 1978 –World News Tonight with anchors Frank Reynolds, Peter Jennings and Max Robinson (the first black anchor on a network newscast in the US) premiered on ABC TV on this date. The program has been anchored at various times by a number of other presenters since its debut in 1948. It also hasContinue reading “World News Tonight premiered”

July 9, 1982 –Buena Vista Pictures releases the sci-fi film Tron, directed by Steven Lisberger and starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes, in the U.S. on this date. Many Disney animators refused to work on this movie because they feared that computers would put them out of business. InContinue reading “Tron premiered”

July 9, 1966 –The Beatles song Paperback Writer, topped the charts on this date. The B-side to this single was John Lennon’s Rain. Paul and John would always compete for the A-side of The Beatles singles.

On the Fourth of July in 1850, President Zachary Taylor snacked on cherries and milk while attending a ceremony at the Washington Monument. It was a hot day, and the heat made him sick. He got sicker and sicker and died on July 9. He remains the only U.S. president to have died from indigestionContinue reading “Sometimes is sucks to be president (Part 2)”

July 8th was a Sunday in 1881, so when a hot young man entered Edward Berner’s drugstore in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and ordered an ice-cream soda, his request was denied. Ice-cream sodas could not be served on the Sabbath owing to the ancient Mosaic injunction against them. The hot young man pleaded his case soContinue reading “The Sundae may or may not have been invented today”

July 7, 1989 –The second single from their album The Raw & the Cooked, Good Thing by the Fine Young Cannibals, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart on this date. Fine Young Cannibals rose from the ashes of the UK band The Beat. Sometimes called “The English Beat” to distinguish them from the US PaulContinue reading “Good Thing goes to No. 1”

July 8, 1964 –Probably Jerry Lewis‘ best directorial effort, The Patsy, premiered on this date. (This was Peter Lorre’s last film; he died four days after completing his role. Lorre hated the experience and death must have seems a welcome release.) Richard Deacon plays a real person, the famous “tailor to the stars“, Sy Devore.Continue reading “The Patsy premiered”

July 7, 1984 –Prince’s song from his upcoming movie Purple Rain, When Doves Cry goes to #1 onBillboard’s Hot 100, giving his first #1 hit, on this date. Besides writing and composing the track, Prince played all the instruments on the song.

It’s Father-Daughter take a walk together day, (Once again, two teams of high priced (non-ACME) lawyers have confirmed that this is the picture I can use. I have been legally barred from saying if I am related to the people in this photograph and was not allowed to be in the photograph (I was notContinue reading “Kick off your high heel sneakers, it’s party time”

July 7, 1936 – John P. Thompson applied for the patent rights on a “Screw” (U.S. Patent 1,908,080) with an innovative “cruciform groove” and a matching “Screw driver” (U.S. Patent 1,908,081) in 1932. In 1933, Thompson’s patents were transfers to a friend of his, Henry F. Phillips, the managing director of the Oregon Copper Company,Continue reading “Apparently you can build a better mousetrap or improve on a screw.”