Author Archives: dcaligari

September 22, 1964 – Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, who kept the world safe on The Man from U.N.C.L.E, made their first appearance on NBC-TV on this date. There was a dispute over what the name of the villainous spy agency would be. The original name was THRUSH, but it was felt that this wasContinue reading “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

September 22, 1994 – 27 years ago, you could get a cup of coffee at Central Perk for the first time when Friends, premiered on NBC-TV on this date. Many titles were considered and rejected before the show was named as Friends. They included Friends Like Us, Insomnia Cafe and Across the Hall.

Autumn began at 3:21 P.M. EDT today. By happy coincidence, it’s also the first day of Fall. Many people in the northern hemisphere are disturbed by the changes they see around them at about this time each year. It gets darker earlier, temperatures drop, leaves change color and die and the Red Sox tend toContinue reading “Every leaf is a flower”

In Tokyo, Japan, there is a hedgehog cafe. You can go to Hedgehog Cafe HARRY and pay 1,000 Yen to go in, have a cappuccino and play with and cuddle some amazing hedgehogs. (Upon further research there appears to be more than one.) Just be careful when you’re cuddling them because they aren’t exactly softContinue reading “There’s a theme restaurant for everything”

September 21, 1897 –The New York Sun ran its famous editorial that answered a question from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon: “Is there a Santa Claus?“on this date. Obviously, times were different back then given that The New York Sun was printing an editorial about Christmas in September. And so it goes

September 21, 1327 –Former King Edward II came to a particularly painful end on this date. Edward had been overthrown by his wife, Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer. Edward had pissed off Isabella royally for among other things, sleeping with men. Isabella and Mortimer had Edward II imprisoned, after his abdication in favor ofContinue reading “Kids, don’t let this happen to you!”

September 21, 1912 – Chuck Jones, animator and director of Warner Brothers cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, was born on this date. He has directed three films have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant: Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening, andContinue reading “Two giants of animation share the same birthday:”

In medieval times, a baker who shorted a customer was put in jail in order to think about past transgressions. As a result, bakers started placing thirteen items (e.g., buns) in a dozen, hence the term “baker’s dozen.”

A rural Cuban farmer once owned the most expensive cow in history. On November 30, 1960, Rufina, a female cow was killed by a falling chunk of U.S. satellite in Cuba. This was during a time where tensions between Havana and Washington were at their highest. So the Cuban government decided to make the bestContinue reading “A very expensive piece of meat”

September 20, 1946 – The first Cannes film festival, the first great international cultural event of the post-war period, begins on this date. Among the selections that year were: Brief Encounter directed by David Lean Wet Paint directed by Jack King, produced by Walt Disney The Bandit (Il bandito) directed by Alberto Lattuada The MagicContinue reading “Cannes Film Festival”