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July 20, 1969 –53 years ago today, in a live transmission from the Moon, viewed by 720 million people around the world, Neil Armstrong stepped foot onto the Moon. It was a brave thing to do (and unfortunately caused Buzz Aldrin to have his post-Apollo 11 period of alcoholism and depression.) It was also theContinue reading “Poor Michael Collins just circled the damn place”

July 20, 1976 –The US spacecraft Viking 1 was the first craft ever to land on Mars on this date. It holds the record for having the second longest mission on Mars‘ surface: 6 years and 116 days. NASA terminated communications with the craft on August 17, 1980. So technically, it’s still there (unless theContinue reading “First probe lands on Mars”

July 20, 2007 –The musical version of John Waters 1988 cult classic film (and the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name,) Hairspray, directed by Adam Shankman and starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, and Nikki Blonsky premiered on this date. Most of the cast jokingly called You Can’t StopContinue reading “Hairspray premiered”

July 19, 1952 –Keep watching the skies. During a series of UFO sightings in Washington, D.C. occurring over July 13-29, unidentified objects are picked up on D.C.’s National Airport radar system. Sightings in the region are so extensive the Air Force was prompted to hold a press conference. Conveniently, these were all “radar mirages” resultingContinue reading “UFOs in Washington DC”

July 19, 1965 – The Beatles released the single, Help! (B-side I’m Down), ahead of the release of the album of the same name, on this date. The song runs just 2:18, but packs in 267 words, making it one of the most lyrically dense hits of the era. It starts and ends on aContinue reading “Help! was released”

July 19, 1984 –I stand before you to proclaim tonight, America is a land where dreams can come true for all of us. 38 years ago today, U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York won the Democratic nomination for vice president at the party’s convention in San Francisco. Co-incidentally, the first women’s rights convention,Continue reading “Geraldine A. Ferraro became the first VP candidate for a major party”

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”