Category Archives: Uncategorized

September 14, 1978 –The TV show that helped launch Robin Williams career, Mork & Mindy, premiered on this date. Many of the gags seen on the show were on-the-spot improvisations by Robin Williams, and later by Williams and Jonathan Winters. The improvisations proved to be so effective and popular that the series’ writers soon includedContinue reading “Mork and Mindy premiered”

September 13, 1916 –Roald Dahl was born on this date in Llandaff, South Wales. He was sent off to private boarding schools as a kid, which he hated except for the chocolates, Cadbury chocolates. The Cadbury chocolate company had chosen his school as a focus group for new candies they were developing. Every so often,Continue reading “Roald Dahl”

September 13, 1956 –IBM introduced the worlds first production hard disk the “IBM 305“, on this date, which stored five megabytes of data. To put this in perspective a modern USB drive stores 2 gig or more (400 times more than the first hard drive just 50 years ago) and fits on a keychain ,Continue reading “The first hard disk”

September 13, 1969 – Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! made its CBS network debut on this date. Velma’s famous line, “My glasses, I can’t see without them!” was not originally scripted for the show. During a table read for the voice artists, Velma’s voice-over actress Nicole Jaffe, who was near-sighted as well, lost her glasses andContinue reading “Scooby snacks were first available”

September 13, 1965 –The Beatles released the single Yesterday in the US on this date (Act Naturally was on the B side.) This was the first Beatles song to capture a mass adult market. Most of their fans were young people to this point, but this song gave the band a great deal of credibilityContinue reading “The original working title was ‘Scrambled Eggs’”

September 13, 1986 –CBS allowed a strange, pale man, in an ill-fitting suit to come into their viewers homes (to scream really loud) when Pee-Wee’s Playhouse premiered on this date. It is often assumed that the main reason for the cancellation of the series was Paul Reubens indictment for obscenity for an incident in anContinue reading “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse premiered”

September 12, 1986 –Captain EO, starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, made its gala premiere at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA and at Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando, FL on this date. At a cost of about one million dollars per minute of film, this was, minute for minute, the most expensive motionContinue reading “Captain EO premiered”

September 12, 1959 –While Americans were home watching Bonanza on this date, the Soviet Union launched Lunik II toward the Moon aboard a Luna 8K72 carrier rocket. It was the first man-made object to reach the Moon from Earth. It was the Soviet’s second attempt to launch a rocket to the moon and the firstContinue reading “Lunik II was launched”

September 12, 1878 –The magnificent phallic symbol was erected on the bank of the Thames on this date. It doesn’t really have anything to do with Cleopatra. The obelisk has a twin in New York’s Central Park, also named Cleopatra’s Needle. It has nothing to do with Cleopatra, either. There’s one in Paris. It’s notContinue reading “Sometimes a large thick stone shaft is just an obelisk”

September 12, 490 B.C. –It looked like it was going to be a pretty bleak day for Western Civilization. The Greeks, who were not yet Ancient or Classical, were facing a massive invasion of Persians. Persia was not yet part of the Axis of Evil, but was pretty nasty just the same. They had moreContinue reading “Nike!”