Saturday, March 31, 2007

On this Cartoon Saturday we note that Barney Rubble popped into our minds and now we have to figure out something to say about him. He is the neighbor, friend and sidekick to Fred Flintstone, husband of Betty and father of Bam-Bam. He also has a tendency to engage in trickery to steal Fred's favorite breakfast cereal.



Though he seems like the wrong guy to have hold your money, pictured above is a Barney Rubble (with Bam-Bam) bank.

Friday, March 30, 2007

(We know this is going to look stupid, but...)

Answer: This television game show first aired on this day in 1964.

Question: What is Jeopardy?

(We said it was going to look stupid.)



Throughout its television run, Jeopardy has been available for home play as board games, as pictured above, and as computer and video game versions.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The Knights Of Columbus were first incorporated on this date in 1882.



The symbol most associated with The Knights of Columbus is the Tootsie Roll.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

A patent was issued to Nathaniel Briggs for a washing machine 210 years ago today.



For some strange reason Ertl produced a toy reproduction of a 1907 Maytag washing machine in 1993.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan celebrates her birthday today. You could do worse than celebrating by listening to her sing.



Here Ms. Vaughan is pictured on a 45rpm EP.

Monday, March 26, 2007

The first commercial motion picture film was made by the Eastman Dry Plate and Film
Company on this day in 1885.



Above is a well-photographed reel of 8mm home movie film made by Eastman Kodak, which the Dry Plate people eventually evolved into.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Yesterday we pointed out Joe Barbera's birthday and for today's Sunday Funnies we take notice of Mr. and Mrs. J Evil Scientist (and Junior). The creepy and eccentric family first debuted opposite Snagglepuss in an animated outing and appeared from time to time in episodes of other characters' toons, but they were possibly the only Hanna-Barbera characters to be more famous in the comics than in animated form. They appeared in a few issues of the anthology Hanna-Barbera Bandwagon comic by Gold Key before getting their own annual comics that came out around Halloween in the mid-60's.



Above is the cover of the second issue of Hanna-Barbera Bandwagon, featuring the comic book debut of Mr. and Mrs. J. Evil Scientist (though they don't appear on the cover).

Saturday, March 24, 2006

On today's Cartoon Saturday we note the birthday of one of the people most responsible for Saturday Cartoons: Joseph Barbera. Half of the Hanna-Barbera team (we'll leave it to you to figure out which half), Joe Barbera brought us all sorts of characters from Huckleberry Hound to The Superfriends to Magilla Gorilla to Scooby Doo to Space Ghost to Quickdraw McGraw to Jonny Quest to... lots and lots of cool cartoons you love.



This lunchbox features "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" and pictures Huckleberry Hound, The Banana Splits, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinx, Hokey Wolf and Snagglepus.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Today is Cars frontman Ric Ocasek's birthday. Though bassist Benjamin Orr sometimes sang lead, Ocasek was the group's primary singer and songwriter. Though he never achieved as much fame outside the group as a solo recording artist, he has carved out a niche as a successful record producer.



Above is a picture sleeve for a 1986 single from Ric Ocasek.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Western storyteller Louis L'Amour celebrates his birthday today. Writer of hundreds of novels and short stories, L'Amour was one of the most prolific and popular scribes of tales of frontier gunslingers and outlaws during the 20th century.



Pictured here is the cover of Mojave Crossing, which features a tale of Tell Sackett. The Sackett clan was one of L'Amour's most popular group of characters, and he would revisit them almost biannually for most of his career following their introduction in 1960's "The Daybreakers."

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

James Jesse Strang was born on this day. Strang was a challenger for leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints after founder Joseph Smith was murdered. Though eventually losing out to Brigham Young as the leader of the Mormons, Strang maintained some followers, dubbed "Strangites," who settled with him on Beaver Island in Michigan and made him their king. He parlayed his success into a seat in the Michigan legislature but eventually was shot and beaten to death after he started demanding payment from his followers.



Here's an old postcard of Beaver Island, home of the Strangites.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Today is actor Hal Linden's birthday. He is, of course, best remembered as the title character of television's "Barney Miller."



Hal Linden is pictured on the cover of the May 29, 1976 issue of the Chicago Daily News' TVNews magazine.

Monday, March 19, 2007

The first Bank Robbery in America took place on this day in 1831.



Despite how terribly beat up this Uncle Sam mechanical bank looks, we assume this was not the bank that was robbed in 1831.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

On this Sunday Funnies, we point out that while Captain America has had a bad week, he's had some good times. Think of how he'd been frozen in a big ice cube for over a decade, believed dead, only to be rescued by the newly formed Avengers who soon made him their leader on and off for decades. While he was sitting in that chunk of ice watching the rest of comic's Golden Age Super-Heroes vanish from supermarkets and newsstands, it had to be a bit unhappy for him, but he got cartoons, and secret agent girlfriends, and lunchboxes and a shoddy 90's movie and some weird 70's movies made about him since thawing out. Somehow I think he'll get over the unfortunate events of the past week just fine.



The coolest Cap item we found isn't just a Captain America item, it's an Avengers item. A snappy button featuring tiny heads of the early Roy Thomas-era Avengers that only cost 39 cents originally. A cool button for 39 cents may have been a great deal, but buying it also apparently made you an Official Member of the Super Hero Club! Not that's money well spent. (The current asking price, not so much... especially since most members of the Avengers listed there have either gone insane or died.)

Saturday, March 17, 2006

On this cartoon Saturday we remind you that Woody Woodpecker has a nephew and niece named Knothead and Splinter. According to Don Marketein's Toonopedia, Splinter actually was originally a boy woodpecker in um, her, earliest appearance in a comic book story.



Woody, Splinter and Knothead all were pictured on this package of knock off silly putty.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines on this day in 1521. Despite his vast achievements of seafaring and exploration, he was not a flawless judge of character. He quickly befriended one half of a pair of political rivals from the islands of Homohon and Mactan and got in the middle of their struggle for control. This would prove to be a fatal mistake as he died in battle a month later.



Had Magellan simply taken the tourist approach to his visit to the Philippines, perhaps taking a taxi ride, he likely would have lived a much longer life.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Today is the birthday of actor MacDonald Carey. Once a prolific B-movie actor, MacDonald Carey is best known as both the founding patriarch and the announcer of the long running daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. He can still be heard uttering his classic line "Like sands through the hourglass, so our the days of our lives" before every program, over a decade after his death.



While not many soap opera actors can claim to have a trading card of their likeness, MacDonald Carey appeared in a set of "TV and Radio Stars" cards.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Faneuil Hall in Boston became the site of America's first town meeting on this day in 1743.



This colorful postcard depicts historic Faneuil Hall, dubbing it "The Cradle of Liberty."

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Earmuffs were patented to Chester Greenwood on this day in 1877. The usually fluffy accessories come in quite handy when shoveling snow or just enjoying a stroll in winter winds. Proponents of earmuffs are second only to Bugs Bunny in their rivalry with people who wear hats with ear flaps.



These jolly children's earmuffs feature a cute little kid on them, no doubt as encouragement for children to stay bundled up in chilly weather.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Coca Cola was first sold in bottles on this day in 1894.



We were just going to look for an old Coke bottle, but instead we found a 1950's Coca Cola Bottle vending machine up for auction (which is good, since most of the bottles didn't seem to photograph well).

Sunday, March 11, 2007

On this week's Sunday Funnies, Gasoline Alley popped into our heads. It's been published for almost 90 years, but it's another one of those we've really only seen in books on comic strips. The name apparently comes from the fact that originally the characters talked about cars.



The strip pictured above has no cars in it, but it has Indians. It also doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even though we do get the joke at the end.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

On this cartoon Saturday, we're a little hungry. So we decided to look for a lunchbox with a cartoon character on it. Hopefully a cool one. We found a Dynomutt and The Blue Falcon one.



It's a little rusty, but still a swell lunchbox.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Television's "Webster," Emmanuel Lewis celebrates his birthday today. Part of a brief trend of "interracial adoptive family sitcoms with short leads," Webster was actually more "heavy" than some of the other sitcoms of the era, with many memorable "very special episodes." Moreover, the reason he called his adoptive mother "Ma'am" for the run of the series still gets us choked up.

Oddly enough, it was on this day in 1945 that the radio series "Those Websters" made it's debut on CBS.



Pictured above is an advertisement for Webster cigars.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Today is the Skipper, Alan Hale Jr.'s birthday.



Here we see the Skipper securing dinner for our favorite castaways.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

The all-star charity single "We Are The World" made its debut on this day in 1985. The single was credited to "USA For Africa" and sought to raise both money and awareness of the famine in Ethiopia. At the dawn of both cable television and the heyday of the music video and the height of co-writer Michael Jackson's 80's fame, the media frenzy for "We Are The World" was almost unparalleled at the time (although by current standards it's would wind up just another overhyped song of the month).



Pictured is a reproduction of a promotional postcard for the single.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Today is singer Kiki Dee's birthday. Though she'd been cutting records since the 60's, it wasn't until she teamed up with Elton John in the late 70's that Kiki Dee's career took off, with both her hit single "I've Got The Music In Me" and her duet with Elton on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." Despite the two-fisted takeoff, the flight of her career was short, and she settled back into relative musical obscurity, despite both of her biggest hits remaining popular today.



Though Kiki Dee's hit years were confined to a very brief period, it was the hit period of the 8-track. Both Kiki Dee and that era are recalled with this sealed 8-track of her "I've Got The Music In Me" album.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Today is singer Eddy Grant's birthday. His biggest international hit was 1983's "Electric Avenue."




Pictured above are some traffic lights. Get it. Electric. Avenue.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

On this week's Sunday Funny we feel compelled to... actually, we got nothing. So we instead of looking for something that fits our idea, we just looked for something neat. We found the first issue of DC Comics' Real Fact Comics. With a cover date of March/April 1946, the comic features stories inspired by the drama of real life. Although this comic is over sixty years old, the cover suggests it reads a lot like contemporary television news. There are profiles of the Airborne Forest Rangers, Jean Laffite, Houdini, a ghost story from guam and even a piece on Raffles, "the bird that thinks!" All in one issue! All in color! For a dime!




Given that DC Comics is still in business and were never sued (as far as we know) about this, the inclusion of the words "real" and "fact" in the title and "true" on the cover copy make us wonder if maybe we overstated the parallels with contemporary television news.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Yesterday was Dr. Seuss' birthday. On today's Cartoon Saturday, we remember that while the Grinch may be the most successful Seussian character to appear in animated form, the first major animated outing by the most successful Seussian character of all, The Cat In The Hat, was none too shabby, either.

With art direction by Chuck Jones, catchy songs, voice talent like Allan Sherman, Thurl Ravenscroft and Daws Butler, the animated Cat In The Hat is a real treat, even though it's rarely seen on television.



Pictured above is the book, a treat in its own right.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Today is singer Lou Reed's birthday. He first rose to prominence with The Velvet Underground, championed by Andy Warhol.



Warhol contributed a peel-away banana for the cover of the Velvet Underground's first album, pictured above. Lou Reed provided the songs.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Ohio attained statehood on this day in 1803.



Above is an old license plate from Ohio.