In 1981, Japanese video game company Nintendo couldn't get the rights to the characters they wanted, so they made their own - and ended up with their first American hit.
A History Lesson With Booze ®
An Attempted Demolition of Disco
This week back in 1979, Chicago rock DJ Steve Dahl took revenge on the disco craze by holding a massive disco bash – literally.
Raising the Pride Flag
In 1978, a former soldier with a sewing machine and his friend Harvey Milk decided it was time to craft a symbol of gay pride. The rainbow flag they made became recognizable around the world and changed Gilbert Baker's own life forever.
Mailing Children Through the US Post
When the US Postal Service first launched Parcel Post, they set a rule about no parcels over 50 pounds in weight - but they didn't specifically say no live human children...
Speeding Through a History of Speeding Tickets
From the first-ever speeding citation in 1899 to the biggest speeding fine in 2010 in under two quick minutes.
Getting Stuck with Velcro
How an Alpine plant inspired the space-age 'zipperless zipper' we know as Velcro.
From ‘Planet X’ to Pluto
This week, back in 1930, Pluto was officially named. And of course we don’t mean the Disney character.
32 Innings of Cold, Unpleasant Baseball
In 1981, the longest professional baseball game in history played out - for eight hours on a freezing Rhode Island night.
Ping Pong Diplomacy with “Chairman Wow”
This week back in 1971, a chance encounter between two ping pong players — one American, one Chinese — led to a thaw in the cold war, and paved the way for President Nixon’s biggest political coup.
Former Friends Fighting for (North) Pole Position
In 1909, former friends Robert Peary and Frederick Cook became bitter rivals over competing claims to have lead the first expedition to reach the North Pole.