Today is National Vinyl Day (and not Record Store Day which was April 18th this year.) National Vinyl Record Day is celebrated every year on August 12 (commemorating the day Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877) to remember the culture, art, the very sound of the vinyl record.
Don't forget, whatever you do today, remember to whip out your big 10 inch and play it for a friend.
August 12, 1927 -
One of only two silent films - the other being The Artist in 2011 - to win an Oscar for best picture, Wings, opened in NYC on this date.
The film was lost for decades until a copy was discovered languishing in the Cinematheque Francaise film archive in Paris, France.
August 12, 1939 -
The Bugs Bunny everyone knows takes another step forward when Hare-um Scare-um, directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton, was released on this date.
It was during production of this cartoon that Bugs Bunny's name originated. Designer Charles Thorson redesigned the rabbit character and labeled the model sheet "Bug's Bunny," after co-director Ben Hardaway's nickname, Bugs. It's also the first time Bugs cross dresses in a cartoon.
August 12, 1939 -
Considered one of the highlights of the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Wizard of Oz premiered on this date in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
A recent study found that The Wizard of Oz is the most watched movie in film history, largely due to the number of television screenings each year as well as the various video/DVD/Blu-ray/4K releases, which have enabled children of every and all generations to see it.
August 12, 1941 -
MGM premiered their version of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy, in NYC on this date.
The film was a notorious critical failure when released, although it eventually made a profit of $2 million around the world. Spencer Tracy later said it was by far the least favorite of the films he had starred in, and that his performance was "awful". The New York Times famously described it as "not so much evil incarnate as ham rampant ... more ludicrous than dreadful."
August 10, 1950-
The Merrie Melodies short, Hillbilly Hare, directed by Bob McKimson, and starring Bugs Bunny was released on this date.
Bugs and the two hillbilly guys all break the fourth wall.
August 12, 1960- -
Green Eggs and Ham was first published on this date (the letters J, P, Q, V, and Z don’t appear anywhere in the book).
It was the result of a bet between Dr. Seuss and Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher, who challenged him to write a story using no more than 50 different words.
August 12, 1970 -
The romantic comedy, Lovers And Other Strangers, directed by Cy Howard, adapted from the 1968 Broadway play by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna, and starring Beatrice Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon, Richard Castellano, Diane Keaton, Bob Dishy, Harry Guardino, Marian Hailey, Anne Jackson, Cloris Leachman, Anne Meara, and Gig Young, was released on this date.
The Oscar-winning song - For All We Know - from this movie was performed by Petula Clark at the Academy Awards even though the song was a hit for The Carpenters. In fact, a small controversy occurred after the duo was not selected to perform the song, even though they were one of the most popular music acts at the time.
August 12, 1988 -
Universal Pictures released Martin Scorsese's controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ, starting Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, David Bowie, and Barbara Hershey on this date.
Martin Scorsese banned smoking from the set, both because he's a severe asthmatic, and to avoid any photographs being taken of actors and actresses playing Biblical characters, primarily Willem Dafoe, who smoked at the time, with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths.
August 12, 1988 -
The under-rated bio-pix, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Elias Koteas, Frederic Forrest and Christian Slater, was released on this date.
Much of the information about Preston Tucker was gathered by Francis Ford Coppola and came from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It took Coppola several years, using the Freedom of Information Act, to finally obtain access to the SEC's detailed files about Tucker.
August 12, 1997 –
MTV debuted the Fleetwood Mac reunion concert The Dance, on this date, marking the first time the five had been on stage together since 1982.
This special MTV concert was recorded at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California on May 23, 1997 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their bestselling album Rumours.
Another episode of ACME's Litle Known Animal Facts.
Today in History:
August 12, 30 BC (Given how the Romans were keeping track of time at this point and were drinking a huge amount of wine from lead cups - this date is fluid at best.) -
Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, former wife of Julius Caesar and mistress of Marc Anthony, committed suicide by means of the unusual practice of nursing a venomous snake.
August 12, 3 AD -
A planetary conjunction (possibly Venus-Jupiter) was visible from the Earth with the naked eye on this date.
Many astronomers will later speculate that this may have been the mentioned Star of Bethlehem in the New Testament of the Bible.
August 12, 1676 -
Wampanoag chieftain Metacom (or Philip) was killed in a swamp near Mount Hope, PA on this date. Thus ends King Philip's War, the first war between Indians and European settlers.
August 12, 1813 -
Austria declared war against Napoleon on this date.
August 12, 1865 -
After studying Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease which suggests that infections are caused by bacteria, Dr. Joseph Lister became the first surgeon to use disinfectants during an operation.
Lister also introduced Phenol (carbolic acid) as a form of disinfectant into his surgery. His heightened standards of hygiene will reduce his surgical death rate from 45% to 15%.
August 12, 1869 -
In San Francisco on this date, Emperor Norton I issued a stern edict outlawing both the Republican and Democratic political parties.
Not familiar with Norton I ? Read the amazing tale of Emperor Joshua Norton. (Also, please check out The Emperor Norton Trust website dedicated to renaming the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge after our beloved majesty, Emperor Norton.)
August 12, 1898 -
The Spanish-American War ended on this date. Spain released Cuba and gave Puerto Rico to the United States. Americans rushed to Puerto Rico in gleeful droves, only to discover that everyone spoke Spanish and there were no luaus or volcanoes.
Their disappointment was profound.
They took Hawaii as a consolation prize (Hawaii was formally annexed by the U.S. - officially stolen) later that same day.
August 12, 1948 -
Russian schoolteacher Oksana Kasenkina was injured when she jumps out the window of the Soviet Consulate in New York City on this date.
Soviet officials claim they had rescued her from "White Russian" kidnappers, but Kosenkina says she was trying to escape from the Soviets. The US later expelled the consul general and the Soviets closed their consulate.
August 12, 1953 -
In Siberia, the Soviet Union successfully tests its first thermonuclear device, based on Andrei Sakharov's fission-fusion "Layer Cake" design: alternating layers of uranium and hydrogen fuel sandwiched together and wrapped around a conventional Atomic Bomb. The fission explosion compresses the hydrogen, causing a fusion reaction.
Hopefully this is no longer a state secret or boy, am I in deep trouble.
August 12, 1981 –
IBM introduced its Personal Computer (PC) also known as the IBM Model 5150 on this date. Developed in less than a year, using existing off-the-shelf components, it proved a runaway success in the small business market, and launched the era of the personal computer.
IBM's first PC ran with a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor and used Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system.
And on a personal note:
And so it goes.
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