1982 – Recorded in 1981, the song Pac-Man fever was a song by (Jerry ) Buckner & (Gary) Garcia. Each song on the album was about a different video game and was released via album, cassette, 8-track and later via CD. The song is a parody of “Cat Scratch Fever” by Ted Nugent.
The song itself hit the Bilboard Hot 100 list at #9. Pac-Man fever also earned a gold certification by the RIAA.
The duo had a mini-hit with the song “Do the Donkey Kong”.
1802 – A patent for the first steam engine was issued to Richard Trevithick and Andrew Viviane. The machine was called the “Puffing Devil” or “Puffer”. The engine could produce 145 psi to push the car forward.
Richard had two versions of the engine – one as a car and the other as a locomotive. The car was first demonstrated on December 24, 1801, unfortunately, the puffer engine suffered catastrophic failure as it overheated and caught fire.
Eventually in 1804, Trevithick’s patent gave way to the first locomotive where he pulled ten cars along a track. He continued his work until 1833 when he passed away.
2006 – Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass launch Twitter (a.k.a. Twttr) with Jack’s first Tweet. “Just setting up my Twttr” went across the network of only a few followers. Similar to Alexander Graham Bell’s “Mr. Watson, come here” statement or “Mary Had a Little Lamb” into a wax cylinder.
Twitter was officially founded, but still in beta. The group at first didn’t acquire the highly priced “Twitter.com” until they had a proof of concept. Six months in, Twttr needed their “i” and “e”.
1997 – Toshiba – a member of the DVD consortium – put out the first consumer DVD player on November 1, 1996 in Japan as the SD-3000. After some initial changes (and having to change the DVD region code for U.S. based DVD players), Toshiba debuted two U.S. models – the SD-2006 and the SD-3006.
The SD-3006 had two more analog outputs and a Y-Cr-Cb video out with selector. Both players could run in 16:9 or 4:3 mode, but had to be selected when not in use. The SD-2006 sold for $599 and the SD-3006 sold for $699.
There are questions as to the first DVD titles available (since it was for sale in Japan Since November). The first U.S. DVD titles included Twister, Bonnie & Clyde and The Mask.
1998 – The FCC announcedthey have come to a finalization on the video programming rating system and have fulfilled all requirements for the proposed “V-Chip”. Along with NAB, NCTA and MPAA, the chip will follow the TV Parental Guidelines and each program will be rated as follows:
TV-Y (All Children — This program is designed to be appropriate for all children.) Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2-6. This program is not expected to frighten younger children.
TV-Y7 (Directed to Older Children — This program is designed for children age 7 and above.) It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in this program may include mild fantasy or comedic violence, or may frighten children under the age of 7. Therefore, parents may wish to consider the suitability of this program for their very young children. Note: For those programs where fantasy violence may be more intense or more combative than other programs in this category, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV.
For programs designed for the entire audience, the general categories are:
TV-G (General Audience — Most parents would find this program suitable for all ages.) Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.
TV-PG (Parental Guidance Suggested — This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.) Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance and/or the program contains one or more of the following: moderate violence (V), some sexual situations (S), infrequent coarse language (L), or some suggestive dialogue (D).
TV-14 (Parents Strongly Cautioned — This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.) Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended. This program contains one or more of the following: intense violence (V), intense sexual situations (S), strong coarse language (L), or intensely suggestive dialogue (D).
TV-MA (Mature Audience Only — This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.) This program contains one or more of the following: graphic violence (V), explicit sexual activity (S), or crude indecent language (L).
Televisions 13 inches and larger must contain the V-Chip by July 1, 1999, with 100% inclusion by January 1, 2000.
2007 – The Energy Policy Act of 2005 ammended Daylight savings time 3 weeks . The theory was to move clocks forward 1 hour 3 weeks earlier than usual and Fall back in the first week of November (instead of last week in October). From a previous study, it was concluded this change would save households 1% of energy each day of DST.
The history of Daylight Savings Time dates back to Benjamin Franklin. He noticed people had their shutters closed to keep out the morning sun, then burned more candles in the evening. Through time he convinced others to change the times so people would get up earlier and enjoy the summer sunlight.
With more energy efficient devices, some have debated that Daylight Savings Time is not needed anymore. However, reports state that when we spring forward, our energy bill reduces 2-4%.
2008 – SXSW Interactive keynote, Mark Zuckerberg was being interviewed by journalist Sarah Lacy. There was a lot of anticipation for the event, but things went south quickly (no pun intended). During the interview, Lacy starts talking about these books Zuckerberg writes into but never formally asked him about it. She gets a little befuddled because Mark was not picking up the ball.
She verbally notes the stall, which Zuckerberg replies “You have to ask a question.” That brought the audience into the conversation with a standing ovation. Trying to continue, Lacy finally made a question out of this story with Mark giving a 2 minute answer and not divulging that he “burned those books”.
Lacy then went to the audience for affirmation of the book burning. However, she instead got the comment “Talk about something interesting!”
Sarah responded with “Try to do what I do for a living. It’s not as easy as it looks…” That brought the audience into the conversation.
After that, people took to Twitter, wondering why Lacy wasn’t asking questions.
Finally, they ended the keynote with Lacy saying “I’m sorry to torture you for an hour.” The comment was not well-received.
1996 – Even though Pluto was first seen in 1930, we didn’t have the ability to take a decent picture of the furthest planet… er… dwarf planet… er… (dang you Neil deGrasse Tyson!!!). The Hubble telescope finally was powerful enough to take photos of Pluto’s surface. They spent over 6 days taking snapshots and learning all about this distant neighbor.
Astronomers found that Pluto had a complex surface, just like Earth. Many basins and craters were discovered during that six day photo session.
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