1. The oldest material on Earth
The oldest material on Earth is older than the Earth itself. In 1969, a meteorite called the Murchison meteorite fell near Murchison, Australia, and broke into pieces. Scientists sent about 100 kilograms of these pieces to different research centres worldwide to study them. In January 2020, a study found that tiny grains in the meteorite were between 4.6 to 4.9 billion years old. The oldest grain was 7 billion years old, making it older than both the Sun and the Earth.
2. The First TV Drama
“The Queen’s Messenger” was shown in 1928, the same year Mickey Mouse was introduced. It was an experiment by GE and a TV station in Schenectady, New York.
3. The First Gay Kiss
The first gay kiss in a movie happened in the 1927 film “Wings.” The movie is about two World War I pilots who are close friends and both like the same woman. Over the years, people have noticed that the movie hints that the two men might be more than just friends.
4. Civil War veterans alive during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration
During Franklin D. Roosevelt’s time as President, some Civil War veterans were still alive. In 1938, Roosevelt met with these veterans at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. He gave a speech to dedicate the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. This event was also filmed and shown in movie theatres.
5. The last person to collect a monthly pension from the Civil War
The last person to get a monthly pension from the Civil War died in 2020. Her name was Irene Triplett. She was the daughter of Mose Triplett, a soldier who first fought for the Confederacy and then switched to the Union. Mose was 83 years old when Irene was born in 1930. After he died, she received his pension. She got $73.13 each month from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mose also went to the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg reunion, where Roosevelt gave a speech.
6. Before the 1980s, the Roswell UFO crash
Before the 1980s, most people didn’t know about the Roswell UFO crash. It was big news in 1947 when it happened, but soon after, the United States Air Force said it wasn’t a UFO, just a weather balloon that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. This made people forget about it. In the early 1980s, the National Enquirer and the book “The Roswell Incident” brought the event back into the spotlight and made people interested in it again.
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7. Color television existed in the ’50s
The technology for color TV started being developed in the 1940s. However, not many people had color TVs because they were very expensive. In 1954, a color TV cost about $1,000, which is more than $11,600 today when adjusted for inflation.
8. In 1960, Psycho changed how people watched movies in theatres
In 1960, the movie “Psycho” changed how people watched movies in theatres. Before then, people would buy a ticket and enter the theatre at any point during a movie. Movies played in a continuous loop, so if you only saw the last part of a movie, you could stay and watch the beginning when it played again. Directors and studios didn’t like this, but it was normal for moviegoers. This was a problem for “Psycho.”
9. Walt Disney hated how Alice in Wonderland turned out and refused to re-release the movie during his lifetime.
In 1971, five years after Walt Disney died, the movie became very popular with college students. They would rent the 16-mm film and have viewing parties. Because the movie became popular again, Disney decided to release it again in 1974. They focused on the movie’s psychedelic aspects and even used Jefferson Airplane’s song “White Rabbit” in the radio ads.
10. George Atkinson opened the first video rental store in the world in LA in 1977.
George got an idea after seeing an ad for a company selling 20th Century Fox movies on VHS and Betamax for $50 each. At that time, he was running a business renting out Super 8 movies and projectors for parties. He thought people would also pay to rent videos. So, he bought one copy of each of the 50 available titles on both VHS and Betamax. He started placing ads for his new video rental business. Within a year, he turned his rental business into a franchise called Video Station.
11. While The Little Mermaid is credited with saving Disney Animation.
It’s not often talked about, but “The Little Mermaid” helped Disney make a lot of money in the ’90s and ’00s. In 1990, Disney decided to release the movie on home video after it was shown in theaters. This was a risky move for Disney. However, the risk was worth it because “The Little Mermaid” sold very well on home video.
12. From 1977 until her death in 1994, Jackie Kennedy Onassis was a very successful and well-respected book editor at Doubleday.
In 1983, Doubleday executives wanted Michael Jackson to write his autobiography. They asked Jackie to help convince him to do it. Jackie didn’t really want to work on a book by a super famous pop star, but she knew that a big commercial book like this would help her get her own favorite projects published. Later, Jackie would regret agreeing to help with this project.
13. Hermès Birkin bags
Hermès Birkin bags are very famous and expensive. They are also hard to find. But when they first came out in 1984, they were not very popular. A bag cost about $2,000 back then, which is like $6,000 today with inflation.
