This Day in Pop Culture for January 28

1813: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is Published

Today, most everyone is familiar with the author Jane Austen, but that wasn’t always the case. On this day in 1813, her book, Pride and Prejudice was published. It was her second book to be published anonymously (the first was Sense and Sensibility), followed by Mansfield Park and Emma. She died on July 18, 1817. It was shortly thereafter that her brother, Henry revealed to the public that she was an author. (Image: Wikimedia)

1956: Elvis Presley is on TV for the First Time

January of 1956 was a busy time for Elvis Presley. On the 10th, he recorded “Heartbreak Hotel,” his first recording for RCA. The song included pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist Chet Atkins, and background singer Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires quartet. The single was released on the 27th. Then on this day, Presley made his first television appearance on CBS’ Stage Show.

Presley performed “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, “Flip, Flop and Fly” and “I Got a Woman.” Presley performed five more times on the show over the next eight weeks. During that time, Presley recorded the future hit, “Blue Suede Shoes,” a cover of Carl Perkins song, and others at RCA’s New York studio. (Image: Wikimedia)

1958: LEGO Patents its Iconic Brick Design

Ask any parent and they will tell you that one of the scariest things to do is to walk into their darkened children’s room barefoot in fear of LEGOs. Believe it or not, The Lego Group actually began making toys out of wood in 1932.

However, the Demark company pivoted to plastic in 1947. During this time, they created the first versions of their signature “Automatic Binding Bricks.” Toy trade magazines were skeptical of plastic being used to create toys and felt that the substance would never be accepted as quality over wood.

In 1954, Ole’s son Godtfred became the company’s junior managing director who wanted to create a toy system using these bricks. However, the problem was that they just didn’t “lock” together well. However, after five years of hard work and finding the right material to do the job, a patent application for the modern LEGO brick design was filed on this day in 1958. (Image: Pixabay)

1992: ‘Capitol Critters’ Took on ‘The Simpsons’

In an attempt to steal viewers away from FOX’s The Simpsons, ABC began airing Steven Bochco Productions’ Capitol Critters about the vermin who live underneath the White House. Animated by Hanna-Barbera, the cartoon featured Max (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris), a young mouse from Nebraska, who moves in with his cousin Berkley after his family was exterminated.

The rodents had to deal with the cats of the White House who looked and sounded suspiciously like President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. Although 13 episodes were produced, only seven aired in before moving to Cartoon Network in 1995. Critics complained that the satire wasn’t biting enough for adults and not entertaining enough for kids.