Writer of Pop Culture

Cool and refreshing news about pop culture and entertainment.

This Day in Pop Culture for February 17

On this day in pop culture history, the first superhero to wear tights debuted, random acts of kindness became a thing, and the Volkswagen Beetle became the best-selling car – for a time.

March 4, 2020

2–3 minutes

1936: Why Superheroes Wear Tights

Although there is a debate on whether or not he was the first American superhero, The Phantom is credited as being the first to wear a skintight costume. The adventure comic, which is still running in papers today, was created by Lee Falk. He kept up with the strip until he passed away in 1999.

Like Batman, the Phantom has no superpowers but he’s pretty smart. But unlike Batman, he is skilled using handguns. And unlike most superheroes, the Phantom is married and is the father of two children.

Columbia Pictures created a serial based on The Phantom in 1943. Reprints of the comic strips were printed by Ace Comics followed by traditional comic books. He’s a character that numerous publishers saw potential in, but none had a long shelf life. These publishers included Harvey Comics, Gold Key, King Comics, Carlton, DC Comics and Marvel.

Phantom 2040 was a syndicated animated series that took place in the year 2040 began airing in 1994. In 1996 Billy Zane starred as the superhero in the self-titled movie. Although the movie flopped, perhaps to a lack of popularity, it is often described as a favorite cult film among fans.

1972: The Beetle Becomes World’s Best-Selling Car

Herbie would be so proud. On this day on in 1972 the 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle came off the assembly line and broke a world record held for more than forty years by the Ford Motor Company’s iconic Model T, which was in production from 1908 and 1927. The Beetle made its way to the U.S. shores in the 1950s. In 1968, Disney released The Love Bug into theaters with great success. Many sequels followed. In July of 2003, the last original Beetle rolled off the line in Mexico.

1995: Random Acts of Kindness Becomes a Thing

You’ve heard of “random acts of kindness” where people do simple things for others, usually strangers, as a way of being kind. The official day began on this day in 1995 and is now a full week celebration. “It’s simply an opportunity to leave the world better than we found it and inspire others to do the same,” says The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK). “We believe in the power of kindness to improve the way people see and experience the world and provide a digital platform and free resources to empower individuals, communities, and schools to take action.”