1985: Route 66 is Officially Taken Off the Map
U.S. Route 66, AKA the Will Rogers Highway AKA Main Street of America AKA the Mother Road was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926 and ran from Chicago, Illinois all the way to Santa Monica, California and covered 2,448 miles. Many took the trek from end to end just to do it and many more were familiar with the highway because of the song (“Get Your Kicks on Route 66”) and the Route 66 television show. During its heyday, local businesses did a pretty good business attracting travelers along route. Those same businesses fought against the growing threat of a new Interstate Highway System. On this day in 1985, the route was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System, but several states have “adopted” bypassed sections and renamed them “Historic Route 66.” (Image: Pixabay)
2008: ‘Wall-E’ Rolls Into Theaters
The Disney/Pixar 9th computer animated film, Wall-E opened in theaters on this day in 2008. Directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton along with Jim Reardon, the futuristic love story between two robots was set in world destroyed by human excess. Since the film featured very little dialogue for the first half of the story, some were concerned that the film would not do well with young children. However, grossing $533.3 million worldwide on a $180 million budget making the film an instant hit. It won a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Long Form Dramatic Presentation, the final Nebula Award for Best Script, the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Finally, Wall-E also topped Time’s list of the “Best Movies of the Decade.”
Birthdays
- 1880: Helen Keller (author)
- 1951: Julia Duffy (actress)
- 1966 J.J. Abrams (film director)
- 1971: Jo Frost (TV nanny)
- 1975: Tobey Maguire (actor)
- 1986: Drake Bell (actor)
- 1989: Matthew Lewis (actor)
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