This Day in Pop Culture for September 5

2001: The First Amazing Race

Phil Keoghan has hosted the reality TV series, The Amazing Race, since it began its first competition in 2001. Created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, the show features numerous teams of two who have something in common: they are brothers, husband and wife, co-workers, best friends, etc. But that hasn’t alway been the case. for one season, the show featured families of four, another season had team swamp partners and a couple of other seasons, the show teamed up total strangers to race together.

During their “amazing race,” contestants are faced with numerous challenges during each leg of the race. The last team to reach the pit stop is often eliminated. Throughout the season, teams literally travel all around the world in a number of days.

Outside of the American version of the show, there have been 14 other “amazing races” held in other countries. (Image: CBS)

1927: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is Born

In 1927 Universal Studios decided that they wanted to get into the cartoon business and needed a cartoon character of its own. Disney’s distributor, Charles Mintz, talked Disney and Ub Iwerks into creating a new character they could sell to Universal. Disney and Iwerks came up with a rabbit and a deal was made. Universal chose the name, Oswald from a hat.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit appeared for the first time in the short, Trolley Trouble which debuted on this day. The next year, it is reported that Disney met with Mintz in hopes of receiving a more profitable contract. Instead, Mintz asked Disney to take a 20% cut in pay. Disney quit the studio leaving Oswald behind. Oswald wasn’t returned to the Disney Company until February 2006. His first appearance back under the Disney brand was his role in both of the Epic Mickey video games.

1922: The Mystery House is Finished

On September 30, 1862, Sarah Lockwood Pardee married William Winchester, heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. In 1873, the Winchester rifle Model 73 (aka “The Gun that Won the West”) was released. In 1880, Oliver Winchester passed away leaving the company to William. However, just three months later, William died of tuberculosis. Now a widow, Sarah inherited the family’s fortune – about $20 million dollars’ worth plus nearly 50% of the Winchester Repeating Arms stock. In 1886, Sarah purchased a two-story farmhouse in San Jose, California and it became the start of a 36-year home improvement project later known as the Winchester Mystery House.

One could blame all of the construction on a Boston medium who was supposedly channeling Sarah’s late husband. The story goes that his spirit would encourage Sarah to move out West and continuously build up a home big enough to hold her and all of the victims’ spirits who had been shot by a Winchester rifle. At one time, the Mystery House contained 161 rooms, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms (however only one was functional), two basements, three elevators, lots of windows (made from 10,000 panes of glass) and 2,000 doors. It is said that Sarah slept in a different room each night to prevent the spirits from finding her. She passed away on this day in 1922.

In April 1923, John and Mayme Brown purchased the house and began to offer tours of property. It still a popular tourist attraction today. The house was partially used for the filming of the 2018 Helen Mirren film Winchester.

1994: ‘Sweet Valley High’ Goes to TV

Debuting as a syndicated show on this day in 1994, Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High series came alive on the small screen with real-life twin sisters Brittany and Cynthia Daniel playing the roles of flirty Jessica and responsible Elizabeth Wakefield living in the fictional town of Sweet Valley. Distributed by Teen Dream Productions, the show was shown in syndication for its first three years before premiering on UPN for its fourth and last season.