This Day in Pop Culture for October 15

1951: The World Falls in Love with Lucy

The CBS sitcom, I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley debuted on this day in 1951. The series began with Lucy and Ricky Ricardo living in an apartment building where their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz served as the couple’s best friends.

During the show’s second season, “Little Ricky” was born whose birth was timed to match Lucy’s real-life delivery of the couple’s son Desi Arnaz Jr. When the blessed (TV show) event happened on January 19, 1953, over 70% of all households were tuned into the show.

The show was the most-watched TV show in the U.S. for four of the series’ six year of broadcasting. Even today it is estimated that reruns of I Love Lucy is enjoyed by 40 million Americans every year. The show won five Emmy awards and in 2012, it was voted the “Best TV Show of All Time” by ABC News and People Magazine.

However, the show may not have aired at all without the help Philip Morris. The cigarette company became a last-minute show sponsor. Part of the agreement was to work in the act of smoking and/or the name “Philip Morris” in the scripts as much as possible. (Image: CBS)

2002: Buffy Googled

While a common everyday occurrence today, according to Charles Arthur, who wrote the book, Digital Wars, it was during an episode of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy’s friend Willow asked her, “Have you Googled her yet?” It was first time that “google” had been used as a verb.

2004: Child Safety Seats No Longer Needed

A stroke of genius arose on this day in 2004 when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled that hearse manufacturers were no longer required to install anchors for child-safety seats in their motor vehicles.

This same agency had required that all carmakers to require the anchors in 1999 and many of the hearse makers complied. A petition was created in 2004 that read, “Since a funeral coach is a single-purpose vehicle, transporting body and casket, children do not ride in the front seat.”

1989: Star Preacher

Evangelist Billy Graham received Hollywood Boulevard’s 1,900th star, becoming the first clergyman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2017: Me Too

Actress Alyssa Milano posted the tweet “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’” which became the start of the Me Too movement.

2000: Curb Yours

Sometimes referred to as an American comedy of manners, Larry David created and starred in the sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm which debuted on HBO.

1971: The First Arcade Video Game

It is believed that the 1962 Spacewar! was the first computer game. Years later, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney attempted to create a coin operated version of Spacewar! Made with their company, Syzygy Engineering, Computer Space was set around a rocket engaged in a missile battle against a couple of flying saucers.

Bushnell designed the sleek, custom-built fiberglass cabinet to look futuristic and it went on display at the 1971 MOA (Military/Outdoor/Airsoft Exhibition) Show, which opened on this day, with hopes of making a lot of sales. Initial interest was mixed. While the game was popular among engineers, it was just too complicated for everyday folk.

In 1972, Bushnell and Dabney set out to launch Atari. Their next game, Pong was a much bigger success. However, a version of the Computer Space game, set within a white cabinet, appeared in the futuristic movie, Soylent Green, becoming the first computer game to be shown in film. In 1979, the game, along with Space Invaders, inspired the Atari game, Asteroids.