The First Olympic Games on U.S. Soil

This Day in Pop Culture History: May 14

The United States made their first appearance at the Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. On May 14, 1904, our country hosted our first games.

Other pop culture events that happened on May 14 include one of the oldest movie theaters in the world, the birth of The Chicken Dance, and a TV that chronicled weird deaths. What a day.

1904: America Hosts Its First Olympic Games

1904 Olympic Games — *(Wikimedia Commons)*

It was on this day in 1904 that the United States hosted its first Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally, the games were supposed to be held in Chicago, Illinois but plans were changed since next World Exposition was to be held in the city as well. As it turned out, the games were poorly organized, and the Expo overshadowed the events. And it was hardly a time for the world to come together. Most of the athletes competing were Americans and of course, the U.S. won the majority of the medals too.

Since 1904, the United States has hosted Olympic Games seven times:

1932 Winter Olympics: Lake Placid, New York
1932 Summer Olympics: Lake Placid, New York
1960 Winter Olympics: Squaw Valley, California
1980 Winter Olympics: Lake Placid, New York
1984 Summer Olympics: Los Angeles, California
1996 Summer Olympics: Atlanta, Georgia
2002 Winter Olympics: Salt Lake City, Utah

The United States will also host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, Utah.

2008: 603 Deaths Short

Graphic for the 1000 Ways to Die TV show — *(TVDB)*

“Do not attempt to try any of the actions depicted … you will die!” was the disclaimer shown during the opening of 1000 Ways to Die. The TV series, which originally ran on Spike, dramatizes many unusual deaths – some based on true events while others were the stuff of urban legends. The deaths of Harry Houdini and Jack Daniel were two of the more famous ones. Some deaths shown on the show were later nominated for a Darwin Award.

Actor Ron Perman hosted the show’s first five seasons of 1000 Ways to Die. “Shotgun Tom” Kelly served as the show’s host for the sixth and final season. In addition to the dramatizations, this black comedy anthology series also featured commentary from experts and animations illustrating just what went wrong.

Despite the show’s title, only 497 deaths were ever presented before the series was cancelled in 2012.

National Dance Like a Chicken Day

A group of people dance the chicken dance — *(Wikimedia Commons)*

A favorite at skating rinks and wedding receptions everywhere, “The Chicken Dance” was written by Werner Thomas, a Switzerland accordion player, in the 1950’s. However, its original name was “Der Ententanz” which actually means “The Duck Dance.” Thought to have been a drinking song, the song got a new name (“Vogerltanz” or “The Bird Dance”) in the late 1970’s.

Over 140 versions of the song have been recorded worldwide. There is a story that during an Oktoberfest celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a German band wanted to demonstrate how to perform the dance, but they couldn’t find a duck costume to use, so they used a chicken costume instead and it has been called “The Chicken Dance” ever since.

1908: First Rider in the Sky

Mechanic Charles Furnas became the first airplane passenger to ride with Wilbur Wright aboard his 1905 Flyer. It flew 1,968 feet in 29 seconds.

1804: First Day on the Road

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began their expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Coast as commissioned by Thomas Jefferson.

(Wikimedia Commons)

1998: Last Show in the Series

76.3 million viewers watched Seinfeld’s final two-part episode but were disappointed that the four main characters ended up in jail.

1893: The Oldest Movie Theater

Washington Iowa State Theatre *(Wikimedia Commons)*

The Graham Opera House opened in Washington Iowa in 1886 but was destroyed by fire in 1892. A replacement was built in 1893, and the opera house showed its first movie on this day in 1897. From there on out it became a mixed used facility.

In 1931, it was remodeled and became the Washington Iowa State Theatre. On January 26, 2022, Guinness World Records certified that the facility had become the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the world.