Saving the princess, running from ghosts, and playing a plastic guitar can be hard work, so sometimes video gamers need something beyond a standard joystick. Super Scope The original Nintendo Entertainment System in the ’80s came packaged with a small handheld “light gun.” Used in a bunch of games, it allowed gamers to shoot at […]
Here’s the story of the very first pro football player. College Game Football was invented at Ivy League colleges in the 1870s, combining rugby with some other ball games popular at the time. For more than 50 years the college game was the dominant form of the sport, both in terms of the number of […]
On this day in 1933, the first ever American daytime serial, Marie, the Little French Princess, debuted on CBS Radio. “Soap operas,” as they came to be known on both radio, and eventually television, because sponsors were primarily cleaning products, have been a part of the cultural landscape ever since. Like “sands through the hourglass” […]
Some TV show titles make perfect sense—Friends is about some friends, and The Sopranos is about a family called the Sopranos, for example. Other titles are a bit harder to crack—like these. Dragnet Procedurals are a big part of TV today—formulaic crime shows in which police detectives dutifully go through all the steps they’re supposed […]
Today is a huge day in the world of video games. Nintendo releases its latest system the Switch, along with a new game in the Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild, an incredibly ambitious game that took developers years to make. Here are some more fun facts about the world of Zelda. Game […]
These pages were contributed by Larry Kelp, whose picture has been on the back cover since the first Bathroom Reader. He’s a music writer in the San Francisco Bay Area and was Uncle Jon’s neighbor. I Want My MTV! In 1981 Robert Pittman, a 27-year-old vice president in charge of new programming at Warner-Amex, came […]
In the Catholic Church calendar, today marks the beginning of Lent. It’s 40-day period that precedes Easter (and follows Mardi Gras), and is a period of reflection and fasting. Along with it comes a rule that Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays during that period—but fish is fine. What technically constitutes “meat” is a […]
Spring will spring, St. Patrick’s Day will bring luck, and you’ll say hello to your favorite Joe. Here is this month’s slate of obscure and minor “holidays.” March 13: Ear Muff Day It’s not really cold enough to wear ear muffs anymore, but nevertheless, this marks the day in 1877 that Chester Greenwood patented his […]
As winter winds down, here’s a look at how a few unique coats and jackets got their names. Blazer Also known as a sportjacket, the blazer doesn’t seem to be something one would associate with burning flames, or a “blaze.” They’re actually quite the opposite—tasteful, sedate, and usually found in subdued colors like navy blue […]
Other than how the Oscar for Best Picture was handed out, we mean. Best Director winner Damien Chazelle is the youngest ever recipient of the award. The 32-year-old won for La La Land, which is only his third feature film. He beats the previous record holder, Norman Taurog, who won for directing Skippy way back […]
It seems like only yesterday that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, but it’s already spring training time again. The Major League Baseball season is just around the corner, so it’s time to brush up on these incredibly obscure but very real baseball rules. A team’s manager or coach can call a break in […]
Each year, the Academy Awards recognize the finest work in movies. Sometimes the Academy’s voters make some really odd choices.
What’s America’s favorite drug? You guessed it—caffeine. We use more caffeine than all other drugs—legal or illegal—combined. Want to know what the stuff is doing to you? Here’s a quick overview. Background If you start the day with a strong cup of coffee or tea, you’re not alone. Americans ingest the caffeine equivalent of 530 […]
There’s recently been talk of a movement called “Calexit”—a proposal for California to withdraw from the United States and become an independent nation. It’s not nearly the first or only time in recent history that a state has looked at secession. Alaska The notion of pursuing independence is so strong in Alaska that the Alaskan […]
Winning an Academy Award is pretty special. Even more special is doing it in such a way that it’s the only time it’s ever happened. Only movie to win both an Oscar and a Razzie… The Oscars go to the year’s best achievements in movies. The Razzies, or “Golden Raspberry Awards,” are handed out to […]
Here’s the latest edition of the BRI’s cheesy tabloid section—a bunch of gossip about famous people. George Clooney When Clooney was in middle school, he developed a medical condition called Bell’s palsy, which partially paralyzed his face for nearly a year. Clooney’s left eye stayed closed and he had trouble eating and drinking. This condition […]
We’ve all fallen asleep while watching a movie or a TV show—but these actors managed to doze off while they were filming a movie or a TV show. Norm Macdonald In 1995, the Saturday Night Live star acted in one of his first movies, Billy Madison, with fellow SNL star Adam Sandler. The movie is […]
It’s President’s Day, a day to remember the contributions of American presidents of the past…and to also remember the strange circumstances in which a few of them passed away. George Washington (1799) After riding around his estate in cold weather, the first ex-president contracted pneumonia. Eighteenth century doctors did what they could for Washington, which […]
