Walkman
July 7, 1980
Josh Lansing and the young blonde woman had never even met before, but as they passed each other on Madison Avenue the other afternoon, she waved and smiled and he tipped his headphones in salute….What the two well-dressed strangers first noticed about each other was that they were both possessors of the newest status symbol around town: the Walkman, a portable stereo unit (priced in most stores at $200), consisting of an ultra-light headphone set plugged into a cassette player that weighs in at less than 14 ounces, batteries included. “It’s just like Mercedes-Benz owners honking when they pass each other on the road,” explained Mr. Lansing, whose cassette hung from his Gucci belt.
Osama Bin Laden
December 24, 1994
At a time when an increasing number of militant groups are finding a haven in the Sudan, many see the Khartoum Government’s assistance to the Algerian rebels as the most serious challenge to Western security interests in the region since the Islamic regime seized power here in a 1989 coup….Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi financier who bankrolls Islamic militant groups from Algeria to Saudi Arabia, also lives under heavy guard in Khartoum. Western diplomats also note that there have been repeated instances of Sudanese terrorists turning up in international conflicts.
Keep reading for more first mentions, including the Iowa Caucuses, Johnny Carson and Pearl Jam.
Nerf
December 13, 1970
Topper’s Dawn doll was one of the year’s best sellers in toys, as were other toys heavily advertised on television like Mattel’s Hot Wheels (miniature cars), Parker’s Nerf ball (an “indoor” ball), Remco’s Dune Buggy Wheelies, Marx’s Big Wheel (tricycles) and Kenner’s SSP Racers.
Iowa Caucuses
January 26, 1972
Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine won the largest share of the delegates in last night’s Iowa precinct caucuses, late returns showed yesterday. But the victory of the Maine Democrat, widely considered the front-runner for his party’s Presidential nomination, was clouded by the unexpectedly strong showing of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Mr. McGovern, who won the support of only 3 percent of Democrats nationally in the most recent Gallup Poll, got seven times that in this state.
Johnny Carson
June 9, 1955
Johnny Carson, comedian, will be starred in a new show to be presented over the Columbia Broadcasting System television network beginning Thursday, June 30, from 10 to 10:30pm. Barbara Ruick, singer and actress, will be a featured performer. The series will be sponsored by the General Foods Corporation and the Revlon Products Corporation.
Pearl Jam & Smashing Pumpkins
November 14, 1991
The [Red Hot Chili Peppers] concert’s two opening bands reflected the current collegiate audience’s rediscovery of the early 1970’s, just before the bashing and pounding of the hardest psychedelic rock was frozen into heavy metal. Pearl Jam, from Seattle, socks along like a latter-day version of Ted Nugent’s Amboy Dukes. Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on guitars diligently work the wah-wah pedals while Eddie Vedder agonizes, in a foreboding baritone, over feelings of uncertainty and displacement, wondering, “Where do I stand?”
Smashing Pumpkins, from Chicago, throw more old ingredients into the mix, like the occasional folk-rock guitar lick, a raga drone or a lead vocal reminiscent of Neil Young. Its songs meander from pummeling hard rock to gentle interludes to psychedelic crescendos. While the band’s album, “Gish” (Caroline), puts the pieces together smoothly, onstage Billy Corgan’s crack-voiced singing was mannered and the songs’ proportions seemed to be out of whack, making them episodic rather than securely eccentric.
Keep the suggestions coming. You can read the first four installments here:
• The First Time News Was Fit To Print, I
• The First Time News Was Fit To Print, II
• The First Time News Was Fit To Print, III
• The First Time News Was Fit To Print, IV
Want complete access to The New York Times archives, which go all the way back to 1851? Become an NYT subscriber.
ahaha that walkman one is hilarious
posted by katie on 8-14-2007 at 7:44 am
Thank reader Tdave for that one. His suggestion. So funny.
posted by Jason on 8-14-2007 at 7:59 am
How about:
Cold War
Ronald Reagan
bottled water
childhood obesity
Kleenex
M&Ms
hand sanitizer
posted by khm on 8-14-2007 at 8:07 am
My great uncle invented the Nerf ball. He was a chemical engineer working for a plastics company and had 6 daughters. He was playing football woth one and it hit her in the face and broke her nose. He then decided to do something about it and Nerf was born, but under a different name. Nerf bought out the patent from his company. He only got a small (in terms of what you would think he got)bonus from the company he invented it under.
posted by kmj on 8-14-2007 at 8:24 am
Have you tried cell phone? Pizza delivery.
posted by DW on 8-14-2007 at 8:57 am
hilarious!
what about:
credit card
facebook/myspace
cordless phone
lightbulb
dave matthews band
indoor plumbing?
posted by sd on 8-14-2007 at 10:16 am
How about…
mouse (as in computer mouse)
ChapStick
Neil Diamond
message boards
email address
Ticketmaster
posted by Kristi on 8-15-2007 at 6:21 am
(I have my moments) I got my 1st walkman in ‘83. Just AM/FM I didn’t need the tape player. It was about $30. I have an old Popular Mechanics that tells about how Sony was coming out with a personal stereo for $200, It said the idea came from people at Sony who were using high impedance headphones to test tuner circuits before they were connected to amplifiers. Someone had the idea of mass marketing the headphones with a small radio tuner and a compact, lightweight amplifier just powerful enough for the headphones.
how about:
Digital watches
TV with stereo sound
Ice makers in the home(refrigerator)
posted by Tdave on 8-16-2007 at 2:54 am
Mickey mouse
D’oh
Endangered species
Marijuana
Digital age
posted by Beth on 8-17-2007 at 11:19 am
In 1973, (High School), one of my friends spliced a second earpiece onto the earphone line of his transistor radio so he could fully experience the World Series day games in class. Until he got caught and it was confiscated.
We all made our own versions. My radio was a two inch square on its face and less than an inch thick. Take that Walkman! It was remarkably sensitive as well.
posted by Richard on 8-17-2007 at 1:58 pm
how about:
10 cent machines for women to go to the bathroom
drive-in movies
ATMs
The Source/Delphi
posted by Jane on 8-17-2007 at 9:23 pm
Your column is just too good! Oh dear: you’ve got my late-night brain going, but I love knowing when things started. Here’s a few off the top of the scalp, if you don’t mind. See if there are some you would like to select.
People:
Michael Moore
Anderson Cooper
Samantha B
naturists
groupies
Sue Johanson
vegans
geeks
storm chasers
paramedics
George Carlin
personal trainers
Places:
Kazikstan
the shopping mall
The Mexican Riviera
indoor soccer field
The Bermuda Triangle
The Big Apple
OC
Any “No-fly zone”
Things:
univerisal health care
electronic calculators (also pricey when they first came on the market)
pesto
water slides
killer bees
lattes
TV remote…universal remote
Duct tape
the clapper
widget
sushi
cell phone
45s…albums..CDs…DVDs
aromatherapy
flashlight
paper towel (I remember it being considered to wasteful to use it)
bottled water
facelifts
laptop computer
Johnny on the Spots (or equivalent); moveable plastic public toilets
trivia (as a passtime)
Actions:
snowboarding
hang gliding
tripping (as in while stoned)
indoor rock climbing
jerry-prepping
googling
“to spin” as in using a “spin doctor”
Miscellaneous:
just-in-time (regarding stock)
“live eye”
giga anything
groovy
gay (for homosexual)
Ms
Categories for hurricanes
Designer - anything other than clothing (like pets)
tweens
“sustainable environment”
outsourcing
call centre
lactose intolerant
“near beer”
“New Age”
The European Union
bi-polar illness
GPA (grade point average; what happened to just per cent?)
“The Projects” and equivalents for ‘inner city’ areas.
So called “Reality shows” (may they soon rest in peace)
posted by Claire on 8-18-2007 at 12:36 am
scarcity, many people were willing to work for bare subsistence. In the and nearly in the same time too but it is consumed by a different set of
posted by Iris on 1-24-2008 at 3:28 pm