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Every Monday, mental_floss looks back at the first time The New York Times covered selected topics "“ selected by me, with help from our readers. Got an idea for next time? Help me out by leaving a comment.
Twister
Advertising: Liquor and Games "Twister," by Milton Bradley, described as "a rather zany stocking-feet, body-action game for adults," is about to become involved in a nationwide tie-in with Seagram's 7-Crown, and you know what that is. Into 15,000 liquor stores are going 48,900 pieces of display material that will include a "Quick As A Flash Party Book" and recipes based on the Twister theme. This is reputed by the first tie-in between game maker and distiller. Next step "“ hotels on Park Place, Boardwalk and Skid Row!
When Technology Outpaces Needs Then there is electronic mail, that thoroughly modern offspring of a calcified postal service and a splintered Ma Bell. Currently, the companies promoting this service, nicknamed e-mail, are also offering such added services as a hookup of the subscriber's personal computer to the Telex network and a two-hour delivery of letter-quality documents to many parts of the country. They have all discovered that electronic mail alone cannot at this stage attract enough customers to stem the tide of red ink. * * * * * One of its alleged advantages is the so-called store and forward message. A user may send messages at any time and, unlike a telephone connection, e-mail does not require the recipient to be on the other end of the line. Then again, the old-fashioned postal service does not require that the recipient be there at the time of delivery either. When all is said and done, electronic mail is no more efficient, in the vast majority of cases, than the telephone or the postal service it is supposed to replace. Nor does it have the flexibility to be able to deliver packages such as spare parts, in the manner of another innovation, the overnight express service pioneered by Federal Express.
Bruce Springsteen
Pop Folk Poets "“ A Band Of LonersBruce Springsteen's debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ (Columbia), is full of urban experience, despite the country flavor of its musical idiom. Springsteen sometimes sounds like a curious cross between Van Morrison's upbeat fraternity-party enthusiasm and a bit of Rod Stewart's hoarse rock fervor. His music has an attractively driving infectiousness about it, particularly the fast numbers. But once again it is the words that distinguish him, for better or, perhaps, for worse.
Many more first mentions below, including Jonestown, George Steinbrenner, Clarence Thomas and It's a Wonderful Life.
Jonestown
Coast Congressman Believed Slain Investigating Commune In Guyana Representative Leo J. Ryan, a California Democrat, was shot yesterday and is believed dead along with several companions in a remote area of Guyana, the State Department said last night. The legislator had gone to Guyana accompanied by two aides and seven journalists, including an NBC television crew. He was investigating reports that members of a commune of the People's Temple, a religious cult established by a Californian named Jim Jones, were virtual prisoners. * * * * * The incident occurred when the Ryan party of 14 persons and the departing members of the commune, known as Jonestown after the sect's leader, attempted to take off for Georgetown. A tractor pulling a trailer appeared on the airstrip, and gunfire struck first one plane and then the second.
It's A Wonderful Life
Stewart Due Back In 1st Liberty Film The first role in a film for Col. James Stewart since his discharge from the Army Air Forces will be the lead in It's A Wonderful Life, the initial picture of Liberty Films, the new Frank Capra-William Wyler-Samuel Briskin production organization. The picture, which will be put into production on Feb. 1 for RKO release, will be based on "The Greatest Gift," a fantasy by Philip Van Doren Stern, about a man who expresses a wish that he had never been born. The story was bought by RKO at the suggestion of Cary Grant, who previously was to do the lead.
Jackie Robinson
UCLA Triumphs Over Oregon Two spectacular plays marked UCLA's 16-6 victory over Oregon before 40,000 in Memorial Coliseum today. The game knocked the Webfoots out of the undefeated group in the Pacific Coast Conference. A 45-yard forward pass by Kenny Washington to Jackie Robinson, good for 66 yards, brought one touchdown, and Robinson broke the Oregon spirit with an 82-yard spring for the second Bruin tally.
George Steinbrenner
Wildcats Dismiss Saban And Staff The new broom swept clean today at Northwestern as Stu Holcomb, hired as athletic director three days ago, dismissed the head football coach, Lou Saban, and his entire staff * * * * * The 34-year-old Saban was let out along with the line coaches, Bud Svendsen and Nathan Johnson; the backfield coach, Al Pesek, and the end coach, George Steinbrenner. All were told their one-year contracts would not be renewed when they expire March 1.
January 4, 1973
(the first mention after buying the New York Yankees)
CBS Sells The Yankees For $10 Million "We plan absentee ownership as far as running the Yankees is concerned," Steinbrenner said. "We're not going to pretend we're something we aren't. I'll stick to building ships."
Clarence Thomas
Can Black Colleges Survive? More than 25 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision decreed the doctrine of "separate but equal" unconstitutional for elementary and secondary schools, black colleges remain separate "“ although they admit many white students. And they are seeking additional resources that will allow them to become truly equal. "Some people think that just because an institution is black it is inferior," says Clarence Thomas, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. "It's not true, and black institutions are not illegal. The emphasis now is on better racial balance in the broader society."
Our Archives
"¢ Volume I: Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, iPod
"¢ Volume II: Hillary Clinton, Starbucks, Donald Trump
"¢ Volume III: JFK, Microwave Oven, the Internet
"¢ Volume IV: Larry David, Drudge Report, Digital Camera
"¢ Volume V: Walkman, Osama bin Laden, Iowa Caucuses
"¢ Volume VI: Times Square, Marijuana, Googling
"¢ Volume VII: Lance Armstrong, Aerosmith, Gatorade
"¢ Volume VIII: Bob Dylan, New York Jets, War on Terror
"¢ Volume IX: Hedge Fund, White Collar Crime, John Updike
"¢ Volume X: E-mail, Bruce Springsteen, George Steinbrenner
"¢ Volume XI: RFK, the Olsen Twins, Digg
"¢ Volume XII: Jerry Seinfeld, Lee Harvey Oswald, Don Mattingly
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"¢ Volume XIV: Digital Watch, Prozac, David Hasselhoff
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"¢ November 3, 2007: Appearance on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday
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