Weekend Genius Challenge #13: Nifty, Nifty, Look What's Fifty!

2008 is nearly upon us, which means we'll again have to pay attention when filling out forms, writing checks, and referencing dates. A pain, yes, but there's at least one good thing about 2008 before it even begins: it's the 50th anniversary of the year 1958.

And what's so special about 1958? Why, it was the year that Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, reached space. It was the year that Ian Fleming published Dr. No. It was the year the first Grammy Awards were presented. It was the year that baseball moved to California, as the Giants and Dodgers headed west. It was the year the first Pizza Hut opened. The Boeing 707 went into service. The American Express Card made its debut. Elvis Presley entered the military. The ruckus behind the TV game show "Twenty-One" was revealed.

We could go on and on, but that would defeat the purpose of this weekend's Genius Challenge. And that's for you to come up with the oddest, coolest, most anniversary-worthy event that occurred back in 1958. If we're going to celebrate the New Year, we need to know what we're celebrating. So offer your submissions by commenting to this post.

The winner will receive a T-shirt of his or her choice from the mental_floss store. As always, please include the style and size of T-shirt you'd like along with your entry. We must approve comments before they appear, so don't worry if your entry doesn't show up right away. We'll get to it as soon as we can. We'll vote on a winner Monday, and if we're conscious on Tuesday, we'll post the winner. If not, we'll post it Wednesday, and you'll know that we spent the morning of January 1 toasting the fact that 2008 is the 50th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo by having a glass of champagne and spinning around wildly in our swivel chairs.

Good luck!

(Cleanup, aisle three.)