December 8 in Pop Culture History |
| December 8th is… Blue Collar Day Brownie Day Concha Day Feast of the Immaculate Conception Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day Take It In The Ear Day |
| Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day “You must spend the entire day in costume and character. The only rule is that you cannot actually tell anyone that you are a time traveler. Other than that, anything’s game.” |
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1765 – Eli Whitney was born in Westboro, Massachusetts. Whitney invented the cotton gin and developed the concept of mass-production of interchangeable parts, which enabled the industrial revolution. He doesn’t get enough credit for that. 1854 – Pope Pius IX proclaimed that the Immaculate Conception was Roman Catholic dogma, stating that Mary was conceived without ‘original sin.’ 1881 – A fire at the Ring Theater in Vienna, Austria, killed over 600 people. 1896 – Lemon Squeezer patent (# 572,849) was issued to the Black-American inventor J.T. White. 1931 – AT&T gained the patent for coaxial cable (#1,835,031) 1941 – Over 81% of American households tuned in to FDR’s “a date which will live in infamy” speech. Almost everyone in the US congress voted to go to war with Japan. Montana’s Jeanette Rankin was the only person to vote against it. 1941 – The Chinese government announced that they would back the allies, the U.S. and Great Britain, against Germany, Italy, and Japan. 1943 – The Voice of the Turtle (Broadway Play) Opened on December 8, 1943 and closed on on January 3, 1948 1952 – On the CBS show I Love Lucy, a pregnancy was acknowledged in a TV show for the first time, with the announcement that ‘Me and my husband are about to have a blessed event.’ 1956 – #1 Hit December 8, 1956 – February 8, 1957: Guy Mitchell – Singing The Blues 1979 – #1 Hit December 8, 1979 – December 21, 1979: Styx – Babe 1980 – Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon 1982 – Sophie’s Choice, starring Meryl Streep, opened in theaters. 1983 – England’s House of Lords voted to allow cameras to broadcast live television proceedings from its chamber. 1984 – #1 Hit December 8, 1984 – December 21, 1984: Daryl Hall and John Oates – Out of Touch 1990 – #1 Hit December 8, 1990 – January 4, 1991: Stevie B – Because I Love You (The Postman Song) 1993 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. 1987 – Frank Vitkovic entered the Melbourne Queen Street Post Office and opened fire on customers and staff with a sawed-off shotgun, killing eight before killing himself. One of the earliest instances of ‘going postal’ also happened in Australia in 1926. 1989 – The War of the Roses debuted in theaters. 1994 – A new element (#111) was created, named unununium, symbol ‘Uuu.’ 1995 – The Grateful Dead announced they were breaking up after 30 years, a few months after the death of bandmate Jerry Garcia. 2000 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon debuted in theaters. 2004 – Blade: Trinity and Dungeons and Dragons debuted in theaters. 2018 – #1 Hit December 8, 2018 – January 11, 2019: Travis Scott – Sicko Mode |