March 12 in Pop Culture History

1894 – Coca-Cola bottles were sold to the public for the first time in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

1912 – The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) were founded in the United States.

1923 – Phonofilm, the first motion picture with a sound-on-film track, was demonstrated at a press conference by Dr. Lee De Forest, who was also the inventor of the radio tube in 1907.

1928 – St. Francis Dam collapsed in San Francisquito Canyon, California

1933 – New resident Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first national radio address or “fireside chat,” from the White House.1951 – Two entirely different comic strips appeared called “Dennis The Menace”, Dennis UK became Dennis and Gnasher. Neither author was aware of the other’s existence.

1951 -Eric Morley organized a bikini contest for the Festival of Britain. It was intended to promote the recently introduced bikini, which was widely regarded as immodest. It then became an annual event called the Miss World Competition.

1951 – The first sex change operation was performed in Denmark. George William Jorgensen, Jr. was transformed into Christine Jorgensen.

1951 – The Explorers Club in NYC hosted a dinner featuring meat from a woolly mammoth.

1987 – Les Miserables (Broadway Musical) Opened on March 12, 1987, and closed on May 18, 2003

1988 – #1 Hit March 12, 1988 – March 25, 1988: Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up

1993 – ’93 Superstorm stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the northeastern US. 318 were killed.

1994 – #1 Hit March 12, 1994 – April 8, 1994: Ace Of Base – The Sign

1994 – The Church of England ordained its first female priests.

1999 – Former Warsaw Pact members, zech Republic, Hungary, and Poland joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

2003 – Bend It Like Beckham debuted in theaters.

2003 – 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart was found in Sandy, Utah, nine months after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home.

2003 – The Dixie Chicks’ lead singer, Natalie Maines, said, in an interview with The Guardian, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.” That led to a revolt from many of their fans.

2004 – Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London and NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience debuted in theaters.

2008 – Hulu opened online.

2012 – John Carter debuted in theaters.

#1 Hit March 12, 2022 – April 15, 2022: Heat Waves – Glass Animals