Today in Simpsons Screenshots
A frame captured from any episode (or movie, or promotional animation, or crossover material) of The Simpsons encapsulates something of significance related to today's date.
- ~ February 4 ~ 1995: Archaeologist Kent R. Weeks crawls inside KV5, the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II, to discover the largest tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings.
- ~ February 3 ~ 2001: "It Wasn’t Me" by Shaggy featuring Ricardo "Rikrok" Ducent hits #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
- ~ February 2 ~ 1979: R.I.P. Sid Vicious. Cause of death: Drug overdose. This was one day after being released from prison where he had completed a detox programme.
- ~ February 1 ~ 1814: Lord Byron's "Corsair" is published and sells 10,000 copies on the day.
- ~ January 31 ~ 1988: "The Wonder Years" premieres.
- ~ January 30 ~ 1835: The first known attempt to assassinate a US President occurs, with Richard Lawrence intending to shoot President Andrew Jackson with a pistol, which misfires. Lawrence tries again with a second pistol, which also misfires.
- ~ January 29 ~ 1959: Walt Disney’s "Sleeping Beauty" is released.
- ~ January 28 ~ 1958: The LEGO brick is patented. Happy LEGO Day!
- ~ January 27 ~ 1976: Laverne and Shirley premieres.
- ~ January 26 ~ (2026:) Happy 17th Birthday to the Suleman Octuplets!
- ~ January 25 ~ 1980: Paul McCartney is released from jail after being detained for marijuana possession in Tokyo, Japan.
- ~ January 24 ~ 1990: The 14th Commonwealth Games open in Auckland, New Zealand. (This screenshot might not evoke "Commonwealth Games" for everyone, I know, but I was there in the audience at the opening ceremony -- so I know what it looked like, and it looked like this. :D )
- ~ January 23 ~ 1973: US President Richard Nixon announces an accord has been reached to end the Vietnam War.
- ~ January 22 ~ 2026: Happy 58th Birthday, Guy Fieri!
- ~ January 21 ~ 1793: King Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine in Paris after being convicted of high treason.
- ~ January 20 ~ 2026: Happy 96th Birthday, Buzz Aldrin! (96th comes right after 95th!)
- ~ January 19 ~ 1953: Over 70% of all TVs in the USA tuned in to "I Love Lucy" for the joyous occasion of Lucy having a baby. Lucy's actor, Lucille Ball, also gave birth on this day, although the episode itself had been filmed back in November. Happy 73rd Birthday, Desi Arnaz Jr.!
- ~ January 18 ~ 2024: Ingenuity, NASA's first robotic helicopter on another planet (Mars), breaks its blades on its 72nd flight and is laid to rest. (It continues to collect data for many more days, and even since ending transmissions may still be storing daily data. It just doesn't move anymore.)
- ~ January 17 ~ 1966: During a mid-air refueling operation over Spain, a US Air Force B-52G bomber collides with a KC-135 tanker, dropping 4 unarmed H-bombs. 3 hit dry land, causing long-lasting damage from spreading plutonium over 100s of acres. One is later VERY CAREFULLY recovered from the seabed.
- ~ January 16 ~ 1939: "Superman", the newspaper comic strip, debuts.
- ~ January 15 ~ 1797: The first top hat is worn, by John Etherington in London. As such, today is National Hat Day!
- ~ January 14 ~ Dress Up Your Pet Day!
- ~ January 13 ~ 1978: The United States Food and Drug Administration begins requiring all blood donations to be labeled either as "paid" or "volunteer".
- ~ January 12 ~ 1997: King Of The Hill premieres.
- ~ January 11 ~ 1908: The Grand Canyon is established as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt.
- ~ January 10 ~ 1929: The first edition of The Adventures of Tintin is published by Hergé.
- ~ January 9 ~ 1493: Christopher Columbus describes manatees as "not half as beautiful as they are painted", mistaking them for mermaids.
- ~ January 8 ~ Happy Birthday, David Bowie! (1947-2016)
- ~ January 7 ~ 1934: The "Flash Gordon" comic strip by Alex Raymond debuts.
- ~ January 6 ~ 1973: "Schoolhouse Rock" premieres.
- ~ January 5 ~ 1886: "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson is published.
- ~ January 4 ~ World Hypnotism Day!
- ~ January 3 ~ 1951: "Dragnet" premieres on NBC.
- ~ January 2 ~ 1982: "Perhaps the most famous of all streaks", as described by the BBC occurs, with 24-year-old Erika Roe running topless on the pitch during a major rugby match between England and Australia at London’s Twickenham Stadium.
- ~ January 1 ~ 1862: U.S. income tax begins.
- ~ December 31 ~ 1853: A dinner party is held inside a life-sized hollow model of an iguanodon, one of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs in London, with Professor Richard Owen seated at the head of the table - and in the head of the dinosaur.
- ~ December 30 ~ 1918: John E. Hoover decides that from this day forth he will be known as J. Edgar Hoover.
- ~ December 29 ~ 1995: "12 Monkeys" is released.
- ~ December 28 ~ 2002: LinkedIn is founded.
- ~ December 27 ~ 1966: The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, is discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
- ~ December 26 ~ 1906: The world’s first full-length feature film, "The Story of the Kelly Gang", is presented in Melbourne, Australia.
- ~ December 25 ~ Happy Birthday, Isaac Newton! (1643-1727)
- ~ December 24 ~ 1997: Woody Allen marries his ex's adopted daughter.
- ~ December 23 ~ 1970: The North Tower of the World Trade Center reaches its final height of 1,368 feet. It had become the tallest building in the world (...so far) in October.
- ~ December 22 ~ 1988: During an interview, Phil Collins jokes about wanting to make a film version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" with Danny DeVito and Bob Hoskins. DeVito and Hoskins take this seriously, and Kim Basinger signs on for the role of Goldilocks, but, alas, the film is never made.
- ~ December 21 ~ 1913: Arthur Wynne publishes his “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, in the New York World.
