Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 139
April 23, 2018
Today in History: New Coke
On this day (April 23) in 1985, Coca Cola released New Coke—a public relations disaster that let Pepsi, at least for the time being, win the Cola Wars. (One commercial asked: “If Coca Cola is the real thing, why did they change it?”) I remember just how crazy it was. People were hoarding Coke in preparation for it disappearing, and despite all the hype it seems that nobody actually liked the new Coke. (How did the company manage to miss that little problem in their market testing?) I was a huge Coca Cola fan and I had to give up on the colas altogether for a while in favor of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. Fortunately, Coca Cola soon figured out their error and came out with Coca Cola Classic.
April 22, 2018
Today in History: Earth Day
On this day (April 22) in 1970, the first Earth Day was held to rally support for protecting the environment. Rallies are now held in 193 countries around the planet.
Today in History: The Biggest Sucker
On this day (April 22) in 1994, people in Denmark made the largest lollypop the world has ever seen. It weighed 3,011 pounds.
April 21, 2018
Today in History: Romulus Founds the City of Rome
On this day (April 21) in 753 BCE, Romulus founded the city of Rome. According to legend, Romulus and his brother ,Remus, were descended from Aeneas, a Trojan prince. Their mother, Rhea Silva, was the daughter of Numitor, King of Alba Longa. When Numitor was overthrown, Rhea was made a vestal virgin to keep her from having children. The God, Mars, had different ideas and impregnated her. The usurper ordered her twin sons thrown into the river, but his agents set them on the riverbank instead. A she wolf discovered them there and suckled them until a farmer rescued and raised them. Eventually they learned their true origin and overthrew the usurper. Next they set out to found their own city, but couldn’t agree with each other regarding its location. So Romulus killed Remus and founded the city of Rome on his own.
April 20, 2018
Today in History: The First Detective Story
On this day (April 20) in 1841, the first detective story, Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe, was published.
April 19, 2018
Today in History: The Simpsons
On this day (April 19) in 1987, the Simpson’s first appeared on the Tracey Ullman show. The dysfunctional family has always been a bit controversial, but quickly became beloved by millions despite this. My brother made me watch my first episode (“Some Enchanted Evening”, but I think of it as, “The Babysitter Bandit”) totally against my will, but converted me in just a handful of minutes. It’s Treehouse of Horror episodes have become a Halloween institution. What’s your favorite Simpson’s episode?
April 18, 2018
This One Made Me Laugh
Thanks, Mr. Schultz, this one made me laugh:
We've all had rejection letters. It's part of the business. It's nice to see someone keeping their sense of humor about it.
Today in History: The British Are Coming!
On this day (April 18) in 1775, Paul Revere (and William Dawes) made his famous ride to alert the countryside that the British were marching on Concord and Lexington. There is a very interesting analysis of Paul Revere and his ability to perform this task in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point. And of course, everyone remembers Longfellow’s poem which I memorized in elementary school for an assignment. “Listen my children and you shall hear…”
Princess of Mars Discussion Begins Today!
Just a reminder that our discussion on Edgar Rice Burrough's Classic, A Princess of Mars, begins today at Written Gems on Goodread. We hope you'll join us!
This novel has inspired two movies, numerous comic books, and an amazing amount of both fan fiction and authorized sequels by ERB’s estate. It’s also an important piece of literature in its own right as it (and its many sequels) popularized the science fiction subgenre called the Planetary Romance.
Planetary Romance is not a term that’s used a lot today, but anyone who’s seen Avatar knows exactly what this subgenre is all about. The hero (or heroine) encounters adventure on a foreign planet and moves heaven and earth because of love. Another prominent modern example is the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk comic series. Classic examples can be seen in Buck Rogers, Adam Strange, Dune, Pern, the World of Tiers, Darkover, and the Hainish Cycle.
A Princess of Mars reads as a pretty straight forward adventure piece. Earthman John Carter finds himself on the planet Mars, meets the woman of his dreams, and moves the Martian equivalent of heaven and earth to rescue her from a horrible fate. Along the way there are loyal and heroic friends, terrifying monsters and epic fights and battles. When you sum it up like this, the novel doesn’t sound that ground breaking, and yet it has inspired the dreams of generations of readers and many of those readers (such as Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and Jack Vance) grew up to inspire even more readers of all ages.
Why don't you click on over to Written Gems and join in the fun?
April 17, 2018
Today in History: The Canterbury Tales
On this day (April 17) in 1397 Geoffrey Chaucer read to the court of Richard I from his Canterbury Tales for the first time. The Canterbury Tales are one of the great works of literature to come down to us from the Middle Ages. They were revolutionary when written—depicting fictional protagonists from a wide variety of social classes and giving us insights into the very worldly society in which Chaucer lived.
