The First Time News Was Fit to Print

October 3, 2007 7:20 PM

The first time the Simpsons, the iPod and Microsoft were mentioned in the New York Times.Also, Times Square, Marijuana and Googling plus much more (up to 9 volumes so far-scroll down for a list with links) with links to the actual articles or PDFs. Some others are Hillary Rodham, Nintendo, the Drudge Report and the VCR.
posted by sneakin (16 comments total)

You mean there was a time when Drudge didn't rule their world?
posted by Poolio at 7:28 PM on October 3, 2007

A perk of being a weekend subscriber to The New York Times is the access to their online archives.

Didn't the NYT just open their archives to everyone? Yes, they did. But I love archive diving, so carry on.
posted by mediareport at 7:56 PM on October 3, 2007

may i suppose this is the result of the NYT putting it's recent history online? if this is the future of media i'm ecstatic. it also marks a knew paradigm of sorts. being able to go to your most trusted news and culture sources and quickly and easily Google what they've had to say about a certain subject: sublime.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:05 PM on October 3, 2007

mediareport: Not all of the archives. 1923-1987 are only available to subscribers, for a fee, or at libraries.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:06 PM on October 3, 2007

it's = its...drunken English major shame...
which is not to mention my not using caps.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:07 PM on October 3, 2007

Ugh, mentions of mental_floss or their silly title format just make me sad because half their content is only appropriate for 12 year olds and their print design is BAD. just BAD.

But apparently subscribing to their mag got me free subscrips to Wired and EW for no reason. So now I'm in shitterlit for ages.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:07 PM on October 3, 2007

My mom was a computer programmer, and I remember looking through some old books when I was younger. She had a COBOL guide from 1980 or so that talked about this new DOS utility "by a small company called Microsoft."
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:14 PM on October 3, 2007

c.f. Oxford English Dictionary
posted by stbalbach at 8:24 PM on October 3, 2007

Ha!

Soviet Arrests 71 In War On ‘Terror’

Spurred by the assassination of Sergei M. Kiroff, the Soviet Government has struck its heaviest blow in years at those whom it regards as plotters of terroristic acts against Soviet officials. With dramatic suddenness it was announced early this morning that seventy-one persons had been arrested and haled to trial before the military collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR.
posted by stammer at 9:33 PM on October 3, 2007

The Simpsons "a strange cartoon family" ..... such a classic tight-ass New York Times locution.
posted by blucevalo at 9:46 PM on October 3, 2007

The first time that Mental Floss was mentioned at MetaFilter
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:37 PM on October 3, 2007

10/24/01

Apple Computer introduced a portable music player today and declared that the new gadget, called the iPod. But industry analysts... pointed to its relatively limited potential audience, around seven million owners of the latest Macintosh computers.

As of April 2007, the iPod had sold over 110 million units worldwide

Heh.
posted by sourwookie at 11:52 PM on October 3, 2007

I remember when the iPod was launched - the comment I read most on the web was people complaining that it didn't have the same capacity as the Creative Nomad Jukebox. Sometimes it's good to brush off the benefit of retrospect and remember things how they were. Though I'd rather see things through the Onion's eyes than the NYT's.
posted by unclemonty at 3:43 AM on October 4, 2007

Wow, wherever did they get the idea that the Smurfs were German?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:46 AM on October 4, 2007

Not to convert this into an Iraq discussion, but it is fascinating to read Saddam Hussain's first mention:

... it is generally believed that the strongman of the regime is Saddam Hussein Takriti, the young, ambitious vice chairman of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council and assistant secretary general of the Baath party. “Baath fills a vacuum in the Arab world; it offers the Arab left an alternative to Communism,” is the opinion of a seasoned Arab diplomat. The Iraqi regime in fact considers itself an island of Islamic progressivism surrounded by the conservative royalist regimes of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the sheikdoms of the Persian Gulf and the military regime in Syria. (emphasis mine)

I leave you folk to your own conclusions.
posted by the cydonian at 7:05 AM on October 4, 2007

I love that marijuana's first mention is debunking ludicrous reefer madness crap
posted by criticalbill at 1:03 PM on October 4, 2007