Viagra turns 15 today It nearly didn't make it as an angina drug, but a few chaps participating in its clinical trial in Merthyr Tydfil reported an unexpected and now very well known side-effect. The aptly named Albert Wood, and his colleague Peter Dunn, look to have missed the money shot though. Now, it seems the Blue Diamond can help with almost anything. Good to see us Brits making a positive contribution to human relations.
posted by Myeral on Sep 4, 2007 - 25 comments

America's First Superstar. He was the highest paid actor in the world, beloved by fans so passionate about his performances that a riot (23 people killed, more than a hundred wounded) ensued when a rival dared to perform the role that had made him famous. He enjoyed all the trappings of a superstar's life: portraits taken by America's most famous photographer, a large mansion (now a historic landmark), and of course a scandalous divorce trial (he lost). He was also one of the most prominent book collectors in the country. Edwin Forrest was born 200 years ago.
posted by matteo on Mar 21, 2006 - 19 comments

Today (if it's still Aug. 13th where you are) is the 70th birthday of the Roller Derby (being duly celebrated in Chicago and elsewhere). Tomorrow (unless it's already Aug. 14th where you are) is the 70th birthday of the Social Security Act. Compare and contrast...
(Round-numbered birthdays and anniversaries, you gotta love em. Hard to believe Burt "Robin" Ward turned 60 last month... but that "American Gothic" paining is only 75 years old.)
posted by wendell on Aug 13, 2005 - 7 comments

Yesterday marked the 25 anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption. NewsDesigner posted a great wrap-up of the front pages of major papers on that very day. Poking around the USGS site, I found a shot of Mt. St. Helens from the day before the blast, and a couple days after. The fallout was extensive and the images unforgettable.
posted by mathowie on May 19, 2005 - 31 comments

For lovers of the hard-boiled crime story, life began with the black bird. It's a tale of greed and a wisecracking gumshoe. The femme fatale is a liar. The object of the hero's search is a statuette of a falcon. Published exactly 75 years ago on Valentine's Day, Dashiell Hammett's private-eye novel "The Maltese Falcon"' immediately won critical acclaim. And when it was made into a 1941 movie starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre (and directed by a rookie), Hammett's story found a worldwide audience and his hero, Sam Spade, became a household name. Now, three-quarters of a century later, that's still the case. More inside.
posted by matteo on Feb 14, 2005 - 33 comments

The original thread as posted here on metafilter. On the first anniversary this thread consisted mainly of links related to the terrorist attacks. Last year was this thread. Remember those who were lost in this one thread, please, without the politics.
posted by SuzySmith on Sep 11, 2004 - 15 comments

New York's Subway turns 100 years old in 2004. All of us NYers have at least one subway story... what's yours? A few historical links here, here and here.
posted by adamms222 on Dec 9, 2003 - 22 comments

20 years ago today, the Buggles started it all off. Love it or hate it now, MTV has had a big impact on our culture, and most of us at some time in our lives have watched it. Anyone want to share what they used to like about MTV back when it was cool?
posted by quirked on Aug 1, 2001 - 69 comments

The 30th anniversary of the internet is coming next month, and will be just down the road from where I work. I gotta go...
posted by mathowie on Aug 18, 1999 - 0 comments