If, today, you encountered social media, a periodical, or—in any likelihood—another person, you undoubtedly learned, quickly, that this was no common Monday. Or perhaps you already knew. In any case, exactly twenty years ago, J.K. Rowling’s debut novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone—the first in a magical…
Twenty years ago today, P.J. Hogan’s My Best Friend’s Wedding hit theaters. It would eventually become the ninth-highest grossing film of 1997—oddly sandwiched between the Special Edition of Star Wars (#8) and Tomorrow Never Dies (#10)—and one of the highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time. But in the pantheon…
TLC touched down at the tail end of 1991 in a neon blaze, and it took a minute for people’s eyes to adjust. The trio’s debut single, “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” was released November 22, 1991, and though it was a hit, it wouldn’t reach its peak on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 6) until a full five months later. There was a…
On November 1, 1996, young people across America began packing movie theaters—not to see an action movie or a teen comedy, but to watch Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (spelled “Romeo + Juliet” for those in the know). And to get very, very horny, possibly for the first time ever.
Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise was released in theaters on May 24, 1991, which means its been exactly 25 years since Geena Davis (Thelma) and Susan Sarandon (Louise) decided to “just keep going” and drive their Thunderbird into the Grand Canyon. But though the movie is probably best known for that tragic final scene,…
Twenty years ago today, Fear entered theaters and scared the living daylights out of parents and teens everywhere. Despite having the plot of a bad Lifetime movie, its solid performances and handsome production (the kind plenty of undeserving ‘90s movies were given) made Fear hard to laugh at. Even in 2016, it remains…
A decade ago today, Amanda Bynes, pre a few difficult years, starred in the best movie I’ve ever seen.
Marge Gunderson, introduced to the world 20 years ago in Joel and Ethan Coen’s Fargo, is one of the great characters in movie history. A pregnant cop who sees things no one else does while shuffling unperturbed through the perpetual snow of a Minnesota winter, Gunderson (played by Frances McDormand in a perfect…
The Golden Girls, a sitcom that aired on NBC from 1985 to 1992, is currently on American television—specifically the cable channel Hallmark—three hours every weekday. At six episodes a day, you could watch the entire series in about six weeks, at which point Hallmark would pop in the disc one of their complete series…
Wow, time goes by really fast, doesn’t it? It was a decade ago that Jessica Simpson, American cultural icon, first launched her namesake clothing line, enabling us all to wear slightly platformed peep-toe pumps in varying shades of patent, and to stand tall among giants.
Today a fine establishment called Sprinkles is celebrating its 10-year-anniversary mark, a tremendous achievement for any small business, so congrats to them. The one major problem with Sprinkles is that their decade of existence has come solely from selling goddamn cupcakes.
Traditionalists can gripe about wedding guests relentlessly taking smartphone pictures during weddings, or the obsessive documentation of ceremonies on social media, but there's at least one huge defense of this behavior: If your official photographer monumentally screws up, at least you'll have a handful of amateur…
Please take a moment to celebrate this very important anniversary: It was 15 years ago today that "Heartbreaker" by Mariah Carey (featuring Jay Z) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. And nothing — including the raw-edge waists of our jeans — would ever be the same.
Sports Illustrated is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its annual swimsuit issue this year. Here, we examine all 50 covers to see how "sexy" has evolved since 1964. Or didn't. (Hint: still boobs.)
Happy 2014! As Sociological Images reminds us, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which enabled women to have credit cards in their own name. Not only was the act a step towards financial independence — it spawned the exciting stock photo genre "Delighted Lady Holding Credit…
Ever since the beginning of the Great Struggle Against the Carbohydrate Empire, people have tended to deride bread when talking about health. “Oh, bread is so bad for you. The cavepeople never ate bread, and just look how wonderfully sinewy they were!” It wasn’t all that long ago (85 years ago today), however, that…
Tonight, the Mitt hits the fan when President Obama and Governor Romney face each other in a talking points slapfest we call a Presidential Debate for the first time this election season. But today's also another important date in the Obama family calendar: Barack and Michelle's 20th anniversary. To celebrate, the…
On March 12, 1912, eighteen girls from Savannah, Georgia gathered for what would be the first meeting of Girl Scouts. One hundred years later, the small organization founded by Juliette Low has included more than 50 million girls and women, sold hundreds of millions of boxes of cookies, and given us some incredibly…
Isidore and Joan Schwartz spent their first night as husband and wife at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. And now, decades later the hotel has welcomed them to spend the night of their 60th wedding anniversary in the same lodging for the same price they paid on their wedding night. In 1952. So how much did their…
This week MTV celebrates its 30th anniversary, and over the course of three decades the network has done nothing short of redefining pop culture. And lucky for us, quite a few ladies helped push the network ahead along the way. Herewith, a celebration of the ladies of MTV.
