- After cleaning himself up, Todd Bridges saved a woman from drowning.
- Barbie dolls were based on an “adult” gag gift in Germany known as a Bild Lilli doll. “Early fashions are noted for their particular seductive design. Originally this doll had been produced as an advertisement gag for adults.” In 1956, an American woman named Ruth Handler, whose husband was one half of the Mattel ownership team, went to Germany on vacation. She came across the Bild Lilli doll, purchased three, and gave one to her daughter, whose name was Barbie. Her daughter loved the toy, and Mattel decided to take a chance on the first adult doll for kids. Needless to say, it paid off handsomely.
- The Etch a Sketch was invented by a Frenchman in 1959, who originally called it L’Ecran Magique. Here’s how an Etch-a-Sketch works.
- The first video game to reach mainstream popularity was PONG, released in 1972. Here is a really cool history of video games, and you can play PONG online by clicking here. 39 years later, and it’s still a pretty damn fun game.