1. 1969: The first episode of The Brady Bunch
Photo: huffingtonpost
It was on this date in 1969 the iconic sitcom, The Brady Bunch, makes its television premiere. Following the story of a widowed mother with three blonde haired girls and a widowed father with his three brown haired boys, The Brady Bunch was a key part of American pop culture. The show was created by Sherwood Schwartz, who was responsible for other hit shows like Gilligans Island. Even though the Brady Bunch set during the ’60s-’70s where controversial situations arose seemingly every day, the show avoided those topics to focus on more wholesome, family oriented subject matter. They instead focused more on the children with things like braces, dating, and of course, sibling rivalry which is where the now famous “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” complaint from middle sister Jan towards her older and more attractive sister. Even though the show never made it into the top ten as far as ratings go, the show was a complete hit and would air a total of 177 episodes before August 30, 1974, when the last original episode was broadcast. However, it would continue through rerun syndication for many years to come and eventually was made into feature length films.
2. 1960: The first televised Presidential debate
Photo: cnn
Photo: cnn
Richard M. Nixon looked like “death warmed over” when he went up against John F Kennedy during the first televised Presidential debate on this date in 1960. Kennedy however, looked fit, tan, and healthy, and some people feel as if this played a major factor in him winning the debate. The founder of 60 minutes, Don Hewitt, who was also the producer for the first televised debate, came up with the assessment that if you had listened to the debate on the radio you would’ve thought Nixon had won, but those watching it on TV thought Kennedy was the clear winner. Nixon had not realized the significance of the debate and had treated it like any other campaign stop. He apparently had given a speech at the Carpenters Union in Chicago earlier that day. Then when he arrived at the studio he apparently banged his knee when getting out of the car and was said to have been in pain during the debate. To make matters worse he refused any make-up before going in front of the camera to help his pale, sweaty appearance. Kennedy, however, was the complete opposite, he rested prior to the event and came in looking as healthy as could be. Nixon learned his lesson and drastically improved for the three remaining debates, but in the end, it was JFK that came out on top after one of the closest presidential elections in history.
3. 2002: Massive ferry capsizes off the coast of Gambia
Photo: maritimecyprus
Photo: gizmodo
It was on this date in 2002 that one of the worst maritime disasters in history takes place when a massive ferry capsizes off the coast of Gambia. The ferry that went by the name, the Joola, was a 12-year-old vessel at the time and had an experienced crew, and a commander with 21 years experience at the helm. No evidence was fond that linked the disaster to either the boat or the crew. Instead, it was believed that a strong storm had caused the ship to capsize. However, there was said to be approximately 1,035 passengers on board even though the max capacity was set at 800. Apparently, the more than 200 people above capacity had boarded the ferry even though they didn’t have tickets. Because of the terrible storm rescuing the passengers was nearly impossible, and because of this they managed to only save 64 people. In the end, there were well over 900 casualties from this horrific event.