For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the phrase (and it can’t be many), “Sorry, Charlie” roughly translates to: Tough luck, bro. Urban Dictionary defines it as: “A lack of sympathy. A form of ‘get over it.'” Today’s kids might not trot out “Sorry, Charlie” as much as the youth of the 1960s did, but…
Two years ago, Saturday Night Live aired a skit featuring Kenan Thompson and Beck Bennett stranded in the desert and dying of thirst. As Bennett gazes blearily into the distance, a wondrous vision appears. It’s a chipper young man wearing an apron and standing at a counter. He’s holding up an ice-cold yellow smoothie. “Bananamatazz…
Among the many hardships endured by children undergoing cancer treatment is nausea–and the related difficulty of finding a food they can keep down. Fortunately, young patients at the Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, the Georgetown University Hospital and 123 other medical centers across the country can avail themselves of a simple snack that, more often…
If you’re the sort who suffers for days from old commercial jingles that get stuck in your head, then by all means avoid searching YouTube for the Pabst Blue Ribbon weightlifter spot. Its doubtful premise–that a champion athlete can win first prize, but really just wants a brewski–climaxes in song: “I’ve got a taste for…
One afternoon in the summer of 1969, Woodstock promoter Michael Lang took sound engineer Bill Hanley to Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, N.Y., to show him the grounds for the concert he was planning. The moment Hanley looked out at 700 acres of grassy hillside, he knew the only way to throw sound that far…
Earlier this year, American Eagle Outfitters took a gamble that turned the heads of not only customers, but other marketers as well. Like many brands pursuing the fickle tastes of Gen Z shoppers, the mall-based apparel retailer had convened focus groups full of teens, eager to hear what they did and didn’t like. And like…
About a decade ago, Tim Hortons put up a page on its website that let customers share stories about what the restaurant meant to them personally. Just in case that concept sounds a little strange–people expressing their affection for a doughnut chain–well, then, you don’t know Tim Hortons, and you’re certainly not Canadian. For 55…
For Americans fond of their brewskies, Dec. 5, 1933, was arguably the biggest day in history. That Sunday, Utah became the all-important 36th state to vote an end to Prohibition. To show their gratitude to Franklin D. Roosevelt–who’d reportedly said, “What America needs now is a drink”–two brewers sent gifts to the president. One was…
Nineteen fifty-three was a seminal year in world history. Biologists discovered the double helix of DNA. Sir Edmund Hillary reached the top of Everest. Dr. Jonas Salk perfected the polio vaccine. And in a suburban backyard in Fairfield, Conn., a bunch of kids played the first game of Wiffle Ball. All right, so maybe a…
Aug. 25, 1961, was a big day in Gloucester, Mass. In a long clapboard building on Rogers Street, just above the Inner Harbor, some 250 attendees gathered to glad-hand and listen to speeches by various VIPs, including the esteemed professor and researcher Samuel Goldblith. Up from Washington was Sen. Benjamin Smith II (D-Mass.)–keeping JFK’s seat…
As home to the Capitol’s upper house, the United States Senate Chamber is among the most storied rooms in America. Appointed with red marble pilasters and rich blue carpeting, the chamber contains 100 mahogany desks. Senators can keep whatever they like in the desks–each is assigned a specific one–but the contents of desk No. 24…
The story tore across media outlets all over the world last year. In Saudi Arabia, a dozen camels had been disqualified from a beauty contest at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. A story that ran in The National, a paper published out of the United Arab Emirates, revealed that a crooked veterinarian had been caught…
As arguably the most talented player in college basketball, Zion Williamson is used to making headlines–just not the kind he made last month. On Feb. 21, as the Duke forward played in the first minute of the North Carolina game, a sudden “pop” brought Williamson to the floor, clutching his knee in agony. “The world…
Hollywood isn’t just an incubator of celebrity culture. It’s also home to some of the most durable brand logos in American capitalism. The celluloid trade calls them title screens, and odds are that most every adult consumer can name them by sight: Warner Brothers’ “WB” shield, Cinderella’s Castle of Disney Pictures fame and, of course,…
In the weeks leading up to the national bicentennial of July 4, 1976, communities across America joined in the craze for shoving time capsules into the ground. Among them was the town of Lima, Ohio. But while Lima buried the usual payload of comic books and bumper stickers, local officials tossed in another item to…
One of the most important plays in football history was made on March 7, 1969, though it didn’t take place on a field anywhere. It happened at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where the claims examiners received registration No. 882283 from an office at 345 Park Ave. in New York: The National Football League…
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