On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs Unveiled Apple’s 1st iPhone

On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs took the stage at the Macworld Convention in San Francisco to unveil the original iPhone, a moment widely regarded as one of the most iconic product debuts in tech history.

Jobs teased the audience by announcing three separate revolutionary products:

• A widescreen iPod with touch controls
• A revolutionary mobile phone
• A breakthrough internet communications device

He then revealed: “These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it iPhone.”

Jobs famously mocked existing smartphones of the era (like the BlackBerry and Palm Treo) for using physical keyboards and plastic styluses. Apple introduced multi-touch technology, allowing users to navigate entirely with their fingers: “Who wants a stylus? You have to get ’em, put ’em away, you lose ’em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus.”

The original iPhone featured a 3.5-inch display (320×480 resolution), a 2-megapixel camera, up to 8GB or 16GB of storage, and ran on AT&T's 2G EDGE network. The device went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, starting at $490, and fundamentally redefined consumer electronics, mobile computing, and app-driven ecosystems.

Private Footage of the 9/11 Terrorist Attack Shot by a College Student From a NYU Dormitory

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Caroline Dries was a student at New York University (NYU) residing on a high floor at 200 Water Street in Lower Manhattan with her roommate, Megan. Awakened at 8:46 a.m. by the sound of American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the North Tower, Dries began filming with a handheld camcorder she had bought just a week earlier.

The camera captured the raw real-time reactions of Dries and her dorm mates. At 9:03 a.m., while zooming in on falling debris and people jumping from the North Tower, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower live on camera. The shocking moment led to panicked reactions as the students realized it was an intentional attack rather than an accident.

Horrified, Dries and her roommate briefly fled into the street but returned to their dorm room due to confusion and chaos outside. Her video later captured the collapse of the South Tower at 9:59 a.m.

Dries held onto the raw tapes for nearly a decade, finding it difficult to process the gravity of what she had captured, which included heartbreaking details like victims falling from the towers. She eventually shared her story and footage publicly around the 10th anniversary of the attacks on programs for networks like the CNN Student Footage Interview and The History Channel.

Dries later pursued a highly successful career in television, working as a writer and executive producer on major series including Smallville, The Vampire Diaries, and creating Batwoman for The CW. Despite her Hollywood success, she has noted that the raw 9/11 tape remains the most significant and compelling piece of film she will ever be a part of.

Albert Einstein Driving a ‘Flying’ Car With His Wife Elsa (1931)

On February 3, 1931, Albert Einstein and his second wife, Elsa, visited the Warner Bros. First National studio lot in California. This home movie footage captures the famous physicist, who never actually learned to drive, playfully getting behind the wheel of a car on a soundstage while utilizing early rear-projection special effects.

Einstein and Elsa toured the active Warner Bros. lot, where he received demonstrations on sound recording and early cinematic special effects. Footage shows Einstein in the driver’s seat with Elsa as a passenger, pretending to drive past projected backdrops in a practical effects demonstration.

The rare silent film was rediscovered decades later in boxes belonging to a co-inventor of Kodakcolor and premiered publicly 87 years after it was shot.

Princess Diana Attending the London Premiere of the Steven Spielberg Film “Jurassic Park” in July 1993

Princess Diana famously attended the glittering UK royal premiere of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film Jurassic Park on July 15, 1993. The historic star-studded event was held at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, London, serving as a charity benefit for the organization Turning Point.

The event was a major cultural moment, blending Hollywood hype with royal prestige. Diana arrived looking effortlessly chic in an elegant black embroidered silk dress with a matching tuxedo-style jacket, accessorized with an emerald-and-diamond choker necklace.

She walked the red carpet and spent time greeting director Steven Spielberg, his wife Kate Capshaw, author Michael Crichton, and the iconic main cast, including Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Ariana Richards, and Richard Attenborough.

Inside the theater, Diana sat directly between stars Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill. Goldblum later recalled sharing popcorn with the Princess, describing her as a “spectacular lady.” In a famous, lighthearted memory shared by Sam Neill, he brought his 10-year-old son, Tim, to sit next to the Princess. During the terrifying T-Rex scenes, his son repeatedly passed wind out of excitement and fear, leaving Neill “sweating like crazy” in terror that Diana would think it was him.

“There was a royal premiere in London, and it was, it was sort of a fortuitous occasion, you don’t get to sit beside Princess Diana every day,” Neill said. “But my son was sitting on the other side [of me] and it was kind of unfortunate, because once it starts getting exciting, about 45 minutes in, he was so carried away with things, he was about 10 years old at this point, he started to fart unreasonably.”

“It wasn’t that audible, but it was very, very [smelly],” he continued. “And there was sort of a draft through the cinema, and it was all drifting in the Princess’ direction. And I was there in my suit and bowtie and things, sweating like crazy because I thought, ‘The princess is going to think this is me. And it’s this little boy here.’”

Like a good dad, Neill says he didn’t rat out his son. Despite any theater distractions, cast members confirmed that Diana genuinely “really loved” the movie.

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When Michael Jackson Surprised SMAP on Their Show in Japan, 2006

On May 31, 2006, Michael Jackson made a legendary unannounced appearance on SMAP×SMAP, the massively popular variety show hosted by Japan’s iconic boy band, SMAP. The historic segment, which later aired on June 5, 2006, remains celebrated as one of the most memorable and wholesome celebrity surprises in television history.

Michael was visiting Tokyo to receive the MTV Japan Legend Award. It marked his first major public appearance after his 2005 trial, making his presence in Japan highly anticipated but strictly low-profile.

SMAP, consisting of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori, were completely unaware of his visit. The show’s production team kept the entire operation highly classified. While the five members were casually practicing choreography and rehearsing a song on stage, Michael secretly watched them from the control room.

As the group stood on stage, the studio doors parted, and the King of Pop stepped directly into the room. SMAP froze in absolute disbelief. The members suffered what fans describe as a complete “brain error.” Some dropped to their knees, some nervously laughed, and others bowed repeatedly while completely unable to process that a global icon was standing feet away from them.

Michael, accompanied by an interpreter, approached the starstruck idols with extreme humility. He praised their rehearsal, stating, “I enjoyed the performance. It was very nice.” He shook hands, offered high-fives, and sweetly explained, “We drove today to see you. To surprise you.”

At the time, SMAP were the absolute kings of Japanese pop culture, yet they were reduced to ultimate superfans in Michael's presence. Michael concluded the brief but impactful meeting by thanking the Japanese public for their loyalty, offering a signature peace sign, and leaving them with his classic farewell: “God bless you. Love and peace.”

Here’s the Story Behind the Infamous Final Scene From John Waters’ “Pink Flamingos” (1972)

In the final scene of the 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos, the drag queen Divine famously eats fresh dog feces. This act was intended as the ultimate “publicity stunt” to cement her character’s title as the “Filthiest Person Alive” and to shock mainstream audiences.

Director John Waters conceived this scene to provide a level of shock that no big-budget studio would dare attempt. To ensure the quality of the “prop,” the small dog used in the scene was reportedly fed steak for three days before filming. The scene was captured in a single, unedited shot with no camera tricks or cuts, proving to the audience that the act was real.

Although Divine had agreed to the stunt a year prior, she did not fully grasp the reality until the three-hour wait for the dog to “go” on camera. She is seen gagging and smiling with the residue on her teeth in the final cut.

Following the shoot, Divine immediately scrubbed her teeth, legend has it she used the toothbrush of someone she disliked. Concerned about potential health risks, she later called a hospital hotline pretending to be a mother whose child had eaten dog waste; she was relieved to hear the worst likely outcome was “white worms.”

Because the film was shot on a shoestring budget ($12,000) on 16mm film, the grainy, documentary-style aesthetic added a layer of gritty realism that made the sequence even more jarring for audiences at the time. To this day, it is frequently cited in discussions regarding the limits of performance art and transgressive filmmaking.

The scene became the cornerstone of the film’s marketing, often summarized by the tagline “this queen eats dog sh*t.” While it led to long lines at midnight movie screenings, it also caused legal trouble, with Waters losing several court battles over the film’s “obscenity.”

Michelle Pfeiffer at the Miss California Beauty Pageant in 1978

Did you know that Michelle Pfeiffer was in beauty pageants once upon a time? She won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978 and finished sixth in the Miss California contest the same year. After her appearances in these pageants, Pfeiffer acquired an agent and began to audition for television and film roles.

Before she was an Academy Award-nominated actress and a Hollywood icon, 19-year-old Michelle Pfeiffer used the pageant circuit as a stepping stone to break into the industry.  

In 1978, she competed in the Miss California pageant held at the Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia. While she didn’t take home the top crown, her participation was a pivotal moment in her early career.

She qualified for Miss California after winning the Miss Orange County title earlier that year. She ultimately finished in sixth place but was awarded the title of Miss Photogenic.

Pfeiffer famously entered the contest because one of the judges was a Hollywood agent. Her plan worked; the exposure helped her land her first agent, leading to her television debut later that year in an episode of Fantasy Island. At the time of the pageant, she was a student at Golden West College and worked as a check-out clerk at a Vons supermarket.

In a strange twist of Hollywood fate, the 1954 Miss California winner, Lee Meriwether, also went on to play Catwoman (in the 1966 Batman film), a role Pfeiffer would redefine decades later in Batman Returns (1992).  

Pfeiffer has often looked back on her pageant days with a mix of humor and humility, noting that she initially viewed it as a practical way to bypass the “waiting in line” phase of pursuing an acting career. “I needed to learn how to act... in the meantime, I was playing bimbos and cashing in on my looks.”

Solène Lory, the Girl on Stage During Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” in Munich, 1997

Solène Lory is a French Michael Jackson fan who, at age 18, was brought on stage during his HIStory World Tour concert in Munich, Germany, on July 6, 1997, for the performance of “You Are Not Alone.” This moment became one of the most memorable and emotional fan interactions from the tour, captured in official recordings and widely circulated online. She is the girl seen hugging Michael tightly, kneeling before him, and showing raw emotion as he embraces her.

Solène became a fan in 1992 after seeing Michael live on the Dangerous Tour in Toulouse, France. For the HIStory Tour, she traveled extensively to multiple shows (including Spain, Paris, Munich, London, and others) and deliberately positioned herself in the front row by queuing early and running to prime spots.

She actively tried to get noticed by the production team, particularly the cameraman and Michael’s assistant Anthony, starting from earlier concerts. In Paris, her best friend was selected instead, which devastated her, but the cameraman encouraged her to try again at future shows. Her persistence paid off in Munich.

During the second Munich concert, as “You Are Not Alone” began, Anthony pulled her from the crowd. She ran onto the stage, jumped into Michael’s arms, hugged him tightly, cried, tried to kiss him, and told him (in French) that she loved him. She knelt and clasped his legs in awe, which surprised him. She carried a teddy bear talisman (a keepsake from a previous Michael-related event) but forgot to give it to him in the moment.

Security (including bodyguard Wayne) eventually escorted her off stage. She was so overcome that she could barely walk afterward and later noticed Michael’s scent on her shirt and teddy bear. The interaction was genuine and unscripted in its execution, though the tour routinely selected a girl for this segment each night.

Interestingly, because the Munich concert was filmed for a professional TV special, the editors used footage from two different nights. While Solène is the primary girl remembered, some shots in the final “Munich” film actually feature a different fan from the second night, though Solène remains the “face” of that specific tour stop.

In a 1998 interview with the fan magazine Black & White, she described the experience as a “magical dance” and expressed her deep love for the artist. She later wrote a message to Michael: “Michael, when I was in your arms on July 6th 1997 in Munich, I had the most beautiful time of my life. Thank you for this magical dance. I love you with all my heart. You are not alone.”

Solène largely stayed out of the spotlight after this. Fans who knew her story through the magazine respected her privacy, noting she grew into a normal adult life with a job and family. She has been described as a devoted, persistent fan rather than someone seeking fame. Clips of the moment continue to circulate and inspire fans decades later.

The Moment Jack Ruby Shot Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas on November 24, 1963

One of the most shocking moments in American history, captured live on television and in photographs. On the morning of November 24, 1963, just two days after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald was being transferred from Dallas Police Headquarters to the county jail. As he was escorted through the basement of the Dallas Police Department, nightclub owner Jack Ruby stepped forward from the crowd of reporters and detectives and fired a single .38-caliber revolver shot into Oswald’s abdomen at point-blank range.

Oswald died approximately two hours later at Parkland Memorial Hospital, the same hospital where President Kennedy had died two days earlier.

The shooting was broadcast live on national television, making it one of the first acts of violence ever witnessed in real time by a mass audience. The famous photograph, taken by Robert H. Jackson of the Dallas Times Herald, won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

Jack Ruby (52) shoots Lee Harvey Oswald (24). The image was captured by Dallas Times Herald photographer Robert H. Jackson and it won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

Jack Beers’s photograph taken a split second before Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. The photo was used on the front page of the Dallas Morning News the next day

A camera captures the back of Jack Ruby as he shoots Lee Harvey Oswald who is being escorted by guards during a television press conference at the Dallas police headquarters.

The AP says this is Jack Ruby’s hat on the ground just after shooting Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.

Mugshot of Jack Ruby taken November 24, 1963, after his arrest for killing Lee Harvey Oswald.

When Rowan Atkinson Met Princess Diana in 1984

Rowan Atkinson and Princess Diana had a famous and somewhat humorous encounter in 1984 during the Royal Variety Performance at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London. At the time, Atkinson was not yet “Mr. Bean” (that character wouldn’t debut on TV for another six years), but he was already a major star in the UK thanks to Not the Nine O’Clock News and the first series of Blackadder.

The meeting took place in the traditional line-up after the performance, where the Royal guests of honor—on this night, Princess Diana and Prince Charles—greeted the entertainers.

According to reports and recollections from the night, Diana shared a witty exchange with Atkinson. He was appearing in a West End play called The Nerd at the time. When Diana reached him, she reportedly joked, “Don’t you ever call me a nerd!”—referencing his play while flashing her famous charismatic smile.

Famous photos from the event show Atkinson looking uncharacteristically shy or “smitten” as he shakes her hand. Fans often joke that he looked like he was “experiencing bliss,” while Diana appeared genuinely delighted to meet the comedian.

Interestingly, 1984 was also the year Rowan Atkinson worked with a 10-year-old Christian Bale in the play The Nerd. Atkinson later became a personal friend of the Royal Family, particularly King Charles III. He was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005 and Prince William’s wedding in 2011.

That Time Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston Did an Advert for Windows 95

In 1995, at the peak of their Friends fame, Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston starred in a 60-minute instructional video titled the Microsoft Windows 95 Video Guide. Marketed as the “world’s first cyber sitcom,” the production was released on VHS to teach users the basics of the new operating system.

The actors play themselves visiting Bill Gates' office to audition for a role in a Microsoft video guide. They are guided through the "top 25 features" of Windows 95, including the Start button, right-clicking, multitasking, and the Recycle Bin.

Along the way, they interact with a cast of eccentric characters, such as a “martial arts guru” and “Joystick Johnny,” who explain technical concepts like Plug and Play. The video features iconic era-specific moments, such as Aniston calling copy-pasting “trippy” and Perry learning how to send an email to a friend in a grunge band.

The tape was divided into three sections: the “cyber sitcom,” a step-by-step technical review, and a section answering the 20 most frequently asked questions.

It’s a fascinating piece of tech-marketing history, especially considering Windows 95 was the version that truly moved PCs into the mainstream.

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A City of 2026 Imagined in the Sci-Fi Classic “Metropolis” (1927), Directed by Fritz Lang

In Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece Metropolis, the year 2026 was not just a random date, but a symbolic “one hundred years in the future.” Lang’s vision of the 2026 skyline was a radical fusion of industrial power, social hierarchy, and Art Deco grandeur that continues to influence how we imagine cities today.

In Lang’s Metropolis, architecture is the physical manifestation of class. The height of a building directly corresponds to the social status of its inhabitants. A shimmering playground of white stone and light. Skyscrapers here house “Pleasure Gardens,” stadiums, and lecture halls for the elite. Below the skyscrapers lie the machine halls, and even further down is the “Worker’s City.” The skyscrapers literally sit on the backs of the laboring class. To Lang, verticality wasn’t an urban solution, it was a form of control. The “Head” (the elite) lives at the top, while the “Hands” (the workers) toil at the bottom.

It is a colossal, tiered, zig-zagging structure that dwarfs every other building. The design was heavily influenced by Lang’s 1924 trip to New York City, where he was mesmerized by the “vertical sails” of the skyline at night. It serves as the “brain” of the city, where every flow of data and energy is monitored.

Lang’s 2026 skyscrapers weren’t isolated towers; they were part of a massive, interconnected machine. Multi-level skyways and bridges crisscross between buildings, carrying a constant stream of black motorcars. Biplanes and small aircraft buzz between the towers, suggesting a future where the sky is as congested as the ground. The buildings are designed to be “bathed in an ecstasy of brightness,” using neon signs and floodlights to turn the city into a sparkling, hypnotic landscape after dark.

The look of the 2026 skyline is a blend of several movements:

• Art Deco: Clean lines, geometric shapes, and a sense of “monumental modernism.”
• Italian Futurism: Inspired by Antonio Sant’Elia’s “La Città Nuova,” the buildings emphasize speed, mechanical energy, and industrial scale.
• Gothic Elements: Despite the futurism, the city contains a “haunted” quality, with sharp, expressionistic shadows and even a medieval cathedral tucked between the high-rises.

Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, ranking 67th in Sight and Sound’s 2022 critics’ poll, and receiving general critical acclaim. In 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register, the first film thus distinguished.

Cameron Diaz’s First-Ever Audition for “The Mask”, 1993

In 1993, Cameron Diaz was a 21-year-old model with zero professional acting experience when she walked into the audition for The Mask. Her casting is widely considered one of the greatest “happy accidents” in Hollywood history, as she was originally only looking for a minor background role.

The production team had been searching for months to find the perfect “Tina Carlyle.” Director Chuck Russell had initially considered several established names and even met with Anna Nicole Smith, but he felt something was missing.

According to Russell, he saw Diaz’s 8x10 headshot in a pile on the casting director’s desk. Despite being told she was just a model with no credits, he insisted on bringing her in. He later remarked that she was the only person who had the right “instant likeability” and “intelligence” for the role.

Because she was an unknown, the studio (New Line Cinema) was extremely hesitant to cast her. Diaz had to go through a grueling process. She was called back roughly a dozen times over several weeks to prove she could handle the role. She was eventually paired with Jim Carrey for a screen test. Russell noted that Carrey actually performed better during his scenes with Diaz, confirming their immediate chemistry. Diaz later admitted that the stress of the process was overwhelming. She told Entertainment Weekly that she was so nervous she couldn’t eat or sleep and actually developed an ulcer during the audition period.

Director Chuck Russell was so convinced that Diaz was the only one for the part that he reportedly threatened to quit the film if the studio didn’t hire her. The studio finally relented just seven days before filming began.

Moe Howard of the Three Stooges Show How They Performed Slapstick Without Hurting Each Other in the 1960s

In the 1960s, Moe Howard of the Three Stooges publicly demonstrated how they performed their slapstick routines safely using carefully choreographed movements, precise timing, and visual tricks.

During interviews and television appearances in the 1960s, when reruns of their shorts introduced them to a new generation, Moe would explain that their actions were illusions more about coordination than actual contact. He took pride in teaching how to achieve the comedic effect without harm, largely in response to concerns that children might try to imitate their behavior.

The routines were meticulously rehearsed, similar to stage combat, so each actor knew exactly when and where a “blow” would land and how to react. Many gags, such as the signature eye poke, were designed as near-misses. Moe explained his fingers would go “way up here” near the forehead, but the speed of the action and the “victim’s” reaction made it look like a direct hit to the eyes. The impact of the gags was sold using exaggerated sound effects (slaps, thuds, etc.), which were often added in post-production or created live with props off-camera.

The way scenes were filmed was crucial. Specific camera angles were used to enhance the illusion of actual impact. The person being hit, usually Larry or Curly/Shemp/Joe, sold the gag with an over-the-top, perfectly timed reaction, often more so than the person delivering the blow.

Nirvana Singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for RuPaul, 1993

Nirvana singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for Rupaul’s talk show backstage at their 1993 Saturday Night Live performance on September 25, 1993 in NBC Studios New York. The performance was a short segment recorded for The RuPaul Christmas Ball Special, a variety show that aired on VH1 in December 1993.

At the time, the band — Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl — was already one of the biggest acts in the world following the success of Nevermind and In Utero. In the humorous clip, they hold up cardboard cutouts of RuPaul while she encourages them to sing the Christmas carol. It’s a sweet and surreal intersection of grunge and drag culture that highlights Kurt Cobain’s genuine respect for RuPaul’s artistry and queer culture.

Who Is Old Enough and Seen or Heard of the Infamous Max Headroom Incident?

The Max Headroom signal hijacking (also known as the Max Headroom incident) was a hijacking of the television signals of two stations in Chicago, Illinois, on November 22, 1987, that briefly sent a pirate broadcast of an unidentified person wearing a Max Headroom mask and costume to thousands of home viewers. It was one of the first and only successful TV signal hijackings in the U.S.

The first incident took place during the sports segment of independent TV station WGN-TV’s 9:00 p.m. newscast and featured a person wearing a mask swaying erratically in front of a semi-swiveling corrugated metal panel, apparently meant to resemble Max Headroom’s animated geometric background. Unlike the later intrusion, the only sound was a loud buzz. In total, the interruption went on for almost 30 seconds before engineers at WGN were able to regain control of their broadcast tower.

The second incident occurred about two hours later during PBS member station WTTW’s broadcast of the Doctor Who serial Horror of Fang Rock. With nobody on duty at the affected tower, this signal takeover was more sustained and included distorted but audible speech. The masked figure made reference to the real Max Headroom’s advertisements for New Coke, the animated TV series Clutch Cargo, WGN sportscaster Chuck Swirsky, “Greatest World Newspaper nerds,” and other seemingly unrelated topics. The video concluded with the masked figure presenting his bare buttocks to a woman with a flyswatter while yelling “They’re coming to get me!,” with the woman responding “Bend over, bitch!” and lightly spanking him with it as the figure was crying and screaming. At that point, the hijackers ended the pirate transmission, and normal programming resumed after a total interruption of about 90 seconds.

The broadcast intrusion was achieved by sending a more powerful microwave transmission to the stations’ broadcast towers than the stations were sending themselves, triggering a capture effect. Experts have said that the stunt required extensive technical expertise and a significant amount of transmitting power, and that the pirate broadcast likely originated from somewhere in the line of sight of both stations’ broadcast towers, which were atop two tall buildings in downtown Chicago. While the prank was difficult to accomplish in 1987, it became almost impossible to replicate after American television stations switched from analog to digital signals in 2009.

No one has ever claimed responsibility for the stunt. Speculation about the identities of “Max” and his co-conspirators has centered on the theories that the prank was either an inside job by a disgruntled employee (or former employee) of WGN or was carried out by members of Chicago’s underground hacker community. However, despite an official law enforcement investigation in the immediate aftermath of the incident and many unofficial investigations, inquiries, and online speculation in the ensuing decades, the identities and motives of the hijackers remain a mystery.

Soon after the intrusion, an FCC official was quoted in news reporting that the perpetrators faced a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to a year in prison. However, the five-year statute of limitations was surpassed in 1992; as such, the people responsible for the intrusion would no longer face criminal punishment should their identities be revealed.

The Twin Towers Has Shown Their Beauty in Many Famous Films Pre 9/11

The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were a prominent and iconic part of the New York City skyline for nearly 30 years, and as such, they appeared in a vast number of films and television shows before the September 11, 2001 attacks. Their presence in these works often served as a visual shorthand for New York City itself, a symbol of American financial power and a modern architectural marvel.

After the attacks, many films and TV shows either digitally removed the towers from their footage or were edited to remove them entirely, making these pre-9/11 cinematic appearances a poignant form of historical record.

In the 1990s, Jatech Created a Disappearing Door System That Retracted Beneath the Car’s Body

Jatech was a California-based design and technology firm that, in the early 1990s, developed a “disappearing car door” or “rotary drop door” system. This innovative design was intended to solve the problem of traditional car doors, which require a lot of space to swing open and can be awkward in tight parking spots.

Unlike conventional doors that swing outward or other alternative designs like gullwing or scissor doors that swing upward, Jatech’s door was a motorized system that slid downward into a sealed compartment beneath the car’s body. The door was mounted on a track system and would lower into a reinforced undercarriage. When a button was pressed, the door’s window would retract, and the entire door would descend into the car's sills, leaving a completely open side for easy entry and exit.

Jatech claimed that its design had several advantages. It eliminated the need for swing-out space, making it ideal for cramped urban environments and tight parking spots. The company insisted the system improved a car’s structural integrity and crashworthiness. Jatech argued the doors would allow for easier escape in emergencies, as they wouldn't be blocked by other vehicles or objects.

The company received some early interest from major automakers like Ford and General Motors. The most famous prototype was a modified Lincoln Mark VIII, but the system was also demonstrated on a Ford Explorer and a Chevrolet Corvette. The Lincoln Mark VIII prototype, in particular, gained attention and became the subject of a viral video years later.

Despite its intriguing design and apparent advantages, the Jatech disappearing door never made it to mass production. The system required a complete redesign of the car’s understructure to create the compartment for the door, which would have driven up production costs significantly. The motorized system, exposed to road grime, debris, and weather, raised concerns about long-term reliability and maintenance.

While Jatech claimed enhanced safety, critics were skeptical, particularly about what would happen in a minor fender-bender or if the mechanism failed, potentially trapping occupants inside. A manual override was reportedly part of the design, but the heavy doors would have been difficult to move without the motor’s assistance.

The doors were completely featureless on the inside, as the space was needed for the mechanism. This meant no storage pockets, speakers, or other standard door panel features.

By the 2010s, Jatech had ceased operations, leaving behind only a handful of prototypes and a legendary viral video that continues to fascinate car enthusiasts. The company’s name has, in a way, lived up to its invention's fate, having largely disappeared from the public eye.

The “Punching Competition” at the 1992 Junior World Championships

At the 1992 Junior World Championships in Seoul, South Korea, Kenyan runner Josephat Machuka was disqualified from the 10,000m race after punching the Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie just before the finish line as Gebrselassie sprinted to victory. The unsportsmanlike act, which occurred in the final meters of the race in Seoul, was captured on video and remains a memorable moment in athletics history.

Though Machuka and Gebrselassie later resolved their conflict, with Gebrselassie going on to a legendary career and Machuka also having a successful, albeit overshadowed, career in distance running.

See Russ Tamblyn Performing the ‘Shovel Dance’ in “The Fastest Gun Alive” (1956)

In The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), one of the most memorable moments isn’t a gunfight but a dance. Actor Russ Tamblyn, only 21 at the time, performs a remarkable acrobatic routine known as the “shovel dance.”

In the film, Tamblyn plays Eddie, a young townsman eager to prove himself. When the community gathers at a local barn dance, he suddenly takes the floor, grabs a shovel as a prop, and launches into an energetic number. He flips, leaps, and spins with extraordinary athleticism, balancing and dancing with the shovel as though it were a partner.

Glenn Ford assumed the number would be the kind of brief musical interlude that often appeared in musicals but when he saw Tamblyn’s extraordinary routine, he was astonished. Ford, who was married to esteemed tap dancer and actress Eleanor Powell, was fond of dance numbers but felt Tamblyn’s number was out of place in the film. 

As Tamblyn later recalled Ford said “This is a little western here and this guy is coming in and trying to do a Donald O’Connor all over the walls.” Ford tried to get the number cut from the film and it was said to have been cut from the preview but the credits still contained a reference to Russ Tamblyn’s dance number and the audience demanded to see it. 

The number was reinserted into the picture and ended up being one of the highlights of the film.

Russ Tamblyn, known for his roles as an actor who could also dance, was not formally trained in dance but had a background in tumbling and acrobatics. He considered himself an “actor who danced,” and this is evident in the raw, dynamic, and physical nature of his performances, including the “shovel dance” and his famous roles in musicals like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and West Side Story (1961).