July 19 in nerd history: The day cinema hit peak '90s

Last updated: June 4, 2024

July 19 in nerd history: The day cinema hit peak '90s

Happy National Hot Dog Day! There’s always a little bit of hesitation around what hot dogs are made out of, but hopefully you don’t think they’re made of wild dogs, as my child apparently did for many years.

Throw a few of your fave weiners on the grill today.

Hot Dog Meatballs GIF

This is The Reset Button from Classic Nerd, resetting your day.

July 19 in Nerd History

Here are 5 things that happened on July 19 that matter to those of us who understand the importance of having a healer in every party.

I.

Birthdays of honor: Benedict Cumberbatch (1976), Brian May (1947), Stuart Scott (1965).

II.

We may have hit peak ’90s on this day in 1995 when the Alicia Silverstone-starring Clueless hit theaters and set a cultural standard for teen comedies from that moment on. This was also the moment Paul Rudd ceased to age.

Alicia Silverstone Cherilyn Horowitz GIF by filmeditor

A year later, we chose life, chose a job, chose family — and, you know, all the other stuff. In 1996 Trainspotting was released, and everyone was all like, “That junkie is definitely the future Obi-Wan.”

Movie gif. Ewan McGregor as Mark and Ewen Bremner as Spud in Trainspotting run away in a sprint down a busy walkway.

(Side note: both of those movies feature among the top 10 greatest soundtracks of the ’90s, easily.)

And let’s not forget the way too often overlooked The Legend of Billie Jean, which came out on this day in 1985. Featuring Christian Slater, Helen Slater, and the future voice of Lisa Simpson, Yeardley Smith, it’s a coming-of-age drama that in many ways was ahead of its time — despite the fact that Pat Benatar, who provided the theme for the movie with her song “Invincible”, called it “the worst movie ever made” before playing the song in concert.

III.

In 1941 the cartoon “The Midnight Snack” from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera is released. It features two new characters by name for the first time: a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry.

IV.

In 1985, Joan Jett called up an up-and-coming boxer named Mike Tyson before his fight with Larry Sims. He won the fight easily — and from that moment on demanded to speak with Jett before every fight. The tradition continued until his 1990 fight with Buster Douglas, which was Tyson’s first loss.

V.

On July 19, 1991, Final Fantasy IV was released for the Super Nintendo. Or as it was known in North America upon release, Final Fantasy II.

Often regarded as one of the best video games of all time, FFIV was one of the first pioneers of dramatic storytelling in console-based RPGs.