The number one song on this day in 1982

Last updated: June 4, 2024

The number one song on this day in 1982

Happy National Tequila Day, which coincides with International Self Care Day. Coincidence? Probably, but a pretty good one.

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

July 24 in Nerd History

Here are 5 things that happened on July 24 at the intersection of nerd and pop culture.

Birthdays of honor: Lynda Carter (1951), Jennifer Lopez (1969), Amelia Earhart (1897), Gallagher (1946).

II.

High Noon, a movie that comic icon Frank Miller cites as one of his favorite films, was released today in 1952 — maybe in part that’s because the movie’s villain is also named Frank Miller… huh.

Elsewhere in movie releases, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was released today in 1987. But instead of peace, the movie was so universally despised (including by Christopher Reeve himself) that the series went dormant for nearly two decades. But hey if anyone’s going to bring Nuclear Man back successfully, it will be James Gunn.

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Speaking of flops, on July 24, 1978, the Beatles-inspired Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band opened in the USA. For some reason, enough people thought that making a movie more than a decade after the original album came out and replacing the Beatles with The Bee Gees was a good idea.

III.

There’s a good chance that today in 1983 you learned some new curse words as your dad shouted in disbelief at the TV. That’s because today marks the 40th anniversary of the Pine Tar Game.

The Kansas City Royals’ George Brett thought he had just delivered a win the way every kid dreams it — down in the ninth inning by a run with two outs and hitting a two-run homer.

But when the Yankees’ manager complained about the amount of pine tar on Brett’s bat, umpires called the home run back, giving the win to New York. Chaos ensued.

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But my friends, this game still wasn’t over. The Royals protested the call, and eventually it was overturned yet again — leading to a restart of the game from the moment just after the piney home run. The Royals officially won the game 25 days after it had begun.

IV.

Peter Sellers, known for delivering iconically dry yet brilliant performances in movies like Being There and as Chief Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series, passed away from a heart attack at age 54 in 1980 after years of struggling with his mental health and substance abuse.

V.

On this day in 1982 “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor was the top song, thanks in no small part to a little movie called Rocky III.