This Week in Nerd History | July 10-16

Nerd culture is a vibrant tapestry of events, releases, and milestones that have shaped the entertainment landscape. From iconic movies to groundbreaking games and significant literary contributions, this article takes a trip down memory lane to explore the notable nerd culture events that occurred from July 10th to July 16th in history. Let’s celebrate these cherished moments that have left an indelible mark on the hearts of fans around the world.

Photo Credit: Comics, Comic Art & Animation

July 10, 1934* | The First Comic Book

On (*or about) this day, Famous Funnies #1 was published. The groundbreaking comic book series featured popular comic strip characters such as Mutt and Jeff, Buck Rogers, and Invisible Scarlet O’Neil, and it’s widely considered to be the first regularly published comic book.

Nerdy Fact: It was not the first comic book printed, but it was the first one to be sold on newsstands. It cost 10 cents. Previous comic books were either given away for free or distributed through department stores.

Photo Credit: USA Today

July 10, 2015 | Your Aunt’s Favorite Meme Got a Movie

On this day, Minions released in theaters. In this animated film, three adventurous yellow creatures named Kevin, Stuart and Bob travel across the world to find a new evil master, and end up working for Scarlet Overkill, the first female supervillain who plans to steal the British crown.

Nerdy Fact: The Minions are voiced by the film’s directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud1. They also created the Minions’ language, which is a mix of several languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Indonesian, Hebrew, Malay, and gibberish.

Photo Credit: Vox

July 11, 1985 | Coca-Cola Walks Back New Coke

On this day, after facing a nationwide backlash from loyal customers who rejected the sweeter taste of New Coke, Coca-Cola announced that it would bring back its original formula, which had been locked away in a bank vault.

Nerdy Fact: New Coke was similar to Diet Coke but was sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup1. The change in formula might have saved Coke tens of millions of dollars by cutting back on certain more-expensive ingredients. Too bad people hated it.

Photo Credit: Steam

July 11, 1993 | Street Fighter II Turbo

On this day, Street Fighter II Turbo released in arcades. It’s a fast-paced fighting game that introduces new special moves and alternate colors for the iconic characters of the Street Fighter series.

Nerdy Fact: The game was originally called Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in arcades, but it was renamed to Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting for the Super NES version. The name change was to avoid confusion with the previous arcade update, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition.

Photo Credit: MUBI

July 11, 2013 | Sharknado

On this day, Sharknado released. This sci-fi comedy disaster film depicts a freak storm that unleashes deadly sharks on Los Angeles and other cities.

Nerdy Fact: The film was originally titled Dark Skies, but the producers changed it to Sharknado to make it more catchy and descriptive. The director, Anthony Ferrante, was not happy with the change at first, but later embraced it.

Photo Credit: WWE

July 11, 2013 | WWE Performance Center Opens

On this day, WWE launched its Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, a 26,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility that offers comprehensive training, sports science, and production services for its talent.

Nerdy Fact: The facility has a voice-over room that performers and on-air announcers can use to practice their mic skills and commentary. The room is equipped with a teleprompter, a microphone, and a monitor that shows WWE footage. The room also allows the talents to record their own promos and get feedback from the coaches.

Photo Credit: MovieWeb

July 12, 2008 | “It’s a Gift… and a Curse.”

On this day, Monk premiered on USA. This comedy-drama TV series follows the adventures of Adrian Monk, a brilliant but obsessive-compulsive detective who helps the San Francisco police solve crimes.

Nerdy Fact: The TV series was inspired by the real-life story of a New York City police officer named Joe Petrocelli, who suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder and used his condition to solve crimes.

Photo Credit: Nerdist

July 14, 2000 | X-Men

On this day, X-Men released in theaters. This superhero movie tells the story of a group of mutants with extraordinary powers who fight against a radical faction that wants to start a war between humans and mutants.

Nerdy Fact: The film features a cameo by Stan Lee, the co-creator of the X-Men and many other Marvel characters. He appears as a hot dog vendor on the beach when Senator Kelly emerges from the water after escaping from Magneto’s machine. This was Lee’s first cameo in a Marvel movie, and he would go on to make many more in subsequent films.

Photo Credit: Paramount Plus

July 15, 1996 | Kenan & Kel

On this day, Kenan & Kel premiered. This comedy show aired on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2000, starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell as two best friends who get into hilarious trouble, often involving Kel’s love for orange soda.

Nerdy Fact: The show’s theme song, “Aw Here It Goes”, was written and performed by rapper Coolio, who also made his directorial debut with the opening sequence. He later appeared as himself in the episode “The Lottery”.

Photo Credit: WWE

July 15, 2002 | Eric Bischoff Joins WWE

On this day, WCW’s Eric Bischoff shocked the wrestling world when he appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw as the new General Manager of the show, shaking hands with his former rival Vince McMahon.

Nerdy Fact: Bischoff’s WWE debut was kept a secret from almost everyone, including most of the wrestlers and staff. Only a few people knew about the plan, such as Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H. Bischoff arrived at the arena in a limousine with tinted windows and was hidden in a trailer until his cue. His entrance music was also a surprise, as it was a parody of his old WCW theme song.

Photo Credit: Amazon

July 15, 2003 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

On this day, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic released on XBOX. This role-playing video game lets the player create their own character and choose their alignment with the light or dark side of the Force, as they explore a galaxy in turmoil 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Nerdy Fact: The game features a cameo by the legendary actor and Star Wars fan Peter Jackson, who appears as a character named Gordo on the planet Manaan. Gordo is a Selkath who runs an illegal racing ring and offers the player a chance to participate in swoop races.

Photo Credit: Twitter

July 15, 2006 | Twitter Launches

On this day, Twitter launched to the public. This social media platform allows users to post and read short messages, known as tweets. It was created by a podcasting company named Odeo.

Nerdy Fact: The blue bird in the Twitter logo has a name – Larry. The name was inspired by Larry Bird, the former basketball player of the Boston Celtics, who was the favorite player of Biz Stone, one of the co-founders of Twitter.

Photo Credit: Netflix

July 15, 2016 | Into the Upside Down

On this day, Stranger Things premiered on Netflix. This sci-fi horror series introduced viewers to a mysterious world of monsters, psychic powers, and government conspiracies set in 1980s Hawkins, Indiana.

Nerdy Fact: The show was rejected by 15 to 20 networks before Netflix picked it up, and some of them wanted to change the show’s tone or cast. One network even suggested to get rid of Eleven’s character altogether.

Photo Credit: Vanity Fair

July 15, 2016 | “The Devil is a Liar!”

On this day, Ghostbusters released in theaters. This reboot of the 1984 comedy classic features a new team of female paranormal investigators who face a ghost invasion of Manhattan and a sinister plot to unleash the apocalypse.

Nerdy Fact: The movie was a box office disappointment, grossing $229 million worldwide against a budget of $144 million. It failed to launch a new franchise as Sony had hoped, and instead led to the development of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a direct sequel to the original movies that ignores the events of the 2016 reboot.

Photo Credit: Reelgood

July 16, 2004 | Stargate: Atlantis

On this day, Stargate: Atlantis premiered. This sci-fi TV series is about an international team of explorers who use a Stargate to travel to the Pegasus Galaxy and discover the lost city of Atlantis.

Nerdy Fact: The show was originally conceived as a prequel to Stargate SG-1, set in the ancient city of Atlantis on Earth, but the idea was changed to a spin-off set in another galaxy after the producers learned that the Sci-Fi Channel wanted a sequel spin-off rather than a prequel.

Photo Credit: IMDb

July 16, 2004 | “Hold my pie.”

On this day, I, Robot premiered. This sci-fi film stars Will Smith as a detective who investigates a murder that may have been committed by a robot in a futuristic Chicago.

Nerdy Fact: The movie was based on a screenplay by Jeff Vintar, which was originally not related to Isaac Asimov’s stories at all. The title and some elements of Asimov’s works were added later, against Vintar’s wishes.