PreviousDays✦THE WIKI
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1946–1999

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MOMENTS FROM THIS ERA

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6 illustrated stories · growing daily
A dinosaur maquette, a wireframe dinosaur on a 1990s monitor and a mechanical creature head share an effects workshop.Film & TV

Jurassic Park opens in US cinemas on 11 June 1993

Steven Spielberg's film brought computer-generated dinosaurs and physical animatronics together, helping change expectations of believable screen creatures.

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An older robed man examines a glowing blue blade in a warmly lit desert dwelling.Film & TV

Star Wars opens in cinemas with Ben Burtt’s lightsaber sound

Star Wars reached cinemas on May 25, 1977, introducing audiences to a richly textured fictional universe. Its lightsabers sounded futuristic partly because Ben Burtt transformed the hum of a familiar cinema projector.

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Illustration of a television camera facing a street set, a closed metal trash can and a large yellow bird puppet.Film & TV

Sesame Street premieres with an orange Oscar the Grouch

Sesame Street began broadcasting on 10 November 1969. Its first-season Oscar had orange fur, a detail that reveals how familiar television characters emerged through practical design choices as well as storytelling.

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Two women collect strands of spaghetti draped over tree branches in a Swiss orchard setting.Film & TV

BBC Panorama broadcasts the spaghetti-harvest April Fool in 1957

On 1 April 1957, Panorama presented an apparently serious report about a Swiss spaghetti harvest. Carefully staged pictures and Richard Dimbleby’s authoritative narration made a culinary impossibility convincing enough to prompt questions about buying spaghetti plants.

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A Japanese studio technician works beside a tape recorder and microphone, with a monster prop on a nearby table.Film & TV

Godzilla’s 1954 Japanese Release and the Creation of Its Roar

Godzilla opened nationwide in Japan on 3 November 1954. Alongside its miniature effects and creature performance, the film introduced a distinctive roar whose starting point was a double bass played in an unconventional way.

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A woman in the wings looks toward a country-house stage set framed by red theatre curtains.Film & TV

The Mousetrap opens in London with a recorded newsreader

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap opened in London on 25 November 1952. Alongside its live cast, the production used a recorded newsreader whose voice became an unusually durable link to the original show.

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