

August 10th in nerd history: It's like PG, but for 13-year-olds
Happy National Lazy Day! Today is a great day to … uh … eh, nevermind.

This is The Reset Button from Classic Nerd, resetting your day.
August 10 in Nerd History
Here are 5 things that happened on August 10th for those of us who still think of Christian Bale as that kid from Newsies.
I.
Birthdays of honor: Antonio Banderas (1960), Jimmy Dean (1928), Leo Fender (1909), Ralph Simpson (1949).
II.
In 1984, the first movie to carry a PG-13 rating was released: Red Dawn. Apparently, Soviet (and their allies) invaders killing a bunch of high school kids was just a tad above PG but not quite an R back in 1984.
Beyond depicting a WWIII in Soviet-occupied Colorado, Red Dawn had one hell of a cast, with Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey making up the core teen squad, aka The Wolverines.
That movie did much better than Cloak & Dagger, released on the exact same day, despite the fact that it featured E.T.’s Henry Thomas AND Dabney Coleman. Maybe that’s because it had already been seen by some audiences as a double feature with The Last Starfighter a month earlier.
III.
In 1977 the man who would eventually become known as Hulk Hogan made his pro wrestling debut for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) in Fort Myers. He went up against Brian Blair, who himself would eventually appear in the WWF as part of The Killer Bees tag team.

Following his debut, he threw a mask on and called himself “The Super Destroyer”, a character that actually preceded him and would continue after Hogan played the part. Following a bit of a hiatus from wrestling, Hogan would make his WWF debut in 1979, but it wasn’t until 1983 that Hulkamania would truly rise.
IV.
Prank shows feel like they started with Ashton Kutcher “punking” fellow celebrities, but they actually have a long and storied history. Or at least long. On this day in 1948, Candid Camera made its TV debut — after an already successful run on radio as Candid Microphone.
V.
Today marks the exact moment that Britpop peaked, as Oasis played the first of two shows at Knebworth, England, in 1996 — to over 125,000 people per night. Take that, Blur.
Share This Article
Related Topics
Read Next

Today's celebrity birthdays: September 26, 2025
By Classic Nerd | September 26, 2025
September 15th in nerd history: Hi-Yo Silver, away!
By Classic Nerd | September 15, 2023
Twisted Metal is getting its own ice cream flavor
By Classic Nerd | July 18, 2023
90s song lyrics you've been getting wrong for decades
By Jesse Lennox | April 19, 2023
The number one movie on this day in 1991
By Classic Nerd | July 17, 2023
October 26th in nerd history: I'll be your huckleberry
By Classic Nerd | October 26, 2023
The coolest old-school things we saw at WonderCon 2023
By Classic Nerd | March 30, 2023
Stranger Things season 5 predictions based on 80s movies
By Classic Nerd | March 6, 2023Want More Nostalgia?
Check out our other quizzes and random trivia questions!