

August 2nd in nerd history: Weird Al's milestone, the top song in 1966, and the Keanu movie no one saw
Happy National Coloring Book Day! These days, you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy coloring — hell, you don’t even have to do it in a book. Take my word for it, coloring in a digital Millennium Falcon is oddly soothing.
This is The Reset Button from Classic Nerd, resetting your day.
August 2nd in Nerd History
Here are 5 things that happened on August 2nd at the intersection of nerd and pop culture.
I.
Birthdays of honor: Peter O’Toole (1932), Wes Craven (1939), Kevin Smith (1970), Sam Worthington (1976), Edward Furlong (1977), Jack L. Warner (1892), Max Wright (1943), Butch Vig (1955).
II.
In 1985, John Hughes’ sci-fi-infused teen comedy Weird Science was released in theaters. It was cited as nothing more than pandering to teen boys by critics at the time but has gone on to become a bit of a cult classic.
Whatever you do, do NOT mention to any ’90s kids in your life that today is the day Matilda hit theaters in 1996.

But maybe you never saw Matilda, perhaps instead you saw that Keanu Reeves sci-fi movie about the government trying to keep clean energy from getting out to the world. Just kidding, no one saw it! Still, Chain Reaction also came out today in 1996.
III.
In 2014, “Weird Al” Yankovic hit a milestone long overdue when he had an album reach no. 1 for the first time in Mandatory Fun — his 14th studio album over a span of 32 years.
IV.
In 1790 some dude named Dennis started incessantly knocking on people’s doors as the first U.S. Census was conducted. 3,929,214 people were counted that year.
As of the 2020 Census, the count was 331,449,520.
V.
On this day in 1966, the number one song was “Wild Thing” by The Troggs.
Share This Article
Related Topics
Read Next

Movies from the '80s for nerds to watch this holiday season
By Classic Nerd | November 26, 2019
September 8th in nerd history: Where no one has gone before
By Classic Nerd | September 8, 2023
Eight movies from the 1980s for nerds to watch on Valentine's Day
By Classic Nerd | February 14, 2024
December 4 nerd history: The Simpsons start singing the blues
By Classic Nerd | December 4, 2023
Final Jeopardy! from January 3, 2003
By Classic Nerd | January 3, 2024
Nostalgia in the Desert: A Millennial's Survival Guide to Coachella 2025
By Classic Nerd | April 16, 2025
November 10th in nerd history: It's the dead look in their eyes I like the most
By Classic Nerd | November 10, 2023
November 29th in nerd history: The cost of a car 40 years ago
By Classic Nerd | November 29, 2023Want More Nostalgia?
Check out our other quizzes and random trivia questions!