
Happy National D.A.R.E. Day! D.A.R.E. is an acronym that was drilled into many kids’ heads when it basically went viral across schools in the ’80s. Today we honor its heritage of making you think someone on rollerblades was going to force you to do drugs at any moment.
This is The Reset Button from Classic Nerd, resetting your day.
September 15 in Nerd History
Here are five things that happened on September 15th for those of us who like the taste of a new generation.
I.
Birthdays of honor: Agatha Christie (1890), Tom Hardy (1977), Tommy Lee Jones (1946), Dan Marino (1961), Ben Schwartz (1981), Oliver Stone (1946), James Fenimore Cooper (1789).
II.
It really doesn’t matter if you’ve seen The Seven Year Itch, whether you were alive when it came out, or whether you were born five seconds ago — you’ve seen the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing in the wind.
Today in 1954, that image was captured during filming for the movie.
It became Monroe’s most iconic image — but it was actually shot twice. Once during filming, and once during a publicity event to promote the film in New York. Photographer Sam Shaw had previously befriended Monroe and was recruited by her to work on Itch. He got the idea from a shoot he had done years earlier with a sailor and a young girl playing in a wind tunnel at Coney Island.
III.
Today I can listen to HD radio, satellite radio, or just put on whatever the crap I want on my phone and listen to it via Bluetooth — all in my car. But it all started today in 1965 when Ford started selling factory-installed 8-track players in its Mustang, Thunderbird, and Lincoln models.

It was the first time the players were widely available, meaning your best bet for getting your hands on some hot new 8-tracks was by visiting the local auto store or Ford dealership.
IV.
Building on a successful radio run that began in 1933, The Lone Ranger premiered in TV form in 1949.
The Lone Ranger, Tonto, and Silver brought justice to the Wild West for ABC until 1957, and gave dads across the country the freedom to shout “Hi-Yo Silver, away!” whenever they get into a minivan.
V.
In 1983 Huey Lewis & the News released their legendary album that served as the soundtrack to the ’80s from then on: Sports.
The album produced four top 10 hits and reached number one in the summer of ’83, charting for a total of 160 weeks. It was so good, Ray Parker “borrowed” a few things from “I Want a New Drug” for his 1984 Ghostbusters song — kind of. Maybe.
Share This Article
Related Topics
Read Next

January 8 in nerd history: People usually call me either a space cowboy or Maurice
By Classic Nerd | January 8, 2024
90s commercial jingles you can't get out of your head
By Jesse Lennox | January 5, 2023
January 3 in Nerd history: Happy birthday JRR Tolkien!
By Classic Nerd | January 3, 2024
January 23 in nerd history: The day Hulkamania was born
By Classic Nerd | January 23, 2024
August 31st in nerd history: We can call it the MCU
By Classic Nerd | August 31, 2023
October 19th in nerd history: This bird you cannot change
By Classic Nerd | October 19, 2023
October 6th in nerd history: The price of gas 50 years ago
By Classic Nerd | October 6, 2023
August 28th in nerd history: It's morphin time
By Classic Nerd | August 28, 2023Want More Nostalgia?
Check out our other quizzes and random trivia questions!