
Happy National Hot Dog Day! There’s always a little bit of hesitation around what hot dogs are made out of, but hopefully you don’t think they’re made of wild dogs, as my child apparently did for many years.
Throw a few of your fave weiners on the grill today.

This is The Reset Button from Classic Nerd, resetting your day.
July 19 in Nerd History
Here are 5 things that happened on July 19 that matter to those of us who understand the importance of having a healer in every party.
I.
Birthdays of honor: Benedict Cumberbatch (1976), Brian May (1947), Stuart Scott (1965).
II.
We may have hit peak ’90s on this day in 1995 when the Alicia Silverstone-starring Clueless hit theaters and set a cultural standard for teen comedies from that moment on. This was also the moment Paul Rudd ceased to age.

A year later, we chose life, chose a job, chose family — and, you know, all the other stuff. In 1996 Trainspotting was released, and everyone was all like, “That junkie is definitely the future Obi-Wan.”

(Side note: both of those movies feature among the top 10 greatest soundtracks of the ’90s, easily.)
And let’s not forget the way too often overlooked The Legend of Billie Jean, which came out on this day in 1985. Featuring Christian Slater, Helen Slater, and the future voice of Lisa Simpson, Yeardley Smith, it’s a coming-of-age drama that in many ways was ahead of its time — despite the fact that Pat Benatar, who provided the theme for the movie with her song “Invincible”, called it “the worst movie ever made” before playing the song in concert.
III.
In 1941 the cartoon “The Midnight Snack” from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera is released. It features two new characters by name for the first time: a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry.
IV.
In 1985, Joan Jett called up an up-and-coming boxer named Mike Tyson before his fight with Larry Sims. He won the fight easily — and from that moment on demanded to speak with Jett before every fight. The tradition continued until his 1990 fight with Buster Douglas, which was Tyson’s first loss.
V.
On July 19, 1991, Final Fantasy IV was released for the Super Nintendo. Or as it was known in North America upon release, Final Fantasy II.
Often regarded as one of the best video games of all time, FFIV was one of the first pioneers of dramatic storytelling in console-based RPGs.

Share This Article
Related Topics
Read Next

Today's celebrity birthdays: August 19, 2025
By Classic Nerd | August 19, 2025
Revisiting Tecmo Bowl: Is it worth playing again?
By Classic Nerd | December 27, 2022
January 12 in nerd history: Holy Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors, Batman!
By Classic Nerd | January 12, 2024Final Jeopardy! from January 12 2000
By Classic Nerd | January 11, 2024
A brief history of Pong: The game that made the video game industry
By Classic Nerd | November 29, 2023
An elegy for E3: The coolest con I'll never get to go to
By Classic Nerd | December 12, 2023
Today's celebrity birthdays: July 3, 2025
By Classic Nerd | July 3, 2025
Today's celebrity birthdays: October 26, 2025
By Classic Nerd | October 26, 2025Want More Nostalgia?
Check out our other quizzes and random trivia questions!