On August 10, 1939, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland
and featuring words and music by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and
Harold Arlen, received its world premiere in Green Bay,
Wisconsin. It opened widely in U.S. theaters some two
weeks later.
On August 10, 1937, the United States Patent Office recognized
the electric guitar—the instrument that revolutionized jazz,
blues and country music and made the later rise of rock and
roll possible—with the award of Patent #2,089.171.
It went to George D. Beauchamp, a musician-turned-inventor
for an electrified instrument known as the Rickenbacker
Frying Pan (shown above).
On August 10, 1984, the action thriller Red Dawn, starring
Patrick Swayze, opened in theaters as the first movie to
be released with a PG-13 rating.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which
oversees the movie rating system, had announced the new
PG-13 category in July of that same year.
Founded in 1922 as a trade group for the American film
industry, the MPAA introduced its first-ever movie rating
system in November 1968.
