On Sept. 20, 1973, over 30,000 people crowded into Houston’s cavernous Astrodome. At the same time, TV viewers around the world switched on over 90 million sets.

Lucy O’Donnell was 4 years old when she attended the upscale Heath House School in Weybridge, Surrey, England. One of her best friends there was John Lennon’s son, Julian, who arrived at school each day in a Rolls-Royce.

Wicked tells the early story of the Witches of Oz. The tale mainly focuses on Elphaba Thropp (Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo), who’s rejected by many because of her unusual skin. (It’s green!) She also has yet to discover and appreciate her true power.

It was on a stormy Thanksgiving Eve in 1971 that a person who called himself Dan Cooper leaped into legend in a bizarre escapade that remains history’s only unsolved commercial-airline hijacking.

Following World War II, the U.S. government donated thousands of sound 16 mm movie projectors to our schools. Several smalltime filmmakers took advantage of this and rushed to quickly and cheaply produce around 3,000 “social guidance” classroom movies.

One well-placed — and unusual — word in a song title can make a big difference.

Can you imagine a TV series changing the fortunes of a major business?

Let’s begin this review by soothing the feelings of cringing English teachers everywhere. Yes, we remember being taught that the plural of wolf is wolves. Just not here; Wolfs is not a typo.

From 1974 to 1982, Sweden’s ABBA quartet sold a reported 400 million discs while leaving behind a legacy of now-classic creations. And, along the way, ABBA heard no complaints from the owner of a Swedish fish-canning factory. (More about that later.)

Her name is Thelma, and she’s the least likely action hero you’ll encounter at the multiplex this summer.

In 1776, the Founding Fathers of the Second Continental Congress declared that we were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and that we were now 13 united, free, and independent colonies.

Sometimes a promotional stunt can work too well.

Sometimes a promotional stunt can work too well.

Did Paul McCartney ever consider “Band on the Run” to be jinxed? If he did, there had been a couple of good reasons to think so.

In 1964, America was focused on the civil rights movement, Cassius Clay becoming Muhammed Ali, and the Beatles dominating the music world.

Ooga-chaka ooga ooga

Late in 1975, there would have been no reason for you to know the name of Gary Dahl.

Late in 1975, there would have been no reason for you to know the name of Gary Dahl.

One Monday evening in 1957, the switchboard at the London office of the BBC came ablaze with blinking lights, as overwhelmed operators frantically explained that, no, they had no information about where one could purchase a spaghetti plant.

Hollywood dog movies go back over a century, starting with Rin-Tin-Tin’s The Man from Hell’s River. Since then, some classics have included Lassie Come Home (1943), Old Yeller (1957), and The Incredible Journey (1963).