Coronation Street

On December 9, 1960, the first episode of "Coronation Street," a soap opera based in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester, was broadcast. Coronation Street is the longest running TV soap opera in the world.  The show premiered its 10,000th episode on 7 February 2020, and celebrated its 60th anniversary later that year.

Gary from Spongebob Squarepants

Gary from the show Spongebob Squarepants is a snail and only makes a "meow" noise.  I guess he thinks he is a cat?

NBC Nightly News theme music

The thing I learned today is that the theme song for the NBC Nightly News since 1985 is composed by John "Star Wars" Williams and is called "The Mission."

Raccoon Lodge

The Raccoon Lodge was the fraternity Ralph and Ed belonged to on 'The Honeymooners" (Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, chapter).

On "Happy Days," hardware store owner Mr. Cunningham was a member of the Leopard Lodge, a fraternal organization.

TV tour of the White House

In 1962, Jackie Kennedy hosted a TV tour of the White House with news anchor Charles Collingswood. The show got huge ratings and was given an honorary Emmy Award, which was accepted by Lady Bird Johnson.

The "Sesame Street" character Big Bird's costume is composed in part of (dyed) turkey tail feathers. Huh. I would have thought it totally synthetic.

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the final episode of "M*A*S*H." Airing on February 28, 1983, it was watched by about 106 million American viewers, easily the most-watched TV episode ever.

Eleanor Roosevelt, the former First Lady, once appeared in a TV ad for Good Luck maragrine in 1959. It's true!

Dumb Donald was the kid in 'Fat Albert' with the stocking cap pulled down over his face.

Harold Hooper

Harold Hooper was the name of the store owner played by Will Lee on "Sesame Street." He died in 1982, leading to a very emotional episode dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Serena was the name of Samantha's mischievous and egocentric identical (but black-haired) twin on "Bewitched." She was played by Elizabeth Montogomery, obviously, but credited as Pandora Spocks.