Fun Facts about TV are both downright outrageous and weird at the same time. The ‘Idiot Box’ has been around for quite some time in our lives, and we cannot seem to let go of it. There is a certain charm about television that has ensured that it stays ‘put’ in our living homes through all these years. Despite the fierce competition from the ‘Smart technology,’ the ‘Idiot box’ or rather the love for it has remained unchallenged. After all, there is something greatly soothing about being able to ‘plop’ in front of the TV to simply unwind at the end of the day. Also, it offers a perfect excuse for the entire family to get together and bond over their love for a common show. So, in lieu to pay tribute to this lovable piece of junk, let us take a look at some fun facts about Tv:
Contents
- 1. The Man and the Madness
- 2. The Most Watched TV Show of All-Time
- 3. The Most Expensive TV Commercial of All Time
- 4. TV and Dreams
- 5. The Queen and YouTube
- 6. Irresponsible NASA
- 7. The SONY Controversy
- 8. First-Ever Known TV
- 9. First TV Facts
- 10. First Ever TV Commercial
- 11. The Most Watched Live TV Event
- 12. TV and CSI
- 13. Most Advertised TV Personnel
- 14. First Live Suicide on TV
- 15. People and TV
- 16. The Chinese Controversial TV Show
- 17. The Oldest TV Show Ever
- 18. The Rise of the Smart TV
- 19. First TV for the Public
- Fun Facts about TV: The Conclusion
1. The Man and the Madness
Did you know that the brain behind the madness was a man named Philo Taylor Farnsworth II? He famously stated, “There’s nothing on it worthwhile, and we’re not going to watch it in this household, and I don’t want it in your intellectual diet.”
Strange, isn’t it. Considering how much we gorge on a healthy appetite for TV every day in our lives. Remember how our parents always advised us on limited TV viewing? Well, there is a lot of relevance and truth on that one.
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2. The Most Watched TV Show of All-Time
With over 350 million weekly viewers in almost 170 countries, the British show Top Gear is the most-watched show in the world. However, the funeral service of Princess Diana is also on the list of the most-watched live event in the year 1997, with an audience of 2000 Million.
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3. The Most Expensive TV Commercial of All Time
The world’s most expensive advertisement is the 30-second interval aired in between the Super Bowl broadcasts in the year 2008. This costs around $ 2.7 Million.
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4. TV and Dreams
Did you know that people who have grown up watching Black and White TV actually dream in Black and White? Strange, yet true, because those of us who have watched the Color TV dream in colour!
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5. The Queen and YouTube
Finally, after 50 long years, Queen Elizabeth II launched her very own YouTube channel. This was used to address the public, much like her first time when she did the same on the Radio on the eve of Christmas after her coronation.
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6. Irresponsible NASA
Among the other interesting facts about television is the one when NASA officially announced that it had lost all of the original tapes of the Apollo 11’s TV transmission.
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7. The SONY Controversy
Did you know that Sony started the sales of VCRs in the 1970s that could record TV shows? This was not a smart move by the tech giant because it faced the music due to the Copy-write issues. However, the US Supreme court supported Sony later on.
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8. First-Ever Known TV
The earliest known ‘television’ came into existence in the year 1884 by Paul Gottlieb Nipkow from Germany. It was called an ‘Electric telescope’ and comprised of an 18-line resolution. The images were relayed through the process of rotating metal discs via wires.
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9. First TV Facts
The earliest known modern televisions for the public had a remarkable (relative to the time) resolution of 200 to 400 lines.
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10. First Ever TV Commercial
The first advertisement to run on TV was broadcasted on 1st July 1941 in New York City. This featured the Bulova watch, which was 20 seconds long and cost just around $9!
11. The Most Watched Live TV Event
Did you know that on the death of President Kennedy in the year 1963, all TV networks broadcasted four days of commercial-free viewing? This was for covering the funeral proceeding, hence amounted to a loss of $100 million of advertising revenue.
12. TV and CSI
Any ideas about the CSI effects? Well, this is effective for scenes where Crime shows depict unrealistic Forensic Science and Investigative methods.
13. Most Advertised TV Personnel
The most advertised person in the history of television is Dave Thomas. He is the founder of Wendy’s fast-food chain and has appeared in over eight hundred commercials for the promotion of his stores.
14. First Live Suicide on TV
In the year 1974, a news anchor, during a live TV broadcast, announced that she would be bringing in ‘blood and gut and the viewers will be watching attempted suicide.’ She soon proceeded to shoot herself on live TV.
15. People and TV
Interestingly, it was estimated that in the year 1950, only 10% of the total population in the US-owned a TV set. Soon this grew to 90% in the year 1960, and today about 99% of the total population own a set. Not surprisingly, about 55% of teenagers have a TV set in their bedrooms.
16. The Chinese Controversial TV Show
The 1955 documentary titled ‘Dying Rooms’ showed babies and the disabled left out to die out of starvation. This was because it was offensive to kill a child directly.
17. The Oldest TV Show Ever
The oldest Television program in America is the Television Ghost, and it was first aired in the year 1931. The show featured actors dressed as the dead and narrating stories of their death or murder.
18. The Rise of the Smart TV
Among the interesting smart TV, facts are that it utilizes the home network to stream videos and other services onto your TV. The idea of the ‘Smart TV’ is to make the ‘Idiot box’ more appealing to the hi-tech range we are stepping onto.
19. First TV for the Public
In 1927, the first-ever television that could transmit moving images came into existence and public knowledge. Philo Tylor, the inventor, was only 21 years old at the time.
Fun Facts about TV: The Conclusion
So, there you have it, people. These are some of the more interesting facts about television. It is not an understatement to declare that the TV is more like a ‘family member,’ only it does not have a mind of its own. There is no denying the fact that television has managed to single-handedly bring about the kind of revolution where a massive shift in the cultures was observed. It has replaced the regular ‘playmate’ to a certain degree or provided the families with a ‘one-eyed babysitter’; that somehow manages to draw people’s attention and keep them hooked.
On the brighter side, the TV is essential, as it offers us the much-wanted old-fashioned relief after a day’s work. It is soothing to curl onto your couch with a bag of chips and watch your favourite shows late into the night with your loved one.