DAILY DIRT: Do you remember when video killed the radio star?

I think my overall favorite of those first 10 songs is “Brass In Pocket,” by the Pretenders. My apologies to Sir Rod … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 943 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Where were you on Aug. 1, 1981?

That was the day MTV debuted, and the world as we once knew it was the never the same again.

First of all, for those not all that ancient, MTV once played music videos all day every day, unlike the present format which … well, to be honest I’m not even sure what it shows these days. I just know music is no longer its bread and butter.

But back to Aug. 1, 1981. I’m pretty confident many could name the first MTV song — since it’s the answer to a lot of different trivia questions — but if you can name some or most of the rest of that first 10 I truly applaud you.

So if you were listening on that groundbreaking day, here are the first 10 songs you heard and videos you saw (and please take special note of No. 3):

• 1. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles
• 2. “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar
• 3. “She Won’t Dance with Me” by Rod Stewart
• 4. “You Better You Bet” by The Who
• 5. “Little Suzi’s on the Up” by Ph.D.
• 6. “We Don’t Talk Anymore” by Cliff Richard
• 7. “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders
• 8. “Time Heals” by Todd Rundgren
• 9. “Take It on the Run” by REO Speedwagon
• 10. “Rockin’ the Paradise” by Styx

Ahh … 1981. Times were much simpler then, weren’t they? 

2. Did you know (Part 10) …

• That an estimated $58 million in loose change is left behind on airplanes each year. 
• That the last U.S. president with facial hair was William Howard Taft (1909-13).
• That there is not one bridge across the 4,000 miles of the Amazon River.
• That a misheard song lyric is called a “mondegreen”. (If you have confused “Takin’ Care of Business” with “Makin’ Carrot Biscuits,” or “Bennie and the Jets” with “Betty in a Dress,” you’ve been tricked by a mondegreen. As Merriam-Webster explains, this phenomenon occurs when a word or phrase “results from a mishearing of something said or sung.” You can thank American writer Sylvia Wright for the term, which she coined in a 1954 essay.
• That there is a McDonald’s in Arizona with turquoise arches.

3. This week’s birthday wishes go to the following five celebrities, who will all celebrate on Saturday:

Sports columnist Mike Lupica turns 72. As good of a writer as he was (and is), Lupica was an even better analyst for ESPN.  

Since we were celebrating MTV earlier, former VJ Martha Quinn will be 65. You can still hear her most days on Sirius XM’s ’80s channel.

Quarterback Cam Newton will blow out 35 candles. I’m thinking Newton is another year or two away from a prime-time analyst’s role with one of the networks..

Former lead singer Eric Burdon of the Animals will be 83. Burdon is one of three original Animals still alive, and all three are still performing, albeit not together.

Former MLB pitcher Bobby Witt turns 60. These days, he’s best known as the father of budding superstar Bobby Witt Jr.

Steve’s Thought O’ The Day — Speaking of McDonald’s (we were in Thought No. 2), the Golden Arches sell an average of 75 burgers every second. So, by the time you read this sentence, there went another 375 or so beef patties.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He’s probably going to get one of those burgers right now.