<img width="220" height="326" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/220px-Tin_Toy_poster1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Pixar Tin Toy" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/220px-Tin_Toy_poster1.jpg 220w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/220px-Tin_Toy_poster1-202x300.jpg 202w" sizes="(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px" />

1982 – The first completely computer animated video wins an Academy Award for best animated short film. “Tin Toy” by Pixar (now a division of Disney) was an animated short film about a toy named Tinny – a one man band – who was being played by an infant named Billy. The short film lasted 5 minutes and cost $300,000 to make.

The short film also won awards at the Seattle International Film Festival, World Animation Celebration, and National Film Registry.

A sequel was in the works, but Tinny was not a popular toy for the kids. Therefore, the film was not made as Pixar concentrated on the movie “Toy Story”.

<img width="1280" height="1036" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1280px-Three_Mile_Island_accident_sign1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Three Mile Island Meltdown" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1280px-Three_Mile_Island_accident_sign1.jpg 1280w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1280px-Three_Mile_Island_accident_sign1-300x243.jpg 300w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1280px-Three_Mile_Island_accident_sign1-768x622.jpg 768w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1280px-Three_Mile_Island_accident_sign1-1024x829.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" />

1979 – At 4 PM EST, the nuclear reactors in Middletown, PA (Dauphin County) experienced a partial meltdown. The incident was officially rated a 5-of-7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale: Accident with wider consequences.

A stuck open pilot relief valve was to blame for the incident in the primary system. The valve allowed for nuclear reactor coolant to escape into the atmosphere. During the event, the EPA was dispached where they took daily samples of the air to make sure the levels were not harmful to the community.

The evacuation of Middletown was ordered 28 hours later – mostly women and children. Only half of the 663,500 population evacuated within a 20 mile radius.

Other Events in the Day in Technology History

<img width="200" height="196" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pacmanfeveralbum1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Pac-Man Fever" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pacmanfeveralbum1.jpg 200w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pacmanfeveralbum1-65x65.jpg 65w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />

1982 –  Recorded in 1981, the song Pac-Man fever was a song by (Jerry ) Buckner & (Gary) Garcia. Each song on the album was about a different video game and was released via album, cassette, 8-track and later via CD. The song is a parody of “Cat Scratch Fever” by Ted Nugent.

The song itself hit the Bilboard Hot 100 list at #9. Pac-Man fever also earned a gold certification by the RIAA.

The duo had a mini-hit with the song  “Do the Donkey Kong”.

<img width="350" height="240" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Altair.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Altair" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Altair.jpg 350w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Altair-300x206.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />

1976 – The First Annual World Altair Computer Convention is held at the Airport Marina Hotel near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bill Gates opens the convention with his position on software piracy.

Of course, it was all about the Altair 8800. MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) was a computer that came in kit form where you could build and improve upon it.

<img width="640" height="360" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ht_microsoft_cc_120823_wg1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Microsoft Logo" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ht_microsoft_cc_120823_wg1.jpg 640w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ht_microsoft_cc_120823_wg1-300x168.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />

1994 – Microsoft released Excel 4.0. It included an Easter egg animation of the Excel logo crushing the numbers 1-2-3.

Other Day in Tech History items:

<img width="1179" height="786" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TrevithicksEngine1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Puffing Devil Steam Engine" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TrevithicksEngine1.jpg 1179w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TrevithicksEngine1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TrevithicksEngine1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TrevithicksEngine1-1024x683.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1179px) 100vw, 1179px" />

1802 – A patent for the first steam engine was issued to Richard Trevithick and Andrew Viviane. The machine was called the “Puffing Devil” or “Puffer”. The engine could produce 145 psi to push the car forward.

Richard had two versions of the engine – one as a car and the other as a locomotive. The car was first demonstrated on December 24, 1801, unfortunately, the puffer engine suffered catastrophic failure as it overheated and caught fire.

Eventually in 1804, Trevithick’s patent gave way to the first locomotive where he pulled ten cars along a track. He continued his work until 1833 when he passed away.

<img width="240" height="234" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/MIR-space-station-DITH.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="MIR Space Station" decoding="async" />

2001 – It’s called the “Deorbit” – Space Station Mir was a controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Ultimately, the space station burned up over the ocean by New Zeland. Some parts of Mir could survive the re-entry process, so putting the ship over a large body of water was the best way to reduce casulties. Still, New Zeland was at full alert if winds brought large pieces inland.

The official statement had Mir at complete Deorbit around 5:59:24 GMT.

<img width="334" height="298" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ced_cart21.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="RCA Selectavision CED" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ced_cart21.jpg 334w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ced_cart21-300x268.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 334px) 100vw, 334px" />

1981 – The first vinyl video record, a.k.a. the videodisc, hit stores in the U.S. The “Capacitance Electronic Disc” looked just like any other vinyl record protected in a plastic caddy and held 60 minutes of NTSC video. That is approximately 27,000 frames per second.

However, the CED players did not make the impact RCA had hoped. Only 100,000 were sold by the end of the year. The “BetaMax vs. VHS” war was in full swing and the tapes were considerably smaller than the discs. Laserdisc was also available to the public, which led to a lot of confusion of formats.

The RCA Selectavision was retired in 1984 with the last discs released in 1986

<img width="500" height="410" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/188430472_c403858b491.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Jack Dorsey's Twttr page" decoding="async" srcset="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/188430472_c403858b491.jpg 500w, https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/188430472_c403858b491-300x246.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" />

2006 – Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass launch Twitter (a.k.a. Twttr) with Jack’s first Tweet. “Just setting up my Twttr” went across the network of only a few followers. Similar to Alexander Graham Bell’s “Mr. Watson, come here” statement or “Mary Had a Little Lamb” into a wax cylinder.

Twitter was officially founded, but still in beta. The group at first didn’t acquire the highly priced “Twitter.com” until they had a proof of concept. Six months in, Twttr needed their “i” and “e”.

<img width="220" height="289" data-tf-not-load src="https://dayintechhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/220px-Einstein_1921_by_F_Schmutzer_-_restoration1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="Albert Einstein" decoding="async" />

1916 – Albert Einstein sent a paper off to Annelen Der Physik. The paper was called “Die Grundlage der Allgemeinen Relativitatstheorie” – translated as “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity”.

The paper included the Principle considerations about the Postulate of Relativity, Mathmatical auxiliiaries for establishing the general covariant equations, theory of gravitational fields, and Newton’s theory as first approximation.

For years thereafter, people studied this theory and tried to prove or disprove it.