Were 'Back to the Future' and 'The Goonies' set on the same day?

Day of the Dead is more than ‘Mexican Halloween'

However, it’s becoming increasingly common to celebrate the two holidays simultaneously. Hollywood films have made Halloween more popular in Mexico and Day of the Dead more popular outside the country. As a result, events like Mexico City’s annual parade now include elements of both holidays.

Bill Nye served as a lab assistant in the 'Back to the Future' animated series

Set in an alternate timeline after the conclusion of "Back to the Future Part III," the series starred Jules and Verne—the children of Dr. Emmett Brown and Clara. Each of its 26 episodes concluded with a live-action segment in which Bill Nye performed an experiment related to that episode.

'Friday the 13th' kicked off a summer camp-themed trend

When it was released in 1980, “Friday the 13th” was panned by critics, but it established a lasting horror trope: the unsafe summer camp. The setting made for a natural fit: vulnerable children exiled from normal society, isolated in the dark woods.

Spielberg worked on ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ at the same time

Seemingly polar opposites, two of Steven Spielberg’s most popular movies were created in the same time period. Spielberg would shoot “Schindler’s List” during the day, then work on special-effects editing for “Jurassic Park” at night. The movies won a combined 10 Oscars at the 1994 Academy Awards.

The 'Movie Brats’ ushered in a new era of Hollywood

"The Movie Brats" is a name used to describe a generation of directors who blended classic cinema with the rebellious, crowd-pleasing spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. The figures most often associated with the tag are Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Brian De Palma.

See images of the spring break scene of the '80s

An original review of the 1987 parody 'Spaceballs'

On June 24, 1987, Mel Brooks launched "Spaceballs" in theaters—a comedy starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, and Rick Moranis that spoofed the "Star Wars" trilogy and sci-fi tropes in general. The movie has remained a cult classic ever since. Read the Hollywood Reporter's original review of the film here.

In 1980, Steven Spielberg added a scene depicting the interior of an alien spaceship to a rerelease of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' at the studio's request, but later regretted the decision, believing it depleted the movie's enchanting mystery.

How 'Star Wars' changed science fiction

The popularity of "Star Wars" shifted the market away from the more literary, and sometimes cynical, science fiction of the 1960s and '70s. In the wake of George Lucas' space opera, publishers and studios wanted similarly optimistic adventure stories. In time, though, writers like William Gibson would react against that and, in turn, create the "cyber punk" subgenre.

'Dr. Strangelove' is widely considered the best satirical film

Stanley Kubrick’s satire about nuclear war came just two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis and spoke to Americans still coming to terms with the possibility of nuclear annihilation. In 1989, the Library of Congress included it among the first 25 films preserved in the National Film Registry, a repository for the greatest achievements in cinema.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

'Super Mario Bros.' was released in 1985

The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka and published by Nintendo in Japan and North America in 1985. It’s seen as a landmark in the history of video games and minted the Mario character as a pop culture icon.

The setting of the comedy film ‘Bio-Dome’ was inspired by Biosphere 2

The film features characters played by Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin who accidentally lock themselves inside an experimental biosphere, mistaking it for a shopping mall, while searching for a bathroom. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 4%, it is considered one of the best-worst movies of all time.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

The art of miniature sets in Hollywood

Many films utilize meticulously designed miniature sets to produce scenes that would otherwise be too big to film. While artsy filmmaker Wes Anderson is well-known for reviving this technique in an idiosyncratic style, more mainstream films like "Star Wars" and "Inception" rely heavily on small-scale sets filmed in such a way as to make them appear normal-sized. This nine-minute video breaks down how it all works.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

The origins and evolution of the movie sequel

Sequels have long leveraged the financial success of a first installment into a second, or third, part, as far back as the earliest novels in the 18th century, like Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels," which inspired countless spin-offs. The film...

Kevin Feige first teased 'The Avengers' on a panel at Comic-Con 2006

At San Diego Comic-Con 2006, which featured Marvel Studios' inaugural panel about their upcoming films, Feige was asked if the characters might eventually overlap. He responded by saying that one day they may add up and “equal the Avengers”—teasing what would become one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises.

Michaels doesn’t care when people say ‘SNL’ was funnier when they were younger

"Generally when people talk about the best cast I think, 'Well, that's when they were in high school,'" Michaels told "Today" in 2015. "Because in high school you have the least amount of power you're ever gonna have. ... Staying up with friends later on a Saturday is great, and people attach to a cast."

What does LSD have to do with Bicycle Day?

Bicycle Day, generally celebrated on April 19, doesn't have much to do with the two-wheeled, human-powered vehicle as the name would imply. Instead, it's a celebration of the world's first acid trip. On April 19, 1943, Albert Hofmann took an experimental dose of LSD at his lab before trying to return home via bike. This article includes comics from a graphic novel detailing Hofmann's trip.

The 1925 ‘Wizard of Oz’ predates the classic 1939 film

The film differs significantly from the 1900 book and the later 1939 film adaptation: Dorothy is 18 years old, the Tin Woodman is a villain, and the entire story of Oz is framed by a toy-maker reading the original Baum book to his granddaughter.

The earliest mention of time travel

Time travel has fascinated humans for centuries. It appears in myths, literature, and science fiction. One of the earliest examples comes from the 400 BCE Hindu epic Mahabharata, describing time dilation long before Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. By the 19th century, stories introduced machines enabling time travel—setting the stage for modern sci-fi.

The first chili cook took place in a Texas ghost town

"The Great Chili Confrontation" happened October 21, 1967, in Terlingua, Texas, a small ghost town near Big Bend National Park. The showdown was between journalists H. Allen Smith, who wrote an article titled “Nobody Knows More About Chili Than I Do,” and Wick Fowler, a Texas reporter.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Superman's fictional hometown of Metropolis is likely based off Delaware

Each film version of "Superman" imagines the town along the lines of existing cities: from New York City and Chicago all the way to the coast of Delaware Bay, where the original writers suggested the town was based. James Gunn's 2025 reboot doubles down on the Delaware connection.

The 1973 ‘back to school jam’ was the night hip-hop was born

Hip-hop began in New York’s Bronx borough with the “back to school jam,” an August 1973 dance party hosted by Cindy Campbell and her brother, DJ Kool Herc, in their apartment building’s recreation room.

The St. Valentine's Day massacre is still unsolved

On Feb. 14, 1929, several men believed to be working for Chicago gangster George "Bugs" Moran, an enemy of notorious mobster Al Capone, were killed by several gunmen dressed as police. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders.

The history of the McDonald's Happy Meal

The McDonald's Happy Meal is the quintessential fast food kids meal, serving up child-appropriate portions and prizes all within a portable, fun container. So where did this pop culture icon begin? Watch this quirky 13-minute history of the Happy...

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.