Tag: console

National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business forever. Introducing the TV Dinner revolutionized frozen food.

In 1962, Swanson stopped using the name TV Dinner. However, in the United States, the term remains synonymous with any prepackaged dinner purchased frozen from a store and heated at home.

Amazon Basics Classic TV Dinner Folding Tray with Storage Rack, Natural - Set of 4 Trays — Amazon Basics Classic TV Dinner Folding Tray with Storage Rack, Natural – Set of 4 Trays

Casual Home 5 Piece Tray Table Set, Espresso — Amazon Basics Classic TV Dinner Folding Tray with Storage Rack, Natural – Set of 4 Trays

The first Swanson TV Dinner consisted of a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cornbread dressing, peas, and sweet potatoes. Originally, Swansons made the tray of aluminum. They separated each food item into individual compartments, too. At home, the cook heated the dinner in the oven. The cooking time was usually 25 minutes. Today, nearly all frozen food trays can be cooked in the microwave or a conventional oven.

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When Swanson’s first sold TV dinners, they priced them at 98 cents. In the first year, production estimates reached 5,000 dinners. To their surprise, Swanson far exceeded that amount. In the first year, they sold more than 10 million of them.

TV Dinner Facts

1960 – Swanson added desserts to a new four-compartment tray.
1964 – Night Hawk name originated from the Night Hawk steak houses that operated in Austin, Texas, from 1939 through 1994. The original diners were open all night, catering to the late-night crowd. The restaurants produced the first frozen Night Hawk TV dinner in 1964.
1969 – The first TV breakfasts were marketed. Great Starts Breakfasts and breakfast sandwiches followed later.
1973 – Swanson markets the first Hungry-Man dinners. The meals included larger portions of its regular dinner products.
1986 – Microwave-oven safe trays debut on the market.
1986 – The Smithsonian Institute inducted the original Swanson TV Dinner tray into the Museum of American History.

Much has changed since the original TV Dinner. They also remain a popular choice for a fast and convenient meal, fun to eat in front of the TV!

Looking for something to watch? Check out some of my favorites here.

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalTVDinnerDay

Get out a TV dinner, pop it in the microwave or oven, and enjoy! Use #NationalTVDinnerDay to post on social media.

Paragon Microwave Food Storage Tray Containers - 3 Section/Compartment Divided Plates W/Vented Lid, Set of 6 — Paragon Microwave Food Storage Tray Containers – 3 Section/Compartment Divided Plates W/Vented Lid, Set of 6

Ez Prepa [20 Pack] 32oz 3 Compartment Meal Prep Containers with Lids - Bento Box - Plastic - Stackable, Reusable, Microwaveable & Dishwasher Safe — Paragon Microwave Food Storage Tray Containers – 3 Section/Compartment Divided Plates W/Vented Lid, Set of 6

On September 12th, National Video Games Day celebrates all the ways we enjoy a good video game challenge.

Video game players across the United States enjoy this day with much enthusiasm. From their very earliest days, video games have been a blend of art form and industry.

On July 25, 1983, Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard out of Ottumwa, Iowa founded the United States National Video Game Team. Their early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed the first patent for an interactive electronic device in 1947. It was called the “Cathode ray tube amusement Device.”

Some other early examples include:

The Nimrod computer at the Festival of Britain (1951)
0X0 – a tic-tac-toe computer game by Alexander S. Douglas for the EDSAC (1952)
Tennis For Two – An electronic interactive game engineered by William Higinbotham (1958)
Spacewar (1961)

Each game used a different means of display. Some used a panel of lights or graphical display. Yet others featured an oscilloscope or the DEC PDP-1 vector display.

It became the first commercially sold coin-operated video game.
Magnavox Odyssey launched the first home console in 1972.
Atari’s Pong followed with an arcade version in 1972 and a home version in 1975.

“The commercial success of Pong led numerous other companies to develop Pong clones and their own systems, spawning the video game industry.”

Retro Game Console, Mini Classic Game System with 2 Classic Wireless Controllers and Built-in 620 Games, RCA and HDMI HD Output Plug & Play Childhood Mini Classic Console, Birthday Gifts.

PlayStation 5 Console (PS5)

Nintendo Switch Lite – Blue

Xbox Series S – 1TB SSD All-Digital Gaming Console – 1440p Gaming – 4K Streaming – Carbon Black

Xbox Series X

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalVideoGamesDay

Let the video game challenges begin! Whether you invite friends to join you in the newest video game or go it alone, be sure you get a game in. You also need to make sure you have plenty of snacks.

Arcade galleries are making a come back. If there is one near you, give them a shout out!
Introduce your favorite video game to your kids. Have them share their favorites with you.
Host a video game tournament.
Post your high scores.
Are you stuck on a tough level? Seek out tips and hacks to get you through.

Use #NationalVideoGamesDay to post on social media.