They are perhaps more recognizable among children as the funny-looking characters that adorn their daily multivitamin, but today "The "Flintstones" are 50! At first we thought, “How can a family that lived circa 1,000,000 B.C. be just 50?” But then we remembered it was a fictional cartoon.
Hanna-Barbera’s "Flintstones" TV series premiered on ABC on September 30, 1960, and was among the first of a new brand of television series – the hybrid that worked on both child and adult levels. "The Flintstones" centered on a working-class couple “from the town of Bedrock," Fred and Wilma, who lived next door to their best friends, Barney and Betty Rubble.
Fred and Barney worked together at the quarry for their boss, Mr. Slate, and when their wives weren’t dragging them to the opera, they enjoyed bowling and meetings at the Water Buffalo Club. Bedrock also saw its share of garden-variety wacky neighbors of varying eccentricities and had a revolving door of celebrity visitors. It was practically the Aspen of its day. Of course, the stars had names like Cary Granite and Stony Curtis.
Fred and Wilma were the first couple ever to be seen on television sharing a bed, according to the U.K.'s Telegraph, which has compiled a list of the 15 things you may not know about the cartoon. The show was even co-sponsored by Winston cigarettes at one point, with Fred and Barney appearing in commercials advertising for the company, the Telegraph points out.
Google has marked the day with a "Flintstones"-themed Google doodle tribute. How will you celebrate? When the sundial indicates it’s time to slide down the dinosaur’s tail, we’re going to head home and get ready to watch CNN’s Anderstone Cooper 0° (you know, because the world was flat and there was no 360° to speak of).
Yabba Dabba Do!
Credits: Katie McLaughlin, CNN
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