NASA and Nintendo start off some trends

On July 16, 1969, NASA sent three Americans to the Moon. What happened next really revved up Earthlings' space race.

Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and, who could forget, Neil Armstrong blasted off aboard the fifth manned mission of the Apollo programme. They landed on the Moon four days later on July 20, and about six hours later, Armstrong (not Lance's father) made history by setting foot on the Moon. Aldrin joined the moonwalk party (not this moonwalk) about 20 minutes later, while Collins remained on the Columbia command module while it orbited the Moon.

Armstrong's famous words were, of course, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

Of course, the Moon landing and subsequent walk were the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, though each one has been debunked.

Nintendo sparks the home console party

Kids, trust me, you missed some real pure fun decades ago.

While not Nintendo's first console (check out my exhaustive piece on their history), the Japanese video gaming giant unleashed the Family Computer on July 15, 1983, on their home turf.

Wow, I sure miss that unique-looking gaming machine all of its cartridges.

Of course, this would later in the year morph into the Nintendo Entertainment System, which was for the North American market.

And eventually, it would lead to what we're enjoying right now; call it the ancestor of the Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox and, of course, Nintendo's subsequent machines.

Oh, the glory of 8-bit gaming. The best part I love about it? Since the Famicom, as it was also dubbed, doesn't allow you to save (and some games even had limited or no continues), it will force you to come out with all skills blazing. (Anyone remember the infamous stage 6-2 of Ninja Gaiden?)

Source: Khaleej Times