Live! Via Satellite!

On July 10, 1962, Telstar 1, the world’s first geosynchronous active communications satellite, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite was owned and operated by AT&T and was designed to relay TV and telephone signals between the U.S. and Europe. Presumably, AT&T paid a whole bunch to NASA to put this thing into space.

The following day, TV history was made with the first live transatlantic satellite broadcast. French and English viewers got to watch an entirely forgettable press conference by President Kennedy. U.S. audiences were lulled to sleep by French singer Yves Montand and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Within weeks, the stunningly boring tune "Telstar" was released by a previously unheard-of group called The Tornadoes.

We were quite easily amused in the 1960s.

Before you resume the important tasks of your day, here's the inimitable Yves Montand. The title of this tune translates as "A Boy Dances" or "A French Waiter Walks Right Past your Table (Again)."