What Month and Year did the Flying Toasters first fly/toast on Macs?

April 4, 2011 3:39 PM

What month and year did the Flying Toasters from Berkeley System's After Dark first make their appearance?

In searching, I discovered that After Dark first showed up in the last few months of 1989.

I've discovered that they may have been the accidental invention of a pre-spaceflight Grace Slick.

I've learned that the New York Times thinks it might have been 1990 based on some legal coverage of a Computerized Cartoon Penguin with a Shotgun.

But I'm still left wondering... Were the flying toasters in After Dark 1.0? If so: When did After Dark 1.0 come out? If they weren't... when?!

posted by smcbride to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like Flying Toasters appeared in August of 1990. This post talks about After Dark not being out yet, while this one talks about the new Flying Toasters module.
posted by Andrhia at 4:01 PM on April 4, 2011

Here's a little more info on AfterDark from Wikipedia, including how it started on the Mac in 1989, and lawsuits that followed due to copyright infringement claims all over. Most results I've seen so far however just pin the year at 1989.

The first appearance of flying toasters overall probably goes to Jefferson Airplane in 1973
posted by samsara at 4:22 PM on April 4, 2011