News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The truth that haunts the Ramones: 'They sold more T-shirts than records'. Parent comment

Re:The truth that haunts the Ramones: 'They sold more T-shir... by neutronicus on Thursday March 26, 2026 @08:53AM (#47529830)
On the other hand, the naming of Blockbuster[1] makes more sense with that context.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbusting

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The truth that haunts the Ramones: 'They sold more T-shir... by pc86 on Thursday March 26, 2026 @09:35AM (#47530289)
Because Blockbuster Video played a pivotal role in early-1900s segregation in the United States?

I think it's much more likely it's just a reference to extremely popular and economically successful movies but happy to be proven wrong.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The truth that haunts the Ramones: 'They sold more T-shir... by saalweachter on Thursday March 26, 2026 @10:51AM (#47531190)
The movie term derives from a different piece of slang, a WWII term for a large bomb that could destroy an entire block.

Before movies bombing was a bad thing, a successful movie was "exploding" like a blockbuster bomb.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The truth that haunts the Ramones: 'They sold more T-shir... by MathMonkeyMan on Thursday March 26, 2026 @02:50PM (#47534210)
Yeah I heard it describes a movie where the line to get into the theater went around the block.

edit: ah, but wiki disagrees <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_(entertainment)>

[ Parent | on HN ]