The Day Vault

Today in the vault

The ratings had one letter nobody owned

In a gilded 1960s cinema lobby, an usher in a red jacket holds out his arm to stop three teenagers at a velvet rope. — Illustration generated by AI for The Day Vault.

On November 1, 1968, American cinemas began sorting films by letter. The Motion Picture Association of America's new system had four: G for everyone, M for mature audiences, R for under-16s only with a parent, and X for nobody under 16 at all.

It replaced the Production Code, the decades-old rulebook that had dictated what Hollywood could put on screen. Under Jack Valenti, the studios traded censorship for labels. Make what you like, the idea went. Just tell parents what it is.

For a while, X could mean serious. In 1970, Midnight Cowboy, released with an X, won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It remains the only X-rated film ever to win it.

But the association protected its G, M and R as trademarks and left X unprotected. Anyone could stamp it on a film without submitting anything, and pornographers did, adding extra X's to sell harder.

Within a few years many newspapers refused to advertise X films and many cinemas refused to book them. Studios cut their films to escape the letter. In 1990 the association retired it and introduced NC-17, a rating it owned.

Checked against: MPAA ratings records and announcements; film trade press of 1968-1990 such as Variety; published histories of the Production Code and ratings system; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards database

One of these lands in your inbox every morning, in the subjects you pick.

Eleven subjects. Browse any of them.

American History World History Politics War & Military Crime & Mystery Faith & Religion Music Pop Culture Sports Science & Space Loose Ends

Tap a subject to read its stories. You pick yours after signing up, and can change them whenever you like.

How it works

Tell us where to send it
One field. No password, no account to manage.
Pick the subjects you care about
Eleven to choose from. Change them any time from the footer of any email.
Read it with your coffee
One story, every morning, about what happened on this date.

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. There is nothing to buy and no paid tier. The newsletter carries advertising and affiliate links, which is how it pays for itself — if you buy something through one of those links we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

How often will you email me?

Once a day, in the morning. Nothing else — no "quick update," no second send, no reminders about the first one.

Where do the stories come from?

They are researched and drafted with the help of artificial intelligence, worked up from historical sources, and reviewed before they go out. We try hard to get dates, names and facts right, but history is contested and automated systems make mistakes — so read it as general interest, not as a reference, and tell us when we get something wrong.

Can I change my subjects later?

Any time. Every email has a link in the footer that opens your preferences. You can add subjects, drop them, or unsubscribe entirely from the same page.

What do you do with my email address?

We send you the newsletter. We do not sell it, rent it, or pass it to other publishers. The privacy policy sets out exactly what we collect and who processes it.

Who publishes this?

The Day Vault is published by Coriolan Ventures LLC, a Florida company.

Start tomorrow morning.

One story a day, on the subjects you pick.

Free. Unsubscribe in one click.

The ratings had one letter nobody owned

Tell us where to send it

Pick the subjects you care about

Read it with your coffee

Start tomorrow morning.