54 Years Ago Today, The Grinch "Stink, Stank, Stunk" His Way Into Our Hearts

On this day in 1966, CBS premiered the animated special How The Grinch Stole Christmas, based on the 1957 book by Dr. Seuss, making an indelible mark on our holiday traditions for the last 54 years.

The furry green grump has had several other confusingly-named incarnations, with live-action portrayal by Jim Carrey, an animated film voiced by Benedit Cumberbatch, and a much-maligned TV musical this year starring Matthew Morrison, but all of those were simply attempts to capture the magic of the original special about a cynical old hermit who manages to remove the commercialization of the holiday and uncover its true sentiment of peace and love.

Plus, it gave us one of the only Christmas songs that's just a string of nasty insults, unfurled perfectly by the voice of Thurl Ravenscroft (above). Where else but in "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" can you call someone "a bad banana with a greasy black peel" who is "as charming as an eel" and still be considered to be in the holliday spirit? 

Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.