On the fourth of October 1986, news anchor Dan Rather was assaulted in front of his building by a man who kept repeating the sentence: "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" The description of events by Rather was so bizarre that his honesty about the matter was questioned by many. The disbelief continued even though the doorman to the building where it had taken place, fully confirmed his story.

Pop culture was quick to use the strange event in music, cartoons and a graphic novel. One of the most famous examples is the song “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” by R.E.M, featured on their 1994 album ‘Monster’. Dan Rather later sang the song with R.E.M. during a soundcheck at a Madison Square Garden show in New York. Footage of the soundcheck was even featured on David Letterman’s Tonight Show the day after its recording.

Years later the crime was solved. The assailant turned out to be William Tager. He was convicted for the murder of NBC employee Campbell Montgomery in 1994. After the arrest, a picture of Tager was published and Dan Rather confirmed, without a doubt, that this had been his assailant years before.

William Tager believed television was used to beam signals into peoples brains. Campbell Montgomery was killed when Tager made his way into the NBC building with a weapon. Tager’s reason later turned out to be stopping the network from broadcasting the signal. In order to be able to block the signal, he just needed to know one thing: What the frequency was…