The Weather Channel — an airport and hotel room staple in our cable-driven lives — is an institution, and it can all be traced back to one Virginia businessman.

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Frank Batten co-founded the Weather Channel 30 years ago. According to a new book about the TV channel, Batten considered eliminating it in 1983, WAMU reports:

For in 1983, as Batten contemplated liquidating the struggling business, a call from a cable operator about the popularity of the channel changed his mind. Then he had a thought ... what if he could get the cable companies to pay subscriber fees?

Imagine life without the Weather Channel. To whom would we turn when we need to become unnecessarily alarmed about approaching storms?