Over the 50 years the open-pit mine operated it became one of the largest manmade holes on earth. A truck starting at the rim of the mine would take 2 hours to reach the bottom.
First Gas Mask
A man from Kentucky named Lewis Haslett called his invention an "Inhaler or Lung Protector."
Tragedy at Le Mans
It was the deadliest crash ever in motorsports history. Pierre Levegh was driving a Mercedes 300 SLR which collided with an Austin-Healey and went airborne.
The Burning Monk
As he recited a prayer, Thích Quảng Đức lit a match and set himself ablaze.
Popham's Pit
Legend has it that Sir John Popham rises from the dead every New Year's Eve and takes a step toward his empty tomb.
The Phantom Canoe of Doom
The Maori tradition was to strap their dead chiefs in an upright position and set them adrift.
The Burning of the Gaspee
The British ship's demise was a significant step toward the War for Independence.
On the Road with Alice
In 1909 Alice Huyler Ramsey and three companions became the first women to drive across the continent.
The Girl in the Picture
Nick Ut snapped one of the most powerful images of the Vietnam War.
Missile Mail
A U.S. Navy submarine took careful aim at the mainland and launched a customized cruise missile in which the nuclear warhead had been replaced with a bunch of postcards.
Battle of Messines
The British Army detonated 19 ammonal mines it had carefully placed beneath the German trenches near the town of Messen, Belgium. 10,000 Germans died in the attack.
Near Miss
A big space rock tumbled into the Earth's atmosphere and exploded over the eastern Mediterranean (between Libya and Greece).
Adeline Gray
a 24-year-old woman from Oxford, Connecticut made the first jump from an airplane using a nylon parachute.
Introducing the Banana
Americans got their first taste of the modern banana in 1876 at Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition.
The Unknown Rebel
Less than 24 hours after a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, one man stood defiantly before a column of Chinese tanks.
10 Cent Beer Night
How do you get fans to show up to watch two struggling baseball teams? Cheap beer!
The Miracle of Dunkirk
German troops had cut off hundreds of thousands of British, French and Belgian troops following the Battle of Dunkirk.
Cherry Cola for Lola
Ray Davies of The Kinks made a 6,000-mile round-trip flight from New York to London and back because of one word in a song.
The Biggest Pointer
The scale of the undertaking is awesome. The plans call for a finished sculpture that will be 641 feet wide and 563 feet tall.
Leslie Howard Dies
His plane was shot down by eight German Junkers.