In 1948, 25 people died in the first known hijacking of a commercial plane.
Trinity Test
In the first successful test of an atomic weapon, the concrete and steel of the testing tower was vaporized instantly and the floor of the desert was turned into a bowl of glass 10 feet thick and 1000 feet wide.
The Tallest Ever
His name was Robert Wadlow and he stood 8 feet 11.1 inches tall.
Cosmic Blast
An extremely large solar flare (as if there's ever a small one) was followed by mind-blowing mass ejection that blasted billions of tons of atomic particles toward the Earth at 3 million miles per hour.
Triskaidekaphobia
Extremely superstitious, Arnold Schoenberg dreaded the number 13...and as he feared, he died Friday the 13th in his 67th year.
Hairy Encounter
Charles Jackson and his son Kevin were in their backyard when they spotted a beast which they say stood seven to eight feet tall.
Yagan's Head
The Aboriginal warrior's head was severed so it could be sent to claim a bounty offered by the British. Thus began a 177-year odyssey.
Skylab is Falling
In 1979, America's first space station, the 100-ton Skylab, came crashing back to Earth.
Hottest Day
In July 1913, the temperature rose to 134° Fahrenheit in Death Valley, California.
Bad Idea
Garry Hoy's fatal plunge is now a gold standard in the realm of urban legends.
Death in the Mess
Dale Buis and Chester Ovnand are the first of over 58,000 names on the Vietnam War Memorial.
Soapy Smith
He was one of the most infamous con artists on the western frontier.
Howard Hughes Crashes
Howard Hughes took one of the fastest planes ever built on a maiden flight that almost killed him.
The Best Thing Since...
The machine that Otto Rohwedder created not only sliced bread, but it also wrapped it.
Science Bites Back
In 1855, contracting rabies was a death sentence. When a nine-year-old boy named Joseph Meister was bitten by a rabid dog, Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux put a revolutionary treatment to the test.
Birth of the Bikini
Louis Réard sliced a bit off the design so that the belly button could be revealed. He advertised his alteration as "smaller than the world's smallest swimsuit."
Boating with Alice
While floating on an offshoot of the River Thames, Charles Dodgson (A.K.A Lewis Carroll) came up with an improvised tale that would one day morph into the classic book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Last of the Great Auks
It was an excellent swimmer, but rather clumsy on land, which made it easy prey for eagles, polar bears and humans.
Sickles' Leg
During the Battle of Gettysburg, a Confederate cannonball mangled the right leg of General Daniel Sickles. He would go on to lead an illustrious and controversial life.
The Lost Comet
In 1770, Lexell's Comet blazed a brilliant path across the evening sky. It is noted for being the comet that came closest to the earth.