It was a moth that had wedged itself into the machine's relays.
The Day the Japanese Bombed Oregon
The mission was to drop two incendiary bombs on Wheeler Peak in hopes of igniting a massive forest fire.
Evel's Skycycle
Evel Kenievel tried to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon in a steam-powered rocket.
The Last of the Thylacines
Sometimes called Tasmanian Tigers, these odd critters were one of the largest carnivorous marsupials.
The President is Shot
President McKinley had given away his lucky charm, a red carnation, to a little girl who asked for the souvenir.
The End of Crazy Horse
Feeling betrayed, his last words were, “Let me go my friends. You have got me hurt enough.”
Nothing to Cheer About
It was big day for party poopers.
Disaster on the Thames
The SS Princess Alice, a fully-loaded passenger steamship, collided with the Bywell Castle, a cargo ship hauling coal.
The First Kodak Moment
Eastman’s criteria for a name were that it had to be “short and euphonious and likely to stick in the public’s mind.”
The Last Passenger Pigeon
Martha, the last of the passenger pigeons was found dead on this day in her enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.
The Charleston Earthquake
All hell broke loose as one of the biggest quakes to ever hit the east coast left 60 people dead.
Scared to Death
Max Factor was a cosmetics pioneer who rose from rags to riches and became famous around the world.
Quebec Bridge
In 1907 two massive sections of the bridge snapped off and plunged over 300 feet into the Saint Lawrence River.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
In 1996 Richard Jewell saved countless lives while working as a security guard during the Atlanta Olympics. A suspicious package he discovered contained the largest pipe-bomb in American history.
Manolete
On the day he died, the greatest matdor faced a venerable opponent descended from a deadly line of Miura bulls.
Crazy Drake
In 1859 a semi-retired train conductor named Edwin Drake engineered the world's first successful oil drilling operation.
Death by Cornflake
Lon Chaney is most remembered for his iconic roles as Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and as Erik in The Phantom of the Opera.
The Exploding Casino
It was the biggest homemade bomb explosion in U.S. history until the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Creatures on the Moon
In 1835 the New York Sun published the first of six articles detailing the amazing discovery of life on the moon.
Captain Webb
In 1875, an Englshman named Captain Matthew Webb became the first man to successfully swim across the Engilsh Channel. It was one of his many heroic feats.