North America
Airmail Arrows Across the USA
In the early days of the US Postal Service's national airmail service, pilots had to navigate across the USA by sight alone - a task that bad weather could make extremely difficult. And so a network of towers was built,…
On this day: The Golden Gate Bridge Opened
On May 27, 1937, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opened, with around 200,000 people walking or roller-skating across on the first day before it was opened to traffic. Close to a million people visited for the 50th anniversary celebration in…
On this day: The Main Branch of the NY Public Library Opened
On May 23, 1911, the imposing Main Branch of the New York Public Library was opened to the public, with more than a million volumes filling the 75 miles of shelving. In addition to being one of the world's foremost…
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
This weekend will see the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500, modestly called The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The contest takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was visited by the Street View car a couple of years ago.…
On this day: The Celsius Thermometer was Invented
On May 19, 1743, the first Celsius mercury thermometer design was published by Jean-Pierre Christin. Only a handful of countries still doggedly hold on to the Fahrenheit scale, including the US where the World's Tallest Thermometer is found in Baker,…
On this day: The First Academy Awards
On May 16, 1929, the first Academy Awards (Oscars) took place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. 270 people paid $5 for dinner and the ceremony took all of 15 minutes - a far cry from the bloated excess of the…
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