SortStack #184 — 2026-12-10

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt, dies 30 BCE

   Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid — the pyramids were already ancient to her.

2. James Watt patents his improved steam engine 1769

   Watt also coined 'horsepower' as a marketing tool — comparing his engines to the draft horses customers would be replacing. The watt unit is named for him.

3. The world's first public steam railway opens between Stockton and Darlington 1825

   George Stephenson's engine Locomotion No. 1 pulled the opening train. A man on horseback rode ahead waving a flag — the train soon outpaced him.

4. The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show 1964

   An estimated 73 million Americans watched — roughly forty percent of the US population — launching the British Invasion overnight.

5. The Berlin Wall falls 1989

   A flustered official misread new travel rules at a press conference, saying they took effect 'immediately.' Crowds swamped the checkpoints within hours.

6. The Bitcoin network launches with its first block 2009

   Satoshi Nakamoto embedded a newspaper headline about bank bailouts into the very first block — a permanent timestamp and a pointed message.

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