SortStack #2375 — 2032-12-09

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. The American colonies declare independence from Britain 1776

   Most delegates didn't sign the Declaration until August. John Adams predicted Americans would forever celebrate the second of July.

2. Humans fly for the first time aboard a Montgolfier hot-air balloon 1783

   The first balloon passengers, weeks earlier, were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster — sent up before King Louis XVI to test whether the air aloft was breathable.

3. The Suez Canal opens, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas 1869

   The canal cut the sea voyage from Europe to India by roughly 7,000 km, ending the age of sailing around the entire African continent.

4. Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo, triggering the First World War 1914

   The archduke's driver took a wrong turn and stalled directly in front of Gavrilo Princip, handing the assassin a second chance after the morning's bomb attempt failed.

5. Humans walk on the Moon for the first time 1969

   The Apollo guidance computer had less processing power than a modern pocket calculator — and alarms from it nearly aborted the landing.

6. The Sydney Opera House officially opens 1973

   It opened ten years late and roughly fourteen times over budget. Architect Jorn Utzon resigned mid-project and never returned to see it finished.

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