SortStack #3061 — 2034-10-26

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. Athenian soldiers defeat the Persians at the Battle of Marathon 490 BCE

   The legend of a messenger running about 40 km to Athens with news of victory — then dropping dead — inspired the modern marathon race.

2. Hannibal marches his army and war elephants across the Alps 218 BCE

   He set out with around 37 elephants; nearly all died in the crossing or soon after, yet he rampaged through Italy for fifteen years.

3. The Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage 1912

   The lookouts had no binoculars — the key to the locker holding them left the ship with a reassigned officer in Southampton.

4. Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics 1936

   Owens credited a tip from his German rival Luz Long for saving his long jump qualification — the two stayed friends and exchanged letters until Long died in the war.

5. The Channel Tunnel opens between England and France 1994

   Its undersea section is the longest of any tunnel in the world. British and French digging crews met beneath the seabed and shook hands through the breakthrough hole.

6. SpaceX launches its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time 2018

   The test payload was Elon Musk's own red Tesla Roadster, with a spacesuited mannequin named Starman at the wheel — it is still orbiting the Sun.

← All puzzles · Play today’s SortStack