News
Kerry Hamill mistakenly sailed into Cambodian waters and was killed by the Khmer Rouge Read more
now playing
Cambodia war crimes
Kerry Hamill mistakenly sailed into Cambodian waters and was killed by the Khmer Rouge
South Africa’s nuclear weapons
In 1989, South Africa became the first country to make and then dismantle nuclear weapons
The speech that inspired the Law of the Sea
In November 1967, the Maltese diplomat, Arvid Pardo, gave a historic speech at the UN
The longest plane hijacking in Latin America
In 1973, two men pretending to be Colombian guerrillas hijacked a plane for 60 hours
Eliza: When chatbots started
1966 saw the invention of Eliza, which is said to be the first chatbot
WABOT-1: The first humanoid robot
Scientists at Waseda University in Japan built the world's first humanoid robot in 1973
The world's first general purpose electronic computer
In 1946, one of the world’s first electronic computers was unveiled in the USA.
How the QR code was invented
In 1994 Japanese engineer Masahiro Hara designed a square of data, now known as a QR code
'Robocops’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Handmade robots were installed in DRC's capital city Kinshasa to direct traffic
The Sunflower Movement
In 2014, more than 500,000 Taiwanese people protested against a new trade deal with China
The Rose Revolution in Georgia
In 2003, demonstrators stormed the parliament building in Tbilisi, holding flowers
Fleeing Afghanistan alone as a child
Dr Waheed Arian escaped poverty and war in Afghanistan to begin a new life in the UK
Dyke and Dryden: Cosmetic kings
In 1969, Dyke and Dryden started one the most successful black British businesses
Eight years trapped on the Suez Canal in Egypt
After the Six Day War in 1967, 14 ships were stuck on the Great Bitter Lake
The fight to stop skin lightening in India
In 2013, Kavitha Emmanuel began campaigning to stop skin lightening in India
I found the first dinosaur remains in Antarctica
In 1986, Argentinian geologist Eduardo Olivero discovered a new kind of Ankylosaurus
Ethiopia's 1984 famine
In 1984, a news report on a famine in Ethiopia led to a global fundraising campaign
Bonga Kwenda: Music banned in Angola and Portugal
Outspoken er of Angolan independence, Bonga Kwenda was forced into exile in 1972
My dad created Dungeons & Dragons
In 1974, Gary Gygax created the fantasy roleplay game.
The creation of Greenwich Mean Time
Experiments by John Flamsteed in the 17th Century led to the time zone being created
Jean Batten: New Zealand’s record breaking aviator
Jean Batten was nicknamed the Queen of the Skies for her pioneering flights of the 1930s
The Ken Burns Effect
In 2002, the 'Ken Burns effect' was created.
Brazil’s electronic voting
In 1996, an electronic voting system in Brazil was used for the first time
Siegfried and Roy tiger attack
In 2003, illusionist Roy Horn was attacked by a tiger live on stage.
Iran hostage crisis
In 1979, Barry Rosen was held hostage after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed
In exile from Iran
Former empress Farah Pahlavi and social scientist Rouhi Shafi speak about leaving Iran
The Shah of Iran's party
In 1971, the Shah of Iran, celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian Empire
The woman who saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto
Polish aid worker Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in WW2
The invention of the ‘Baby’ computer
In 1948, the first stored-program computer the ‘Baby’ was invented
The Pakistan mountain massacre
In 2013, 11 people were killed by of a militant group at Nanga Parbat base camp
How Greece got rid of their king
In a 1974 referendum, the Greek people voted two to one in favour of becoming a republic
