#1 1943- The First Wagon Crossed the Oregon Trail The Same Year the Fax Machine Was Invented
You might think that you are reading this wrong, but you aren’t. The Great Migration of 1843 occurred. This was when 1,000 emigrants went to Oregon on the wagon train on the Oregon Trail. The same year, on May 27, 1843, a Scottish inventor named Alexander Bain received the patent for his invention, the Electric Printing Telegraph. This is the grandfather of the modern fax machine that we know today. So while people were traveling to Oregon to begin a new life, somewhere else in the world a man was taking a huge step toward new technology.
#2 2660 BCE- The Egyptians Were Building Pyramids While the Wooly Mammoth Was Still Living
The Great Pyramids located in Egypt were being built from 2667 to 2648 BCE. At the same time, there was still a small population of wooly mammoths still alive. They were living on Wrangel Island, which is an island about the size of Delaware. The island is located about 90 miles off the coast of Siberia. It’s a good thing that the last of the wooly mammoths weren’t living in Egypt at the time. If they were, the pyramids may never have been built due to the danger that these huge creatures could bring.
#3 1868- You Could Take the London Underground to Watch the Last Public Hanging in the UK
Today, if you want to watch an execution, you have to be invited under very special circumstances. This wasn’t always the case in the UK. Up until May 26, 1868, you could watch executions. The last one was the public hanging of Michael Barrett. He was hung outside of Newgate Prison in London in front of about 2,000 people. In 1865, the Barbican London Underground station was built near Aldersgate Street. It is actually only a 10-minute walk from Newgate Prison. Chances are that one of the 2,000 people in attendance actually took the underground train to watch the execution.
#4 1940- Many Prisoners Arrived at Auschwitz a Few Days After McDonald’s Was Founded
Many people believe that McDonald’s first opened its doors after World War II. This is because the chain didn’t really take off until the war was over. The founders of the fast food chain, Richard, and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant on May 15, 1940, and it was located in San Bernardino, California. It was just 5 days after the opening of the restaurant that the very first group of concentration camp prisoners arrived Auschwitz. This was a wonderful time in history for those who love a McDonald’s cheeseburger and it was also a terrible time for the prisoners.
#5 1908- The Ottoman Empire Existed the Same Year the Chicago Cubs Won the World Series
In 2016, the Chicago Cubs shocked the world when they finally won the World Series for the first time since 1908. When they won in 1908, it was just 10 years before World War I when the Ottomans were defeated. This would mean that other than 2016, the Cubs win was older the Turkey. After that win in 1908, the Cubs went to the World Series 7 times. Before 2016, the last time they made it was in 1945.
#6 1889- Nintendo Was Founded Before Jack the Ripper Was Caught
Many people believe that Nintendo is a relatively new company. When the Nintendo gaming system was released, Nintendo’s popularity exploded. The Japanese gaming company was actually founded on September 23, 1889. Their first item was obviously not a video game, it was actually a deck of handmade playing cards called Hana fauna. At the time, just a few weeks after Nintendo was founded, people believed that Jack the Ripper was still on the loose. They thought this because an unidentified woman was found and she was called the Pinchin Street Torso. This is because she was found on Pinchin Street and police only found her torso. The rest of her body never surfaced.
#7 1977- Star Wars Came Out the Same Year France Had Its Last Guillotine Execution
For years, France used the guillotine to execute the most horrible criminals. The last person to be killed this way was Hamida “Pimp Killer” Djandoubi. He was beheaded on September 10, 1977, for torturing and murdering a 21-year-old girl. Nobody had been executed again after that, and Francois Mitterrand abolished the guillotine in 1981. Around the same time as the last execution in France, children in the United States were lining up to see the first installment of Star Wars. It was debuted in the United States on May 25, 1977, and in the UK on December 27, 1977.
#8 1971- Women In Switzerland Received the Right to Vote the Same Year That the United States Drove a Buggy On the Moon
Like many countries in the world, women in Switzerland weren’t always allowed to vote. It just took Switzerland much longer than most countries to allow this. They started allowing women to vote 51 years after the United States allowed it and 65 years after Finland. It was the same time that women in Switzerland were finally allowed to line up at the polls that United States astronauts were riding around on the moon in a moon buggy. It was men driving the buggy, but it was a huge step for women in Switzerland. It wasn’t long after, that women started joining the space program.
#9 1975- Microsoft Was Founded and Spain Was Under a Fascist Dictatorship
In April 1975, friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft, which made them more money than they had ever imagined. At the same time, things in Spain weren’t going so well. The fascist dictator named Francisco Franco was presiding over Spain using terror and brainwashing by controlling the media and the state education system. Other countries such as Italy and Germany ended their fascist politics after World War II, but Spain didn’t follow suit. It wasn’t until people started having Microsoft computers in their homes that the fascist regime ended.
#10 1876- The Brooklyn Bridge Was Being Built at the Same Time as the Battle of Little Bighorn
This is one of the craziest historical events you won’t believe happened at the same time. In one part of America, laborers were working hard to build the Brooklyn Bridge, which was the first ever steel wire suspension bridge. At the same time, in the eastern Montana territory, the Battle of Little Bighorn was being fought. The bridge was still 6 years away from being finished when General Custer and his men were defeated by Crazy Horse and members of the Arapaho, the Lakota, and the Northern Cheyenne tribes. Two completely different events were taking place at the same time in different areas of the country.
#11 1945- When Hiroshima and Nagasaki Were Bombed, Orville Wright Was Still Alive
Orville and Wilbur Wright are considered to be the inventors of the airplane. Sadly, in 1912 Wilbur passed away from typhoid fever. In 1945, airplanes were used to drop atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Later, Orville was asked how he felt about what had happened since he invented the airplane, and airplanes were used to drop the bomb. He said that he didn’t have any regrets about inventing the plane because it would change the world forever. He did say, however, that he found it deplorable that someone used his invention to cause such great destruction.
#12 1912- Ecstasy Was Invented the Same Year the Titanic Sank
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg in cold waters and it began to sink. The ship was considered to be unsinkable, therefore, the designers didn’t think to put enough lifeboats on board for all of the passengers. Because of this, 1,503 people who were on board died. Many drowned or perished after exposure to the freezing cold waters. That same year, MDMA, also known as Ecstasy was first synthesized by scientists in Germany. It was originally created to be an appetite suppressant for people struggling with their weight. A year later, while families were dealing with the loss of their loved ones on the Titanic, Merck patented the MDMA. They decided against marketing it, however, for undisclosed reasons.
#13 1428- Oxford University Existed For Hundreds of Years Before the Aztec Empire Was Founded
According to Historians, students were learning at Oxford University as early as 1096. By 1249, the university grew into a fully operational university, complete with halls and student housing. The Aztec civilization located in central Mexico is said to have come into existence in 1325. Most people consider the Aztec Empire to be ancient history, but Oxford University is much older. It is not, however, the oldest university in the world. The oldest educational institution is the University of Karueein which was founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco.
#14 1642- Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton Were Born In the Same Year
The first two scientists of modern science to gain any fame were Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton were actually born in the same year. Both men were born in 1642. They both made leaps and bounds in science and they were the same age.
#15 2005- YouTube Was Invented 4 Days Before Saudi Arabia’s First Democratic Elections
Most people wonder what they did before YouTube. You can find a video on just about any subject to make your laugh or to learn how to do something. Many people credit YouTube videos for helping them to learn how to do household repairs, how to put products together, and even to put on makeup. It is also a famous platform for “challenges.” People challenge others to do crazy and dangerous things and then they post them on YouTube. YouTube first went live on February 14, 2005. Just four days later, something momentous occurred in Saudi Arabia. It was the very first democratic election in history. This was a huge step for the people of Saudi Arabia. Since there are so many people who are completely obsessed with YouTube, they might find its release much more exciting than a democratic election.
