Top 50 Moments That Made The World STAND STILL

The Le Mans Disaster on June 11, 1955 was easily one of the greatest tragedies in the history of modern sports. In a heartbeat, the world’s most prestigious endurance race became a heartbreaking nightmare. At 125 miles per hour, Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes collided with another car, launching whole chunks of his vehicle into the crowd. Shrapnel rained down like metal confetti, killing 83 spectators and the driver himself. The scene was chaos: smoke, fire, and the eerie sound of silence that follows shock. Yet the race went on as organizers feared that halting it would cause panic. The disaster forced motorsport to confront its recklessness, leading to sweeping safety reforms.

Around 7 p.m. on the night of December 21, 1988, Pan Am transatlantic flight 103 was cruising over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie. It was on its way to a short stopover in New York on its way to Detroit. Suddenly, a suitcase bomb detonated in the cargo hold, shattering the jumbo jet into fiery fragments. All 259 souls aboard perished in an instant. Eleven more on the ground were slain by fiery debris. The night sky burned, and the quiet town was strewn with devastation. Homes were crushed, fields set ablaze. The terrorist bombing spurred a relentless quest for justice, exposing a dark web of geopolitical intrigue. After a three-year investigation, warrants were issued for a pair of Libyan nationals.

At a sleepy dawn on June 30, 1908, a massive explosion flattened over 800 square miles of remote Siberian forest. The force snapped 80 million trees like matchsticks. Witnesses spoke of a blinding light, a deafening boom, and a searing heat wave. Yet, no crater was ever found. Was it a meteor? A comet? An alien ship gone rogue? Theories abound, but no answers are certain. What is clear is the power unleashed: estimates place the blast at somewhere between 3 and 50 megatons of TNT, rivaling many nuclear blasts of the 20th century. The Tunguska Event left few possible casualties, just a haunting reminder of nature’s potential fury and a question mark etched into Earth’s history.

Freddie Mercury, the electrifying frontman of Queen, was diagnosed with AIDS in April of 1987 after battling symptoms for years. Mercury kept his diagnosis quiet for the next four years. On November 24, 1991, Mercury’s voice - once capable of shaking stadiums and hearts alike - fell silent. The man who gave us "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions" left a legacy of unapologetic brilliance, flamboyance, and raw talent. His death was more than the end of a musical era; it spotlighted the devastating toll of the AIDS epidemic, igniting global awareness and empathy. Fans lit candles and blasted Queen anthems into the night. They mourned a legend, a force of nature whose music will forever keep us rocking.

Trapped 2,300 feet underground for 69 days, 33 Chilean miners turned a nightmare into a global story of hope. After the San José mine collapsed, the men rationed food, sang songs, and clung to survival in suffocating darkness. Above ground, engineers and rescuers raced against time, drilling through solid rock to send supplies. Eventually, they sent in the Fénix capsule a tiny metal lifeboat that became their lifeline to the surface. When the first miner emerged, caked in dust but alive, cheers echoed around the world. One by one, they rose, each rescue a victory over despair.

Imagine waking up in the dead of night to discover that the very air around you had turned deadly. This was the fate of Bhopal, India the night of December 2-3, 1984. A Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked tons of methyl isocyanate gas, creating a silent, invisible killer. Thousands died in their sleep; others woke to burning lungs and blinded eyes, stumbling through streets filled with chaos and despair. By morning, thousands of lives were lost. The death toll climbed to tens of thousands in the years that followed. The disaster left a scar that would never fully heal. It was one of the deadliest industrial tragedies in history, a haunting reminder of negligence's catastrophic cost. The poison lingered long after the gas cleared.

When the earth shook off Japan’s coast on March 11, 2011, the disaster didn’t stop there. A tsunami surged inland, devastating towns and overwhelming the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The seawater breached defenses, flooded reactors and triggered a nuclear meltdown. Radioactive plumes were released into the air. Entire communities were forced to flee, leaving behind homes, and memories. The disaster was a cascade of failures - natural, human, and technological - that reignited fears of nuclear energy worldwide. Cleanup efforts continue to this day, a stark reminder of the delicate balance between progress and peril.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison fighting apartheid. When he was finally released from his unjust imprisonment, he emerged with a vision of unity instead of bitterness. From revolutionary to reconciler, he became South Africa’s first Black president, a symbol of justice and forgiveness. He died December 5, 2013 at the age of 95. His passing was viewed by many around the world as the loss of humanity's greatest moral compass. Leaders from every corner of the planet gathered to honor him. A hundred thousand mourners paid respects as his body laid in state. His funeral wasn't just the passing of a single man, but of an era in human history.

In the mid-14th century, death rode comfortably on the backs of fleas and rats. Beginning in Asia, the Bubonic plague eventually spread to Northern Africa and Europe. It became known as The Black Death. The pandemic killed an estimated 25 to 50 million people, including as much as half of Europe’s population; some believe the toll may have been as high as 200 million worldwide. Lymph nodes swelled, fevers raged, and despair gripped every village and city it touched. Streets overflowed with bodies as fear and superstition replaced reason. The plague didn’t just decimate populations; it shattered feudal systems, transformed economies, and rewrote the social order. Survivors faced a changed world, one where labor had new value and religion faced new doubt..

The world learned a harsh lesson in the spring and summer of 1994: it only takes 100 days to commit a massive genocide. Triggered by the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana[c], violence spread quickly. Extremist Hutu militias slaughtered some 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi men, women, and children, along with moderate Hutus who opposed the violence. Neighbors turned on neighbors; machetes became tools of annihilation. The international community largely watched in silence, paralyzed by bureaucracy and indifference. Only after the bodies filled rivers and villages lay in ruins did the world begin to reckon with its failure. Rwanda emerged scarred but determined, and has attempted to rebuild from ashes.

The centuries-long history of the island nation of Haiti has been one filled with tragedy and sorrow. Even so, neither the country nor the world at large were prepared for the scope of the 2010 disaster. On January 12, the ground beneath Haiti shook with catastrophic force. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near the capital, leveling buildings and with casualties estimated by some at 230,000 lives. The devastation was immense: hospitals crumbled, schools collapsed, and entire districts were reduced to rubble. Survivors faced unimaginable conditions. Food, water, and shelter were scarce. Aftershocks rattled their fragile hope. International aid poured in, but corruption and logistical challenges hampered recovery. The quake exposed deep-rooted poverty and systemic vulnerability, turning a natural disaster into a humanitarian crisis.

In today's modern society driven by satellite technology, it can be hard to imagine the significance of Sputnik. Launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 became the first human-made object to orbit Earth. Its beeping signal, simple yet profound, echoed around the globe, marking the dawn of the Space Age. For the first time, humanity looked skyward not for stars, but for something of its own creation. The tiny satellite orbited for just 21 days before its batteries died, but its impact was seismic. Americans from Maine to California trembled with fear about what this might mean for the future. Sputnik was the starting gun for the Space Race.

After quickly unseating the Taliban after the 9/11 attack, much of the world assumed that America's thirst for vengeance was slaked. But, as 2002 progressed, it was clear that the U.S. government was laying the groundwork for invading Iraq as well. In March 2003, the United States and its allies launched a "shock and awe"campaign, beginning the invasion of Iraq. It was framed as a mission to disarm Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction. After the swift removal of Saddam's Ba'athist[d] party, the war quickly spiraled into a protracted conflict. Despite the lack of WMD, American forces remained. Years of chaos followed: insurgency, sectarian violence, and a humanitarian crisis took the lives of tens of thousands, and completely unsettled the region.

On November 26, 2008, terror struck the heart of Mumbai. Ten militants from the Lashkar-e-Taiba[e] organization launched a coordinated assault across the city. They targeted luxury hotels, a train station, a café, and a Jewish center. For three harrowing days, gunfire and explosions turned sections of Mumbai into war zones. When the dust settled, 166 victims had perished with hundreds injured. The world watched as hostages were taken, landmarks burned and the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel became a battlefield. Amid the carnage, stories of bravery emerged. Hotel staff shielded guests; first responders risked their lives; ordinary citizens aided strangers.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished without a trace, leaving 239 passengers and crew lost to one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. Departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing, the plane’s communication systems went silent. It veered off course, disappearing from radar. Despite a massive international search spanning the Indian Ocean, only scattered debris has ever been found. The disappearance became a media phenomenon. Cable news networks devoted round-the-clock coverage to the event. Social media became a breeding ground for conspiracies. The cause of the disappearance remains unknown, though theories abound. Some speculate mechanical failure, others an attack or sabotage. No answers have surfaced.

The Paris office of Charlie Hebdo became a scene of terror on January 7, 2015. Two gunmen stormed the building, killing 12 people, including renowned cartoonists and staff. The attackers, claiming allegiance to al-Qaeda, targeted the satirical magazine for its controversial depictions of the prophet Muhammad. The assault was swift and brutal, leaving France shaken. In its aftermath, the world grappled with the balance between free expression and religious sensitivity. The attack became a symbol for the conflict between western populations over immigration. Millions marched under the banner “Je Suis Charlie.”

The King of Pop’s final curtain call came on June 25, 2009, when Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at just 50 years old. News of his passing spread like wildfire, stopping the world in its tracks. A cardiac arrest, later linked to an overdose of prescription drugs, ended the life of a man who redefined music, dance, and fame. Jackson’s influence was unparalleled and he was arguably the most famous celebrity on the planet. But Jackson’s life was as complicated as his genius, marked by controversy and scandal. His death became a moment of collective reflection; millions debated his legacy and mourned the end of both a performer and a cultural phenomenon.

The Titanic, hailed as the unsinkable marvel of the modern age, met a tragic fate on its maiden voyage. Striking an iceberg in the icy North Atlantic on April 14, 1912, the luxury liner sank beneath the waves, taking over 1,500 lives with it. What began as a symbol of human ingenuity turned into a haunting reminder of its hubris. The lifeboats were too few, the warnings unheeded, and the icy waters unforgiving. Survivors told tales of bravery and despair, of a band playing as the ship disappeared into the night. The sinking of the Titanic was more than a maritime disaster; it was a watershed moment. Its sinking led to the creation of the International Ice Patrol and stricter lifeboat regulations worldwide.

Christmas of 2004 was an unhappy moment for a large swath of the planet. On December 26, a massive undersea earthquake, registering a magnitude of 9.1, unleashed towering waves that crashed into coastlines across more than a dozen countries, from Indonesia to Somalia. Entire towns were swept away, and over 230,000 lives were lost. The devastation was unimaginable. Homes were obliterated, families torn apart, and survivors left clinging to wreckage. The global response was unprecedented; billions of dollars in aid and support poured into the nations affected. It was a stark reminder of nature’s raw power. Thankfully, it also was a unifying moment, as the world banded together to rebuild from the depths of the ocean’s fury.

As tenuous as the world may seem today, remember: In 1914, the death of one man was the fallen domino that dragged the entire world into war. As the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand’s death at the hands of a Bosnian Serb nationalist was a disaster. What seemed like a localized act of rebellion escalated as alliances were invoked. Within weeks, Europe was engulfed in war. Interests in Asia, the South Pacific, and Africa drew more colonial powers into the conflict. The assassination exposed a powder keg; ethnic rivalries and imperial ambitions were all just waiting for a spark. The bullets fired in Sarajevo didn’t just end a life; they ended an era, unleashing chaos that would reshape the course of history.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict has been ongoing for three-quarters of a century, with the 2023 Israel-Hamas War adding another tragic and bloody chapter. This latest conflict began when the Palestinian political and militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on the 7th of October 2023, killing around 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians. They also took 250 Israelis hostage, demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners. In retaliation, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza over six days and launched a ground invasion. As of late 2024, over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, most of them women and children. There have been widespread global protests, and Gaza has collapsed into a humanitarian crisis.

In China, references to this event, also known as the June Fourth Incident, are heavily censored. In the spring of 1989, student-led demonstrations were held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, calling for democracy and greater civil liberties. The protests spread to hundreds of cities, with workers joining them, angry over inflation, corruption, and the erosion of welfare. Declaring martial law, the government sent soldiers and tanks into the square. The death toll is disputed, ranging from hundreds to thousands. Famously, at least outside of China, the photo of an unknown man facing off against a column of tanks has become an enduring symbol of the event. Today, public displays of mourning for the victims are banned, although commemorations still sometimes reportedly occur in secret.

Also known as the BP oil spill, this unfortunately wasn’t the first industrial disaster to devastate our marine habitats, but it remains the largest on record. It began on April 20th, due to an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. The fallout from this disaster resulted in 205 million gallons of oil discharged into the Gulf of Mexico, and effects were still being felt years after the initial disaster. In fact, reports from 2012 stated that the oil refineries from Deepwater Horizon were still leaking, despite an official statement from 2010 that claimed the well was sealed.

This domestic terrorist attack shocked the nation. On April 19, 1995, anti-government white supremacists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols detonated a truck full of explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people and injured 680 others. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was left in ruins, and the force of the blast damaged cars and buildings over a dozen blocks away. McVeigh and Nichols had sought to spark a revolution. To this day, it’s the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in United States history.

In 1953, British and American intelligence agencies orchestrated a coup against democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had nationalized Iran’s oil industry. With US support, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became Iran’s true ruler. Fast forward to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the Shah, seen as a Western puppet, was overthrown, replaced with the theocratic government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In the middle of this revolution, militarized college students took 52 Americans hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. For over a year, President Jimmy Carter sought to negotiate their return; but only after 444 days were they released, after a pledge from the US not to intervene in Iranian affairs.

As mentioned earlier, in January 2015, France was left reeling from an Islamic terrorist attack on satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo,” in which 12 staff were killed. Several other, smaller attacks occurred throughout the year. On November 13, these culminated in by far the deadliest. That night, in a series of coordinated attacks, terrorists detonated explosive vests and opened fire in streets and public venues in Paris. Three gunmen stormed a concert at the Bataclan theatre, killing 90 people. In all, 130 lives were taken. The attacks sent shockwaves not only through France but also reverberated around the world.

It’s safe to say that John Lennon is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time. Even after leaving the Beatles in 1969, he enjoyed enormous popularity and success. He also became well known for his activism. However, on 8 December 1980, obsessive fan Mark David Chapman fatally shot him outside the Dakota Apartments in New York City. When news broke on ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” fans were shocked and horrified; for many, the world seemed to stop turning. Around the globe, fans were united in mourning for a man whose music meant so much to so many.

This Category 5 Hurricane was devastating not only due to its intensity, but a failure of flood-control systems and slow government response. On August 29, 2005, the hurricane made landfall in Louisiana. The storm surge breached New Orleans’ levees and flooded the city. Tens of thousands of residents had not evacuated. It didn’t matter if you were from there: TV and radio audiences could feel the distress and panic in the air. Critics argued that race and class were factors in the slow local and federal response. The hurricane left an estimated 1,392 dead in its wake, making it one of the deadliest in US history.

Seeing photos of the Fall of Saigon, you might be reminded of the more recent 2021 Kabul Airlift in Afghanistan. Both involved scenes of panic and powerful images of last-minute evacuation. On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, marking the end of the deadly and divisive Vietnam War. The iconic photo of a helicopter evacuation from the roof of the U.S. Embassy symbolized the desperate and dramatic nature of the fall. In the aftermath, Vietnam was reunified under communist rule, and the U.S. began to significantly rethink its foreign policies.

Founded in Indiana in 1954, Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple preached a message nominally based on Christianity, socialism, and civil rights. But something very dark lurked under the surface. In the 1970s, Jones fled accusations of abuse and fake ‘miracles’ to a remote settlement in Guyana. Over time, the charismatic leader had become paranoid and obsessed with domination over his faithful. Further reports of abuse led to a fact-finding mission from U.S. congressman Leo Ryan. He never returned, murdered by Jones’ Red Brigade. Jones ordered his over 900 followers, a third of them minors, to take their own lives by drinking Flavor Aid laced with cyanide. The tragedy left the public in shock and horror, and is the origin of the expression “drinking the Kool-Aid.”

In 1964, South African revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. For years, he had fought against apartheid, the system of racial segregation that privileged the country’s white population and disenfranchised people of color. Even from prison, he remained committed to this cause, communicating with political leaders and gaining worldwide attention. As civil unrest grew, Mandela was finally released from prison in 1990 - 27 years after he was sentenced. His release was broadcast around the world. In a historic speech, he affirmed his commitment to peace, but also to ongoing struggle against the violence of apartheid. Just four years later he would go on to become the country’s first Black President.

On January 6th 2021, scenes of carnage in the US capital, Washington DC, shocked Americans watching the riot unfold on TV. At a rally before the attack, outgoing President Donald Trump told supporters the election had been stolen and urged them to march to the Capitol Building. Debunked by courts, state audits, and federal agencies, this claim was part of a campaign to overturn the election results and reinstall Trump as President. Within hours, 2,000 angry Trump supporters broke into the Capitol Building, assaulting police and searching for lawmakers gathered to formalize Joe Biden’s victory. Among them were members of far-right militias and neo-fascist groups, some of them armed. The insurrection failed, with lawmakers racing to safety before the mob reached them.

There were a lot of eyes on Cape Canaveral, Florida, when Challenger finally launched on January 28, 1986. Due to technical issues and bad weather, the flight had been delayed multiple times. On launch day, CNN broadcast live, nationwide coverage. NASA had organized for children to watch from schools to promote their Teacher in Space Project, which had added teacher-turned-astronaut Christa McAuliffe to the crew. But viewers' hopes turned to horror as the shuttle disintegrated during its ascent, claiming the lives of all seven crew members. The Challenger’s final flight had lasted only 73 seconds.

The 1972 Olympic Games in West Germany were the first to be held in the region since Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler used the event as a platform for propaganda in 1936. Sadly, the September games would become even more infamous, etching out their own bleak mark in history. After infiltrating the Olympic Village, eight armed men from the Palestinian terrorist group “Black September” killed two Israeli Olympic team members, and took nine more hostage. After two grueling days of negotiation, the hostage crisis was brought to a violent end. The rescue attempt was botched – claiming the lives of all hostages and a policeman.

It was the trial of the century … and the verdict left the public reeling. After Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were stabbed to death in June 1994, Brown’s ex-husband, former footballer and actor O. J. Simpson, became the prime suspect. Before her death, Brown had said that Simpson had abused and threatened to kill her. Every aspect of the case was highly publicized - from the car chase that saw him arrested, to the lengthy trial. The coverage hooked viewers, and everyone had an opinion. On October 3, 1995, the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty.” For some, it was a vindication, to others, a travesty of justice, in which a celebrity had gotten away with murder.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush announced the beginning of a “War on Terror.” The first stage of this war was the US invasion of Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group al-Qaeda. This manhunt continued for almost a decade as bin Laden evaded capture. However, in 2011, the CIA tracked him down to a compound in Pakistan. In a helicopter raid codenamed Operation Neptune Spear on May 2nd, bin Laden was killed. For those who vividly recalled the events of 9/11, President Obama’s announcement that the al-Qaeda leader was dead was a landmark event.

For months, the buildup of Russian forces along Ukraine’s border had the world on edge. Would Russian President Vladimir Putin really give the order to invade? In 2014, Ukrainians had revolted against a pro-Moscow government, sick of corruption and abuse of power. Their success led Russia to annex Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. In February 2022, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, furious at the country’s aspiration to join NATO. In response, the international community hit Russia with severe economic sanctions. Around the world, everyone’s eyes have been glued to their screens, watching the outgunned Ukrainians hold off the invading forces.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's speech may be remembered for just four words, but they are arguably among the most powerful ever spoken. The Baptist Minister had chosen his profession because he felt sermons were "a respectful force for ideas, even social protest.” King oversaw the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and became the leader of civil rights organization SCLC. In August, 1963, he helped organize a march of 250,000 people to Washington D.C. to peacefully protest equal rights for African Americans. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he told listeners that he dreamt of a world free of racism and oppression. His impassioned words were heard far and wide, becoming a defining moment in the civil rights movement. They remain iconic today.

Although she was no longer “Her Royal Highness” in 1997, having lost the title after her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana remained a popular figure for the Commonwealth – and beyond. Her sudden death in a car accident as she fled paparazzi occurred in the early hours of August 31st, while the British public were still asleep. Diana’s driver, who had been intoxicated at the time, and Egyptian producer Dodi Fayed, also died in the crash. When people in the UK woke and learned the news, the country was left shocked and in mourning. The death of the People’s Princess was felt around the world.

After World War II, the Allies split Germany into East and West. The Soviet Union controlled the East, while the US, UK, and France controlled the West. Eventually, East and West became separate republics, but the flight of East Germans to the more affluent West prompted the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Dividing friends and families, the Wall became a symbol of the Iron Curtain separating Western Europe and the Soviet Bloc. In the 80s however, massive protests and waves of refugees leaving East Germany led the government to relax rules for immigration. On the evening of November 9th 1989, East Germans gathered at the Wall. Rather than open fire, border guards stood down – and the world watched as Germany became one again.

JFK holds a unique place in political history. The WWII veteran was the President of the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the commencement of the Space Race. He was also the first Catholic President and was elected off the back of the first televised presidential debates. Yet, despite all of this, his time in office lasted less than three years before he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Although the moment itself was caught on camera, the footage was not broadcast live. However, the breaking news was delivered to the American people as events transpired. The country went into mourning, and millions watched his funeral on television.

At first, the details of this disaster were shrouded in secrecy. But word soon got out. During a safety test on 26 April, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat in Soviet Ukraine went into meltdown, the fault of design flaws and negligent operators. The subsequent explosion threw radioactive particles into the atmosphere. It was Sweden who alerted the world two days later, when radiation hundreds of miles away set off alarms. As the truth was gradually revealed, the scale of the disaster became evident. The meltdown led directly to the deaths of 31 people, and to many more from radiation induced cancer in the years afterwards.

It might be known as the Second “World” War, but for the first few years, the US waited out the conflict raging across Europe. That all changed on December 7, 1941, when Japan launched a surprise strike on the US Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Several ships were sunk, and 188 aircraft destroyed. Over 2,000 sailors were killed. It was a devastating blow to the United States Pacific Fleet. The following day, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous Day of Infamy speech, and Congress declared war on Japan. The Allies’ call for the US to join the war had been answered.

The first major disaster caught on camera, this airship accident transfixed and horrified audiences in the late 1930s. On May 6, 1937, the German airship LZ 129 Hindenburg was docking in New Jersey when it caught fire, resulting in 36 fatalities. Watching the airship crash to the ground, radio journalist Herb Morrison summed it up best with his iconic exclamation “oh, the humanity.” Despite the carnage, there were survivors, but they couldn’t help establish the cause of the fire, which continues to be debated. Whatever the truth, the effect was the end of zeppelins as a popular form of air travel.

After six bloody years of battle, the Second World War was finally over in Europe. Berlin had fallen to the Soviet Union’s Red Army, and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had taken his own life. His successor, Admiral Karl Dönitz, authorized Germany’s surrender. On May 8th, 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced Victory Over Fascism – leading to parties on the streets in celebration. Though the effects of the war were still being felt, the jubilation on that day is historic, and several countries still commemorate the date as a public holiday.

Just 17 years after the Second World War ended, Cold War tensions between the US and Soviet Union almost triggered another one - this time nuclear. In response to the US deploying nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey, the Soviet Union did the same in Cuba in 1962. Cuba was keen for Soviet help, after the US had backed a failed invasion the previous year. Despite being advised to launch an airstrike and invasion, President John F. Kennedy opted for a more diplomatic approach – a naval “quarantine” preventing delivery of more missiles. After tense talks, Kennedy and Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev agreed to scale back their nuclear missiles. But for just over one month, the world stood on the brink of nuclear catastrophe.

It really was one giant leap for all mankind. Back in the 1960s, the idea of sending people to the moon still seemed like science fiction. But spurred on by the Space Race between the US and Soviet Union, NASA’s Apollo Lunar Module Eagle touched down on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969. Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, and Buzz Aldrin the second. An estimated 650 million Earthlings tuned in to witness the event on TV. Despite all our divisions, in that moment, the world watched together in awe as we achieved something never thought possible.

While World War II ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, the Allies continued to fight against Japan. On August 6th, after the Japanese refused to surrender, the United States dropped an atomic bomb, known as “Fat Man,” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, they dropped a second, known as “Little Boy,” on Nagasaki. The bombs vaporized many in the blast radius, and inflicted radiation burns and sickness on others, killing an estimated 129,000–226,000 people, mostly civilians. Japan surrendered on August 15. Initially, the horrors of the attacks were little reported. But slowly, images and footage began to reveal the hellish consequences of atomic warfare.

Just about everyone who’s old enough to remember it can tell you where they were when they heard about the September 11 attacks in 2001. For New York, it was mid-morning when two hijacked passenger jets crashed into – and ultimately demolished – the Twin Towers as part of a coordinated attack. Another plane hit the Pentagon. After news of a fourth crash came to light that day, it became apparent that the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 took back their flight and downed the weaponised aircraft before it reached Washington D.C.. The event claimed close to 3,000 lives, and the world was forever changed.

On March 12, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the Covid-19 outbreak had become a pandemic. At the time, few of us fully understood what it would mean for our lives in the years to come. Nonetheless, the news had people worldwide glued to their screens - or running to stock up on groceries, especially toilet paper. Through lockdowns, the world watched as the virus continued to dominate headlines and the death toll skyrocketed from the hundreds into the thousands and then millions. The WHO’s announcement was the beginning of a long, rocky road for all of us.

[a]luh MAWN (but you kind of stop the "n" halfway through, since it's french) https://youtu.be/PNe16WthyWU?si=40mcNMEwrmeB0YAW&t=217
p'YARE lev-VECK https://youtu.be/bcDwxo30gro?t=137
[b]https://youtu.be/pGSJc_5p2og?si=xg6eamylZaWwLtJJ&t=2
eye-soh-SYA-nate https://forvo.com/search/methyl%20isocyanate/
[c]zshoo-vay-nawl hab-yay-ree-MAW-nuh https://youtu.be/qG6uNeXrOpw?si=7k8l87A8cAMB-FYS&t=8
[d]BAW-thist or BAW-aw-thist
[e]https://youtu.be/SmiDSagvBvE?si=XUalkgVRpCbhXquG&t=6