#OnThisDay in 1871, according to his journal, explorer Henry Stanley greeted David Livingstone, the fellow explorer in search of the source of the Nile River, with the famous words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
📷Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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American politician Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state (Wyoming) #OnThisDay in 1924.
📷Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; neg. no. LC USZ62 7943
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Announced #OnThisDay in 1998 was the discovery in the Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia of a previously unknown 15.5-mile (25-km) segment of the Great Wall of China, which runs a total of about 4,500 miles (7,300 km).
📷© Zachary Martin/Dreamstime.com
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A computer science student named Robert Morris released the first computer worm onto the Internet #OnThisDay in 1988; meant as an experiment, it brought some 6,000 computers (one-tenth of the Internet at the time) to a halt.
📷© Ocean/Corbis RF
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Just five days after nearly 13 million shares of U.S. stock were sold in one day in 1929; an additional 16 million shares were sold #OnThisDay in 1929, called “Black Tuesday,” further fueling the crisis known as the Great Depression.
📷Archive Photos—Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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#OnThisDay in 1886 U.S. President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the Statue of Liberty—a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States—on Bedloe's (later Liberty) Island in Upper New York Bay.
📷© Gary/stock.adobe.com
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After eight years of construction, the Erie Canal, which connects the Great Lakes with NYC, officially opened #OnThisDay in 1825 when Gov. DeWitt Clinton of NY poured a keg of Lake Erie water into the Atlantic Ocean.
📷NY Public Library Digital Collection (54047)
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Apple introduced the iPod #OnThisDay in 2001, a portable media player that became one of the most successful and revolutionary products of the early 2000s.
📷Courtesy of Apple
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#OnThisDay in 1962, President John F. Kennedy alerted Americans to the Cuban missile crisis, declaring a naval blockade to prevent further missile shipments to the island country 90 miles (145 km) off the coast of the U.S.
📷© Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com
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A land tortoise is classed as a reptile because it hatches from a soft-shelled egg. Most reptiles have this type of egg. 🐢🥚
Britannica Kids Encyclopedia is an amazing 424-page compendium of knowledge from . ow.ly/Wa7350KZZ7K #ReptileAwarenessDay
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Australia's —designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, whose dynamic, imaginative, but problematic plan won an international competition in 1957—was opened by Queen Elizabeth II #OnThisDay in 1973.
📷© Vaiem4/Dreamstime.com
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John Jay, a Founding Father of the United States, was sworn in as the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court #OnThisDay in 1789.
📷Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-17681)
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American test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier #OnThisDay in 1947.
📷U.S. Air Force
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What do you drizzle on top of your ice cream? 🍦🍨
Britannica's Baby Encyclopedia is the first encyclopedia for curious kids ages 0 to 3. 📖👶
books.britannica.com #DessertDay
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The Boston Americans (now known as the Boston ) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the first modern World Series #OnThisDay in 1903.
📷© Michael Flippo/stock.adobe.com
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#OnThisDay in 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt officially changed the name of the president's residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. from Executive Mansion to the .
📷© Getty Images
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Happy #worldsmileday 😀😆😁
Did you know that Ancient Romans used to whiten their teeth with pee? 🤢🦷🪥
Find more strange facts in Return to Factopia from ow.ly/7ICO50KZY4T
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#OnThisDay in 1970 began broadcasting on American television. It became known for various programs, notably the children's shows Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (starring Fred Rogers).
📷Mark Lennihan/AP Images
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Wow! What's that? 🤯 a Cassowary, a Tarsier, Dumbo octopus or maybe a Sloth. 🦥🦎🐙
Find the answers to all your curious questions in Britannica First Big Book of Why from ow.ly/FU9l50KZXt4 #WorldAnimalDay
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#OnThisDay in 1927 American baseball player Babe Ruth became the first player to hit 60 home runs in a single season; his record stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961.
📷George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ggbain-36447)
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SpaceX successfully launched Falcon 1 #OnThisDay in 2008, becoming the first privately owned company to send a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit.
📷Kennedy Space Center/NASA
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The Taj Mahal is in the top 15 list of the world's most visited buildings & monuments. It sits at number 8 with 7.5 million annual visitors.🤯
Find more mind boggling lists in #Listified! from ow.ly/pzuj50Kt5KP
#WTD2022 #worldtourismday
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As fall begins, the green leaves turn red, orange and yellow. 🍃🍂
Read all about WHY things happen as season changes in Britannica First Big Book of Why from : ow.ly/MGMJ50Kt5xr
#FirstDayofFall #BigBookofWhy
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#OneGoodFact
Before alarm clocks became popular, British workers called “knocker uppers” were hired to tap on windows to wake people up in the morning.
📷© kertlis — iStock / Getty Images
ow.ly/L1Uz50KPhIU
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#OnThisDay in 1978 Muhammad Ali won the world heavyweight boxing championship for the third time with his victory over Leon Spinks.
📷AP Images
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Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died today at the age of 96. Learn more about her life:
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The first episode of the sci-fi series Star Trek aired on American television #OnThisDay in 1966.
📷Moviestore Collection/Alamy
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The first books ever made were all handwritten.🖋️📜 They cost a lot & took a long time to make.💰 That is until around 1450, when the first printing press was developed in Europe.📚
Find out more in Britannica All New Kids' Encyclopedia:
ow.ly/MNcO50Kt4Wt #ReadABookDay
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#OnThisDay in 1985 in a search led by American oceanographer Robert Ballard, the wreck of the Titanic was found on the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).
📷© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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#OnThisDay in 1983 U.S. astronaut Guion S. Bluford, Jr., became the first African American to travel into space, serving as a mission specialist aboard the shuttle orbiter Challenger, and later flew on three other missions.
📷NASA/Johnson Space Center
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#OneGoodFact
Because his bookmarks keep slipping out of his choir hymnal, 3M scientist Art Fry worked with Spencer Silver to create a paper with a light adhesive that would stay & not damage the pages. They created the ow.ly/TfN650KtfIi
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A bulldog named Tillman became famous for being able to ride a skateboard by pushing off the ground with his paw. 🐶🛹 Animal FACTopia! is out in May 2023.
Find out more about : books.britannica.com/gb/home
#NationalDogDay #BritannicaBooks
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This portrait of a jumping spider was taken using a camera lens that is similar to one in a microscope.🔍📸 The slide has been magnified to around 40x its real size. Learn more magnificent facts in LISTIFIED! books.britannica.com/gb/bookshop-2/
#WorldPhotoDay #Listified
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French fashion designer Coco Chanel—who, with her elegantly casual creations, ruled over Parisian haute couture for almost six decades—was born #OnThisDay in 1883.
📷Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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#OneGoodFact
During World War II, sales of sliced bread were banned to conserve steel used in industrial slicing machines. The ban proved so unpopular that it was lifted after two months. ow.ly/QTpU50Kmh9v
📷© Bruno Monico/stock.adobe.com
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#OneGoodFact
Two Oregon settlers flipped a coin to decide whose hometown would be used to name their village. Had the man from Portland, Maine, not won, Oregon’s biggest city would now be named Boston. ow.ly/z2Mh50Kl79T
📷© Bruce Block—iStock/Getty Images
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After some 10 years of work, the Panama Canal opened to ships #OnThisDay in 1914. Photo is of the construction of the Panama Canal, looking through locks before gates were placed, c1912.
📷F.R. Roberson/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id. cph 3c17339)
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