Headline Time Machine Quiz

On 9 November 1989, a confusing travel announcement sent crowds to checkpoints and the border opened. German reunification followed in 1990; the two events happened in different years.

On 17 December 1903, the Wright brothers flew their powered aircraft near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Orville’s first flight lasted about 12 seconds and covered roughly 120 feet.

The WHO used the pandemic characterization on 11 March 2020. This is distinct from its earlier declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January of the same year.

The climbers reached the summit on 29 May 1953. News reached an international audience on 2 June, showing that the date of an accomplishment and the date its story spreads can differ.

Titanic began its maiden voyage on 10 April 1912 and sank on 15 April. The disaster prompted inquiries and contributed to changes in international maritime safety standards.

On 4 July 2012, CERN researchers presented results from two experiments indicating a new particle. Subsequent study confirmed its Higgs-boson properties.

The Indian Independence Act provided for the two independent dominions from 15 August 1947. Partition also caused immense upheaval and displacement; this date should not be treated as an uncomplicated celebration.

The airship caught fire while attempting to moor on 6 May 1937. Dramatic photographs and radio coverage turned the catastrophe into one of the best-known aviation news stories.

The Apollo 11 lunar module landed on 20 July 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited aboard the command module.

The ceasefire took effect at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918. The formal peace treaty with Germany, the Treaty of Versailles, was signed the following year, in 1919.

Sputnik 1 entered orbit on 4 October 1957. Its launch accelerated space research and prompted major changes in U.S. science and aerospace policy.

Mandela left Victor Verster Prison on 11 February 1990 after 27 years of imprisonment. His release was a major step toward negotiations that ended apartheid; he became president in 1994.

Fleming observed in 1928 that mold on a laboratory culture plate inhibited bacteria nearby. His report appeared in 1929, and other researchers later developed penicillin into an effective medicine.

NASA and its partners released the initial full set on 12 July 2022, following a preview image on 11 July. The views demonstrated powerful infrared observations of stars and distant galaxies.

The UN Charter was signed in San Francisco in June 1945 and entered into force on 24 October 1945, formally establishing the organization. Signing and entry into force are separate milestones in the same year.

Voyager 2 launched on 20 August 1977 and Voyager 1 followed on 5 September. Their planetary observations transformed knowledge of the outer solar system.

The handover took effect on 1 July 1997. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China under the arrangements set out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Reactor 4 was destroyed during a test on 26 April 1986 in what is now Ukraine. The accident released radioactive materials and caused lasting health, environmental and social consequences.

About 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., on 28 August 1963. The demonstrators called for civil rights legislation as well as economic opportunity.

On 26 December 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra generated a destructive tsunami. The disaster prompted improvements in regional tsunami warning and preparedness systems.