A man in the UK legally changed his name to "Bacon Double Cheeseburger" to win a free burger
Sam Smith from North London legally changed his name to Bacon Double Cheeseburger after his friends bet he wouldn't do it. He went through with the of...
Historical Events
2016
2001
Kirk Douglas received an honorary Academy Award at age 85, celebrating his 50-year film career
The legendary actor was honored with an Oscar for his lifetime of powerful performances in Hollywood classics like Spartacus and Paths of Glory. His a...
1992
Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially announced their separation, shocking the world
MajorBritish Prime Minister John Major announced the royal couple's separation in Parliament, ending speculation about their troubled marriage. The announc...
1987
A Soviet cosmonaut accidentally locked himself out of the Mir space station during a spacewalk
Cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko found himself locked out when the airlock hatch closed unexpectedly during a routine spacewalk. He had to wait in the void of...
1973
A cat in Sweden was arrested for stealing from multiple homes in the neighborhood
The cat, named "Tjomme," was found hoarding stolen items including sausages, gloves, and small tools from neighbors. Swedish police had to intervene w...
1968
Computer scientist Douglas Engelbart gave the "Mother of All Demos," unveiling the computer mouse, video conferencing, and hypertext
MajorIn a 90-minute presentation in San Francisco, Engelbart demonstrated technology that wouldn't become mainstream for decades. He showed the first compu...
1960
The first episode of Coronation Street aired on British television, launching the world's longest-running TV soap opera
This Granada Television production premiered to modest audiences but would become a British cultural institution. The show depicted working-class life...
1948
The United Nations adopted the Genocide Convention, making genocide an international crime
MajorThe Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly. It defined genocide and o...
1935
A baseball game was played in Australia using a frozen ball because the temperature dropped so low the leather ball became unusable
During a cricket match in Melbourne, the temperature plummeted so dramatically that the leather ball became too hard and dangerous. Players improvised...
1906
Grace Hopper was born, the computer scientist who would invent the first compiler and popularize the term "debugging"
Born Grace Brewster Murray, she would become a pioneering computer scientist and U.S. Navy rear admiral. She developed the first compiler for a progra...
1905
France officially separated church and state, ending centuries of religious influence in government
MajorThe French parliament passed the law on the Separation of the Churches and the State, fundamentally reshaping French society. This landmark legislatio...
1854
Alfred, Lord Tennyson published "The Charge of the Light Brigade," immortalizing one of history's most disastrous military blunders
The poem commemorated the suicidal cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War just weeks earlier. Due to miscommunication, Briti...
1425
The Catholic Church founded the University of Leuven in Belgium, which would become one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious universities
Pope Martin V issued a papal bull establishing the university in the Duchy of Brabant. It became a major center of learning during the Renaissance and...