Much of today’s society is a product of the historical events that took place in our past. Whether it be minor or major, the events that have occurred over the course of millions of years have shaped the planet into what it is today. Can you imagine if the meteor that killed the dinosaurs had missed Earth? What would today look like with dinosaurs still roaming in the wild or filling up our zoos? The results of Jurassic Park certainly come to mind.
However, we don’t have to go too far into the past to see the consequences of major events that have taken place. For example, the Holocaust saw millions of Jews killed during World War 2. What if that never happened? How about the bombing of Hiroshima? The fact that the sky was clear was the only reason the military received the go-ahead; imagine if it had rained that day? The world we are living in could have easily looked much different.
One really awesome aspect of history is that not all of these moments took place in succession. In fact, there are quite a few historical events and moments that took place at the same time. For example, the last public hanging in the U.K. took place during the opening of the London Underground. Another interesting history pairing occurred when Swiss women received voting rights. On that same day, the United States drove the first buggy on the moon. And these are just two examples of many.
We decided to do a little research and have found 30 historical events that took place around the same time and we have to say some are pretty crazy. Personally, we found number #18 to be the most unbelievable. What do you think?
30. The Fax Machine & Oregon Trail
Now this may seem like complete fiction, but it’s true. Alexander Bain, a Scottish inventor, received his patent for the “Electric Printing Telegraph” on May 27, 1843. This can be considered the grandfather of the modern fax machine. In that SAME year, the first wagons of 1,000 emigrants launched the Great Migration of 1843, headed to Oregon via the Oregon Trail.