Shifting the Paradigm

The five moments in this challenge

The scenes are shown below — tap a card to reveal its place and year.

1. 

   Round 1 · 1994

   Inauguration of Nelson Mandela

   Pretoria, South Africa

   Following the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa's first Black president in a joyous ceremony attended by global leaders and massive crowds.

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2. 

   Round 2 · 1453

   Fall of Constantinople

   Constantinople, Ottoman Empire

   Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror's Ottoman forces finally breached the supposedly impregnable, centuries-old Theodosian Walls, bringing a dramatic end to the Byzantine Empire and sending scholars westward to spark the European Renaissance.

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3. 

   Round 3 · 1498

   Vasco da Gama Arrives in Calicut

   Kappad Beach, India

   The Portuguese explorer's monumental arrival via the treacherous Cape of Good Hope successfully established the first direct maritime route from Europe to India, permanently transforming the balance of global trade and colonization.

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4. 

   Round 4 · 1779

   Construction of the Iron Bridge

   Ironbridge Gorge, England

   Designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, it was the first major bridge in the world to be constructed entirely of cast iron, quickly becoming a defining, seminal symbol of Britain's accelerating Industrial Revolution.

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5. 

   Round 5 · 1911

   First Solvay Conference on Physics

   Brussels, Belgium

   This inaugural, invitation-only scientific gathering brought together the world's leading intellectual minds, including Albert Einstein and Marie Curie, to earnestly debate the puzzling advent of quantum mechanics and the nature of radiation.

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