Against the Odds

The five moments in this challenge

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

1. 

   Round 1 · 1946

   Operation Crossroads Baker Nuclear Test

   Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands

   The spectacular underwater detonation of a 21-kiloton bomb lofted two million tons of water into a radioactive mushroom cloud, devastating a surrogate fleet of captured Axis and obsolete American warships.

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2. 

   Round 2 · 1940

   Evacuation of the Dunkirk Beaches

   Dunkirk, France

   Operation Dynamo rescued over 338,000 Allied soldiers. The shallow beaches required a flotilla of hundreds of 'Little Ships'—civilian fishing and pleasure boats—to ferry troops to larger destroyers.

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3. 

   Round 3 · 1875

   The Big Hole Diamond Rush

   Kimberley, South Africa

   At its peak, the Kimberley Mine was a chaotic open-air pit worked by 50,000 men, eventually becoming the largest hand-dug excavation on Earth.

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4. 

   Round 4 · 50

   Construction of the Pont du Gard

   Vers-Pont-du-Gard, France

   Built without mortar, this Roman aqueduct carried water 50 kilometers to Nîmes. The massive limestone blocks were lifted into place using human-powered treadwheel cranes.

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5. 

   Round 5 · 790

   Carving the Leshan Giant Buddha

   Leshan, China

   A Chinese monk initiated the carving of this 71-meter Buddha to calm the turbulent river waters that plagued shipping. The massive amount of stone removed actually altered the river currents.

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