Defiance, Catastrophe, and Celestial Awe

The 5 moments in this challenge

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

1. 

   Round 1 · 1947

   Yeager Returns From Breaking the Sound Barrier

   Rogers Dry Lake, Muroc, California, United States

   Chuck Yeager's rocket-powered Bell X-1 made the first confirmed crewed supersonic flight in level flight. He flew with broken ribs, using a shortened broom handle to secure the aircraft's hatch.

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2. 

   Round 2 · 1973

   Bangkok's Democracy Uprising Meets Army Tanks

   Democracy Monument, Bangkok, Thailand

   Student-led protests against military rule culminated in lethal street fighting in Bangkok. The uprising forced Thanom Kittikachorn from power and opened a brief democratic interval before Thailand's violent authoritarian reversal three years later.

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3. 

   Round 3 · 1943

   Prisoners Break Out of Sobibor

   Sobibór extermination camp, German-occupied Poland

   Prisoners led by Alexander Pechersky and Leon Feldhendler organized an uprising inside Sobibor extermination camp. About three hundred escaped, although many were subsequently killed; the revolt helped bring the camp's operation to an end.

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4. 

   Round 4 · 2023

   A Ring of Sun Above Uxmal

   Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico

   An annular solar eclipse crossed the Yucatán Peninsula, placing a brilliant ring above Uxmal's Maya monuments. The Moon was too distant to cover the Sun completely, unlike during a total eclipse.

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5. 

   Round 5 · 1939

   Royal Oak Sinks in Scapa Flow

   Royal Oak anchorage, Scapa Flow, Orkney, Scotland

   U-47 slipped through Scapa Flow's defenses and torpedoed the anchored battleship Royal Oak. The sinking killed more than eight hundred people and prompted stronger barriers across the fleet anchorage's eastern entrances.

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