Bold Debuts and Shattered Structures

The 5 moments in this challenge

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

1. 

   Round 1 · 1940

   The Great Dictator Premieres in Times Square

   Astor Theatre, Times Square, New York, United States

   Charlie Chaplin's first fully talking feature premiered at the Astor and Capitol theaters. Its satire of Hitler opened while the United States remained neutral, ending with an appeal for humanity rather than a joke.

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2. 

   Round 2 · 1783

   Pilâtre de Rozier Tests a Tethered Balloon

   Réveillon wallpaper works, Paris, France

   Pilâtre de Rozier made a tethered ascent over the Réveillon wallpaper works in a Montgolfier balloon. These trials prepared the way for his celebrated free flight with the Marquis d'Arlandes the following month.

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3. 

   Round 3 · 1970

   West Gate Bridge Collapses During Construction

   West Gate Bridge construction site, Melbourne, Australia

   During construction, a 112-metre span of Melbourne's West Gate Bridge collapsed onto the worksite below, killing 35 workers. The disaster became a defining failure in Australia's engineering and workplace-safety history.

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4. 

   Round 4 · 2013

   Earthquake Shatters Loboc's Riverside Church

   San Pedro Apóstol Church, Loboc, Bohol, Philippines

   The magnitude-7.2 Bohol earthquake killed more than 200 people and shattered historic churches. Loboc's riverside church, with masonry dating to the eighteenth century, suffered catastrophic damage alongside its separate bell tower.

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5. 

   Round 5 · 1997

   ThrustSSC Breaks the Sound Barrier

   Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States

   Driving the twin-jet ThrustSSC, RAF pilot Andy Green set the first officially recognized supersonic land-speed record. His two-way average exceeded 763 miles per hour across Nevada's dry lakebed.

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