Flights, Falls, and Fierce Contests

The 5 moments in this challenge

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

1. 

   Round 1 · 1895

   Locomotive Plunges Through Montparnasse Station

   Gare Montparnasse, Paris, France

   The Granville–Paris express overran its buffers and burst through the station façade, leaving its locomotive nose-down in the street. Remarkably, only one person died: a woman tending a newspaper kiosk outside.

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2. 

   Round 2 · 1797

   Garnerin Makes the First Balloon Parachute Descent

   Parc Monceau, Paris, France

   André-Jacques Garnerin cut his basket loose beneath a silk parachute after ascending over Paris. The canopy had no air vent, so it oscillated violently, but he landed safely and established balloon parachuting.

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3. 

   Round 3 · 2008

   Chandrayaan Begins India's First Lunar Mission

   Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India

   India's first lunar mission lifted off aboard a PSLV-XL rocket. Chandrayaan-1 later carried instruments that helped establish the widespread presence of water and hydroxyl on the Moon's surface.

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4. 

   Round 4 · 2016

   The Cubs Finally Win the Pennant

   Wrigley Field, Chicago, United States

   The Cubs defeated the Dodgers at Wrigley Field to win their first National League pennant since 1945. They soon ended an even longer drought by winning their first World Series since 1908.

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5. 

   Round 5 · 1777

   Hessians Assault Fort Mercer at Red Bank

   Fort Mercer, National Park, New Jersey, United States

   A small American garrison repelled a much larger Hessian assault on Fort Mercer, protecting the Delaware approaches to Philadelphia. The victory was temporary: British pressure forced the fort's abandonment less than a month later.

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