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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    The Challenger space shuttle tragedy

    In January 1986, the launch of space shuttle Challenger ended in tragedy

  2. Operation Mincemeat

    In April 1943, the most audacious hoax of WWII began. It was codenamed Operation Mincemeat

  3. The Irish priest who built an airport

    In 1986, a priest raised millions to open an airport at Knock in Ireland.

  4. Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran

    In February 1979, religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini flew back to Tehran from Paris

  5. Afghan Star

    In 2005, a TV show to find new musical talent was launched in Afghanistan

  6. The deadly Vargas mudslides in Venezuela

    In December 1999, torrential rain in Venezuela led to deadly floods and mudslides

  7. Creating Cluedo

    Blackouts during World War II helped Anthony Pratt invent the popular family board game.

  8. The creation of the modern kitchen

    The modern kitchen was created by an Austrian architect in 1926

  9. Brain: PC virus

    In 1986, what’s thought to be the first computer virus spreads around the world

  10. Battle of Gallipoli

    A New Zealand soldier's account of surviving one of the worst battles of World War One

  11. Sazae-san: World's longest-running cartoon

    In 1969, a Japanese cartoon about a traditional family premiered on Fuji TV

  12. Tracey Emin’s unmade bed

    In 1999, Dame Tracey Emin’s unmade bed was nominated for the prestigious Turner art prize

  13. Isabel Allende: The House of the Spirits

    In 1982, Isabel Allende published her bestselling novel, The House of the Spirits

  14. The Hillsborough disaster

    On 15 April 1989, there was a crowd crush at a football match in Sheffield, England

  15. South Africa's luxury train

    In 1986, South African businessman Rohan Vos decided to launch a vintage railway business

  16. The American Freedom Train

    In 1975, the train began a 21-month tour of the US celebrating 200 years of independence

  17. The longest musical composition

    In 1999, Longplayer started playing and it will continue, without repeating, until 2999

  18. Radio Free Europe

    Seventy-five years ago, RFE started broadcasting to audiences behind the Iron Curtain

  19. SMS: The invention of text messaging

    The invention of the Short Message Service changed how we communicate around the world

  20. Creating the board game Catan

    In 1995, the game debuted and has since sold more than 40 million copies worldwide

  21. Tamagotchi is born

    In 1996, the Tamagotchi was first released in Japan

  22. How the hoverboard was created

    In 2011, inventor Shane Chen created the motorised skateboard

  23. Inventing Play-Doh

    In 1956, one of the world’s most beloved children’s toys went on sale for the first time

  24. The invention of Jenga

    How a 1970s family game became an international hit

  25. The first television opera

    In 1951, the first opera ever composed specifically for TV was broadcast

  26. When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub

    In 1953, the comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn

  27. When Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan

    In the late 1980s, Norway was looking for a new market to sell its salmon

  28. India's disability law

    In 1995, the first disability rights legislation was passed by India's parliament

  29. How NFL tickets caught fugitives

    When Washington DC's most wanted were captured under the guise of winning NFL tickets

  30. The Paris climate agreement

    In 2015, nearly 200 countries adopted the Paris climate agreement

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