The invention of the mobility scooter
In 1967, American plumber Al Thieme promised his wife with multiple sclerosis that he would find her an alternative to a wheelchair. He came up with a battery-powered seat on wheels. He called it an ‘...
6 Mar 10min
India’s first nuclear test
In May 1974 India successfully detonated its first atomic device. It had been developed in secret with the codename Smiling Buddha. India called it a peaceful nuclear explosion, though the experimenta...
5 Mar 9min
Portugal’s worst train disaster
On 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, central Portugal, an express train collided head-on with a regional train killing an estimated 150 people.The impact destroyed both engines and the leaking diesel ca...
4 Mar 10min
Elvis visits Scotland
In 1960, as he headed home from military service, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport.It's believed to be the only time Elvis Presley is known to have set foot on Br...
3 Mar 11min
Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA
Outraged by the Christmas bombings of Hanoi in 1972 by the USA during the Vietnam War, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme made a critical speech. He compared the US’s actions to several massacres ...
2 Mar 9min
Syria's secret library
A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and ended in 2024. Braving snipers and bombardment, th...
27 Feb 10min
Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial
In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes.His trial would last more than three years at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leon...
26 Feb 10min
The Japanese invasion of Malaya
On 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed in northern Malaya marking the start of the second world war in the Pacific.Invasion forces moved quickly down the British colony – which is now called Malay...
25 Feb 10min
