Dignitas: Founding an assisted dying society
In 1998, the assisted dying society, Dignitas was set up in Switzerland by lawyer Ludwig Minelli.It was the first end-of-life organisation in the world to help foreigners - non-Swiss citizens - to die...
26 Jun 202410min
Sagrada Familia: Completing Gaudi’s vision
When visionary architect Antoni Gaudi died unexpectedly in 1926, his followers were left with incredible plaster of Paris models showing how to complete his famous church, La Sagrada Familia.The only ...
25 Jun 202410min
The expulsion of the Sudeten Germans
At the end of World War Two, the Czechoslovak government expelled up to three million German speakers, known as the Sudeten Germans. They were accused of being loyal to Nazi Germany and collaborating ...
24 Jun 20249min
Kawarau Bridge: The first bungee jumping site in New Zealand
On 12 November 1988, the world’s first commercial bungee jumping site was opened near Queenstown, New Zealand. AJ Hackett and Henry Van Asch started out bungee jumping as a hobby with friends. They de...
21 Jun 20249min
The first mega cruise ship
On 16 January 1988, the world’s largest passenger ship, Sovereign of the Seas, set sail on her maiden voyage around the Caribbean.She carried more than 2,600 passengers and had five restaurants, nine ...
20 Jun 202410min
The beginning of Benidorm
In the 1950s, the transformation of the sleepy little town of Benidorm began when Pedro Zaragoza was appointed mayor. He started by getting pipes built to allow running water, then went on to pass ...
19 Jun 20249min
How Cancún became a tourist destination
In 1969, Antonio Enríquez Savignac was given the go-ahead to transform a secluded Mexican island into a world-beating tourist destination.The technocrat believed tourism was a cost effective solution ...
18 Jun 20249min
The first budget transatlantic flights
In 1955, a small Icelandic airline, Loftleioir Icelandic, slashed the cost of flying across the Atlantic.For the first time, thousands of young Americans were able to afford air travel to Europe on wh...
17 Jun 20249min
