LEADING FIRSTS IN HISTORY

FIRST DETECTION OF PLANETARY LIFE

BY A SPACEPROBE

When the Galileo spacecraft made a flyby of Earth scientists

decided to probe our planet for life as if it were being

encountered for the first time. All systems were go as the

spacecraft detected chlorophyll, oxygen, and methane!

FIRST STRIKE

The first known strike in history took place in Egypt on November

14, 1152 BC. The artisans of the Royal Necropolis organized the

strike which was later recorded on papyrus.

FIRST AERIAL BOMBARDMENT

In 1849 the Austrians launched several hundred unmanned balloons

with the intention of dropping time-triggered bombs over Venice,

(modern day) Italy. Winds were not in their favour and

there were very few casualties.

FIRST PERFECT PAC-MAN SCORE

On July 3, 1999 Billy Mitchell of the United States achieved the first

confirmed perfect score in PAC-MAN. Since then it has been

matched numerous times.

FIRST CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO GAME

The 1976 game Death Race (originally titled Pedestrian) involved

running over as many gremlins as you could. It caused quite a

bit of press coverage as people were afraid that it would lead

to reckless driving.

FIRST CITY

Going all the way back to 3200 BC Uruk, located in Mesopatamia (Iraq),

is often considered the first city. It had nearly 50,000 inhabitants,

a thick wall, and was a centre of trade and commerce.

FIRST DECLARATION OF WAR

Also coming out of Mesopotamia, the Epic of Gilgamesh contains

what historians believe is the first declaration of war. Gilgamesh

was actually the king of Uruk and the poem describes his exploits.

FIRST VICTIM OF AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT

Although the car was steam powered and experimental, in

1869 Mary Ward of the UK became the first recorded car crash

victim ever. Keep in mind that such a vehicle could only move

several kilometres per hour.