May 30, 2026
Short-Lived Republic of Biafra Proclaimed (1967)
Biafra was composed of several Nigerian states heavily populated by the Igbo people—tens of thousands of whom has been massacred in Nigeria months earlier. After its secession, the breakaway state was attacked by air, land, and sea and gradually lost the territory under its control, including its crucial oil fields. More than one million civilians are thought to have died of starvation by the time Biafra surrendered in 1970. The nation took its name from the Bight of Biafra, which is what?
May 29, 2026
Bing Crosby Records "White Christmas," Best-Selling Single of All Time (1942)
Composed by legendary songwriter Irving Berlin, "White Christmas" has been recorded by numerous singers. By far, the best known version is performed by Crosby. However, it is not his 1942 recording that American audiences hear endlessly during Christmastime, but rather the re-recording he made in 1947. The song was further popularized by the film of the same name—starring Crosby—released in 1954. How many copies is Crosby's "White Christmas" single estimated to have sold worldwide?
May 28, 2026
Space Monkeys Finally Survive a Space Flight, Humans Soon to Follow (1959)
Several monkeys were launched into space before 1959, but Able and Miss Baker became the first to survive such a trip—a 16-minute flight aboard a US missile. Able, a rhesus monkey, died just days after the flight while undergoing surgery to remove a medical electrode. Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, lived to the age of 27 and is buried on the grounds of the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where she spent most of her life. Able was preserved and can now be seen where?
