All Stories
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Gimli Glider: Wrong Units Empty a Boeing 767
Air Canada Boeing 767 left with exactly 22,300 pounds of fuel instead of the planned 22,300 kilograms, causing…
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Anatoli Bugorski: Proton Beam Through His Head
Anatoli Bugorski survived a 70 GeV proton beam that passed straight through his head in 1978, burning a…
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Seawise Giant: The 1,504-Foot Oil Tanker
Seawise Giant measured 1,504 feet long and displaced 724,000 US tons when fully loaded, making it the longest…
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FAST: The 1,640-Foot Dish That Reshapes Itself
FAST’s 1,640-foot dish reshapes itself in real time using 4,500 moving panels to form a 300-meter listening patch.
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Millennium Tower: Sinks 18 Inches and Leans 28 Inches
Millennium Tower in San Francisco has sunk 18 inches and leans 28 inches at the roof due to…
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Vesna Vulović: 33,330 Feet Fall Survivor
Vesna Vulović survived a 33,330-foot fall from JAT Flight 367 in 1972 after a food cart pinned her…
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Cher Ami: The Pigeon That Saved 194 Soldiers
Cher Ami saved 194 soldiers when its final message stopped friendly artillery fire on the Lost Battalion despite…
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Mars Climate Orbiter: Wrong Units Burn a Probe
Mars Climate Orbiter was lost in 1999 because one team worked in pound-force seconds and NASA software read…
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Poon Lim Survives 133 Days Alone on a Raft
Poon Lim survived a record 133 days alone on a raft in the South Atlantic after his ship…
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Three Gorges Ship Lift: Raises 17,100 Tons
Three Gorges Ship Lift raises 17,100 tons including its chamber of water and ship through 371 feet in…
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The Boston Molasses Flood: A 15-Foot Wave Kills 21
In 1919 a leaking Boston tank burst and sent 2.3 million gallons of molasses through the streets in…
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The 1518 Dancing Plague of Strasbourg
In July 1518 Frau Troffea began dancing uncontrollably in Strasbourg and within a week over 30 people had…