First arcade maze game
The earliest arcade maze game is Gotcha. It was developed by Atari in 1973 and was a departure from the popular bat ‘n’ ball games on which the company was founded.
Author Archives: admin
First arcade game with a hard disk
Killer Instinct was the first arcade videogame to include a hard disk drive. The extra digital storage was used to include pre-rendered backgrounds, allowing for more realistic graphics. Featured in Guinness World Records Gamer”s Edition 2010
First artificial satellite
The first artificial satellite was successfully put into orbit by an inter-continental ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at Tyuratam, Kazakhstan, 275km 170miles east of the Aral Sea and 250km 155miles south of the town of Baikonur, on the night of 4 Oct 1957. It reached an altitude of between 228.5km (perigee or nearest point to Earth) and 946km (apogee or farthest point from Earth) 142miles and 588miles, and a velocity of more than 28,565km/h 17,750mph. This spherical satellite Sputnik 1 (`Fellow Traveller’), officially designated Continue reading →
First arsenic-based bacteria
Life on Earth uses six basic ‘building block’ elements to make up its molecular structure: carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur and phosphorus. In December 2010 NASA scientists announced their discovery of bacteria in the briny Mono Lake, California, USA, which shows the unique capability of incorporating the element arsenic into its DNA and proteins as a substitute for phosphorus.
First ascent of K2
The first successful ascent of K2, which at 8,611 m (28,251 ft) is the world’s second highest mountain, was achieved by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli (both Italy) on 31 July 1954. They were members of an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio. K2 is situated in the Karakoram range on the border between Pakistan and China.
First artist-created internet service provider
The first musician-created internet service provider is BowieNet (USA, www.davidbowie.com) launched by David Bowie (UK) and Ultrastar Internet Services on 1 September 1998. BowieNet began as a high-speed Internet service across North America and then the world, offering each user a fully customisable home page, a davidbowie.com email address, news groups, chat rooms, online shareware, and multi-player gaming. In addition for music fans there are previously unreleased audio tracks, videos and photos available. The service also gives each user 5 MB of space with encouragement Continue reading →
First ascent of Mt Everest without oxygen
Reinhold Messner (Italy) and Peter Habeler (Austria) made the first successful ascent of Mt Everest without supplemental oxygen on 8 May 1978. This feat is regarded by some purist mountaineers as the first ‘true’ ascent of Everest, since overcoming the effects of altitude (i.e. the low oxygen content of the air) is the greatest challenge facing high-altitude climbers.
First ascent of K2 by a woman
Wanda Rutkiewicz (Poland) reached the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain, on 23 June 1986, becoming the first woman to climb the 8,611 m (28,251 ft) peak. Rutkiewicz, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest female climbers ever, was killed on a climb in December 1992.
First asphalt superspeedway track
The 2.19-km (1.366-mile) Darlington International Raceway, in Darlington, South Carolina, USA was the first asphalt superspeedway in the world when it opened in 1950. The first race on the track, called the Southern 500, was won by Johnny Mantz (USA) in a Plymouth at an average speed of 122.72 km/h (76.26 mph).
First Asian team to win a World eSport Games (WEG) Masters title
wNv-Gaming (China) was the first Asian team to reach the No.1 spot in the GotFrag rankings in May 2006. They went on to become the first Asian team to win a World eSport Games (WEG) Masters title in 2006. Guinness World Records Gamers’ Edition 2009.