Nigel Mansell (UK) made history by becoming the first rookie to win the IndyCar championship, in 1993. Mansell was also the 1992 Formula One World Driving Champion, making him the first driver ever to win both titles in consecutive seasons.
Originally designed as a driving sim, Hard Drivin’, released to arcades in 1988, featured a motor that put force on the steering wheel to simulate feedback from the car’s tyres. (2008 edition text) Guinness World Records Gamers’ Edition 200.
The first game to feature an open-world environment was the 1986 Turbo Esprit for the ZX Spectrum. The game is commonly held responsible for the success of the genre. GWR Video Gamer’s Edition 2008, title: First open-world driving game.
The Mexico City Olympics held in 1968 were the first to introduce drug testing for medallists, with urine taken and analyzed for narcotics and stimulants. Consequently, these Games saw the first ever drugs disqualification, with the Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall testing positive for excessive alcohol. He had allegedly drunk some beer prior to the pistol shooting to calm his nerves and was later stripped of the bronze medal he went on to win.
The 13-part documentary series Cosmos (1980), produced and presented by astrophysicist Carl Sagan (USA), utilised the skills or effects technicians who had previously worked on Star Wars (1977) to create a “spaceship of the imagination” – an impressive set that replicated the inside of a space station with portholes looking on to the Universe. The project took two years to plan, earning the show the first ever Emmy award for special effects.
The first mobile phone to use a dual core processor is the LG Optimus 2X, which was first made available to the public nationwide in South Korea, on 25 January 2011. The phone uses the Android operating system and is equipped with an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core CPU.
Released on 13 July 2008, Siren: Blood Curse became the first episodic videogame to be released on PlayStation 3. The stealth/survival horror hybrid tells the story of an ill-fated American camera crew who travel to rural Japan to film a documentary on a lost village, only to find themselves under attack from a sect of undead nuns. Featured in Guinness World Records Gamer”s Edition 2010
The Neo-Assyrian Empire is considered to have been the first empire ever established. Originating in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in the late 10th century BC, the empire reached the height of its power and influence in the 8th century BC, when the territories under its control stretched from the Persian Gulf in the Near East all the way to the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The fall of the empire came in 612 BC, when the capital city of Nineveh (modern Mosul) was destroyed by
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The first theatre in North America was located in the English colony of Williamsburg, Virginia and was constructed in 1716. It was built by William Levingston and called the “Play House.” Actors put on English plays, frequently Shakespeare, until 1745 when the theatre was demolished and its frame was used to construct a town hall. The Walnut Street Theatre (or simply The Walnut), located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and founded in 1809, is considered not only the oldest theatre in the United States, but also the
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Tony Parker (France) was named most valuable player of the NBA Finals playing for the San Antonio Spurs (USA) in 2007.