The first expedition to the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility on foot was completed by Henry Cookson, Rupert Longsdon, Rory Sweet (All UK) and Paul Landry (Canada), on 19 January 2007. The Pole of Inaccessibility (POI) is defined as the exact centre of the Antarctic landmass. Although there have been previous mechanised expeditions, this one was completed using only a combination of ski and kites.

The earliest recorded famine which occurred in Egypt in 3500 BC was preserved visually in a relief that survives on the causeway of the Fifth-Dynasty Pyramid of Unas in Sakkara.  No figures are given.

The earliest FBI gambilng investigation within a virtual world took place in April 2007 when it was reported that the FBI had visited in-game casinos in Second Life. It was legally unclear whether or not betting with Linden dollars, which can be exchanged for real world money, was in violation of gambling laws. The three largest poker casinos reportedly were earning around $1,500 per month.

Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was killed on 24 April 1967 during his second spaceflight on the Soyuz 1 mission. Upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the parachute lines of his spacecraft tangled and the parachute failed to open. Komarov was killed instantly as Soyuz 1 impacted the ground in Russia.

The earliest feature length talkie was Alan Crossland’s (USA) The Jazz Singer (USA 1927), which premiered on Broadway on 6 October 1927. Warner Bros.intended the sound to be confined to music and songs, but Al Jolson (USA) ad-libbed some speech, which led to 354 words spoken in all:- 340 by Jolson, 13 by Eugenie Besserer (USA), who played his mum and one by Warner Oland (Sweden), his dad – `Stop!’.

The world’s first full-length feature film was The Story of the Kelly Gang, made in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1906. Produced on a budget of £450 (then US$2185.65), this biopic of the notorious armoured bushranger Ned Kelly (1855-80) ran for 60-70 minutes and opened at the Melbourne Town Hall on 26 December 1906. It was produced by the local theatrical company J. and N. Tait.

In June 2000, scientists announced their discovery of a 220 million-year-old fossilised animal. The animal, named Longisquama Insignis, had appendages on its back which were hollow and had other characteristics which are seen today in birds’ feathers. This creature probably used its primitive feathers to glide between trees 75 million years before the first birds evolved. The fossil was originally discovered by a Russian palaeoentomologist in the late 1960s but it was not until it became part of a travelling Russian dinosaur exhibit in the Continue reading →

Rihanna is the first female artist to have UK No.1 singles in five consecutive years (2007–11).

Born on 21 March 1913, Sabiha Gökçen, one of the adopted daughters of Mustafa Kamal Atatürk, founder and first President of Turkey, enrolled in the Military Aviation Academy in Eskisehir in 1936 and undertook training at the First Aircraft Regiment there. She flew fighter and bomber planes becoming the first Turkish, female aviator and the world´s first, female, combat pilot. During her flying career, she achieved some 8,000 hours, 32 of which were combat missions.

The earliest female head of a computer games design studio is Mie Kumagai, Head of Research and Development at Sega’s Amusement Software labs. She was responsible for the development of the Crazy Taxi, Virtual On and Virtua Tennis series, plus the racing game Initial D Arcade Stage.