Join us today as we revisit some of the world’s most intriguing firsts!
Firsts are best because they are beginnings.
Jenny Han
In Jenny Han’s novel “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”, the author extolls the virtues of first love and new beginnings via her shy high school heroine. Firsts are always amazing for their newfound sense of discovery and in the case of science, the ability to explore and find the true meaning in everyday life.
Today, we are exploring ten of our most famous firsts, from the first sighting of the surface of the moon to the first movie to break the one-billion-dollar mark at the box-office.
THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 25, 2023
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daily prompt
WHERE DOES YOUR NAME COME FROM?
Although I have sisters named after what the twelve-year-old version of myself would deem “rocks” (Jule, Crystal and Coral), my name as the youngest of seven came from a great-great grandfather who had the Jon spelling of his first name way back when…he was obviously so far ahead of his time!
IMAGE CREDIT: Moteventure
first sighting of the moon’s surface
1609
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei became the first to see the moon for what it is: an imperfect, unevenly pitted rock. Most people believed that the moon was a perfect sphere, and Galileo’s observation challenged the idea that God created the heavens to be perfect. This was just one of Galileo’s astronomical discoveries that angered the Catholic Church.
IMAGE CREDIT: Pexels SOURCE: History
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first food to be microwaved
1945
The first food ever microwaved on purpose was… exactly what you’d imagine it would be: Popcorn! On October 8, 1945, Raytheon patented the first microwave cooking oven. They revealed that their engineer Percy Spencer had first discovered the heating powers of microwaves when he was working with them in the lab and accidentally melted a candy bar in his pocket. He then tested it out officially on popcorn, which was a success, and an egg, which exploded in his face. (Don’t microwave whole eggs, kids.) For more tasty historical facts, check out these quirky facts about the history of your favorite foods.
IMAGE CREDIT: Pexels SOURCE: RD.com
books
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IMAGE CREDIT: Moteventure
first artist on the cover of Rolling Stone
1967
On the cover of the very first Rolling Stone magazine (published on November 9th), John Lennon appeared in an iconic image from the film “How I Won the War”. For only twenty-five cents, readers were treated to stories featuring Donovan, Jim Morrison, David Crosby and the Grateful Dead.
IMAGE CREDIT: Rolling Stone
SOURCE: UDiscoverMusic
first serial killer in America
1880’s
Often considered American’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes makes Ted Bundy seem like a gentleman. Using his “Murder Castle” (complete with trapdoors, torture rooms and secret passages), Holmes claimed to have killed 27 people, although only 9 were documented. He was executed on May 7, 1896.
IMAGE CREDIT: Smithsonian
SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine
first film to reach $1 billion
1997
After releasing on December 19, 1997, Titanic dominated the box office by initially grossing over $1.84 billion, becoming the first movie to cross the billion-dollar mark. It retained its position as the highest-grossing movie of all time until James Cameron’s Avatar passed its box office number in 2010. In 2019, Avengers Endgame became the second movie to dethrone Titanic from its position in the billion-dollar club after raking in $2.799 billion internationally (via Box Office Mojo).
IMAGE CREDIT: Paramount Pictures
SOURCE: ScreenRant
first marathon
490 BC
According to legend, Pheidippides, a Greek messenger, ran the first marathon. He hoofed it 25 miles from the battle of Marathon to Athens to deliver the news that Greece had won, at which point he keeled over and died from exhaustion. This happy tale inspired modern runners to follow suit by running their own 25-mile race. Modern-day marathons are now 26.2 miles, the distance between the lawn of Windsor Castle and the royal box at the Olympic stadium after a request by Queen Alexandra in 1908.
IMAGE CREDIT: Mercury Records
SOURCE: History
first postage stamp
1840
The “penny black” stamp went on sale in London on May 1, 1840. It was an immediate hit. Suddenly, the country seemed a lot smaller. Over the next year, 70 million letters were sent. Two years later, the number had more than tripled. Other countries soon followed suit. The Penny Black’s design was so well received, it remained in use for forty years, though, as the National Postal Museum notes, “it underwent color changes (1841), adopted perforations (1848), and acquired check letters in all four corners (1858) …and most of those designs were retained for Victoria’s successor, Edward VII, (1901) with his profile being substituted.”
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine
first mass-produced book
1440
In 1440 Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press, allowing the mass production and distribution of books for the first time. The first major book he published? The Bible, of course! Today we honor his legacy by purchasing all our books in electronic form and calling print “old” media. And of course, the electronic outlet has changed how we write, even with emojis!
IMAGE CREDIT: Mental Floss
SOURCE: History
first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest
1953
On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary became the first person confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. Although dual credit should be given to his sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, who not only made the ascent but did it while carrying a bunch of stuff for other people. And let’s not forget all the Nepalese who made the climb previously.
IMAGE CREDIT: Reader’s Digest
SOURCE: Reader’s Digest
pop culture
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first government shutdown
1879
The first government shutdown occurred under President Rutherford B. Hayes. Southern Democrats, who regained their seats in Congress after the Civil War and had control of Congress, tried to withhold funds unless the government stopped protecting Black voters. They failed and the next attempt did not occur for almost a century.
IMAGE CREDIT: Pexels
SOURCE: History
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