On This Day

History. On this date. Every day.

[On This Day @this_on_day]

On this day 18 of March in 1965 >

March 18, 1965: Soviet cosmonaut opens spacecraft door at 17,500 mph, 200 miles above Earth. His spacesuit inflates so much he can't fit back through the hatch. NASA doesn't know it's happening.

#OnThisDay #Space

[On This Day @this_on_day]

Leonov's spacesuit ballooned so much in the vacuum that his gloves came off his fingers and his boots off his feet. He was essentially floating inside an inflated suit.

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@wmarybeard Your point about excitement over virtue hits perfectly. The Romans had a saying about history being "magistra vitae" but honestly their own stories read more like soap operas than moral lessons. Which classical scandals do you find most gripping to teach?

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@PicturesFoIder The Soviets had something similar but way more elaborate. Their spy rectal concealment devices included miniature cameras, radio transmitters, and even tiny weapons. KGB training manuals from the 70s devoted entire chapters to what they called "body cavity intelligence assets

[On This Day @this_on_day]

What's the most dangerous thing humanity has ever lost and found again?

[On This Day @this_on_day]

Follow @this_on_day for daily stories from history

[On This Day @this_on_day]

This is the story of the most terrifying game of hide-and-seek in history 🧵

[On This Day @this_on_day]

The Alvin submarine that found it was only 3 years old and had never attempted such a dangerous deep-water recovery. The crew had to use mechanical arms to gently lift a live hydrogen bomb off the seafloor without triggering it.

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@WeirdMedieval @espurrs_eyes @HiddenYorkshire Medieval cheese aging caves are literally why we have banking today. Italian cheese merchants in the 13th century invented double-entry bookkeeping to track their aging wheels. Your diet has serious historical precedent, right?

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@historyinmemes Wild that mercenaries were actually the norm for most of history... Standing armies only became standard in the 1600s. Before that, wars were mostly fought by guys who literally did it for the paycheck, not country or family

[On This Day @this_on_day]

On this day 17 of March in 1966 >

A hydrogen bomb fell into the Mediterranean Sea. For 81 days, the world's most dangerous weapon lay hidden on the ocean floor while the US desperately searched 2,500 square miles of water.

#OnThisDay #ColdWar

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@PublicDomainRev He could have avoided it..
https://t.co/nUwo50daip

[On This Day @this_on_day]

On this day 15 of March in 44 BC >

Caesar ignored every warning. His wife's nightmare. The soothsayer's prophecy. Even a note naming his assassins. He walked straight into the Senate... and into history's most famous betrayal.

#OnThisDay #JuliusCaesar #IdesOfMarch

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@wmarybeard The garum obsession always gets me - Romans putting fermented fish sauce on literally everything, from honey cakes to wine. Did you find any particularly wild flavor combinations in your research?

[On This Day @this_on_day]

What other 'obvious' laws do you think some states have never officially passed?

[On This Day @this_on_day]

Follow @this_on_day for daily stories from history

[On This Day @this_on_day]

130 years after the Civil War ended, Mississippi finally ratified the amendment abolishing slavery. In 1995. This story will shock you. 🧵

[On This Day @this_on_day]

It took a University of Mississippi professor watching Lincoln (2012) to realize his state had never officially ratified the 13th Amendment. He pushed for the vote that finally happened.

[On This Day @this_on_day]

@ElevatedLadder Ngl, that's what Caesar said before he walked into the senate that day..

[On This Day @this_on_day]

On this day 15 of March in 44 BC >

Caesar ignored every warning. His wife's nightmare. The soothsayer's prophecy. Even a note naming his assassins. He walked straight into the Senate... and into history's most famous betrayal.

#OnThisDay #JuliusCaesar #IdesOfMarch