1

The Wild West was wild

Life in the West certainly wasn’t as chaotic and unruly as Hollywood would have us believe. Most of the challenges experienced by the people were those of any settler in a distant place: hard labor, harsh weather conditions, loneliness, petty thefts, and uncertainty. Dangerous conflicts certainly arose, but they were not a daily occurrence.

2

Gold was easily found

Beginning in the year 1848, gold discoveries inspired a series of rushes that contributed to the Westward expansion, but fewer people actually became rich from the so-called boom. Gold in large quantities was rare to come by , and the overpopulation of prospectors diminished the chances of gathering enough gold to make the labor worth it. In addition to this, shopkeepers demanded outrageous food prices, which consumed the little wealth that prospectors managed to gather.

3

Wild West towns were lawless

While they had their fair share of gunmen and robbers, towns in the Wild West had lower violence rates than big cities . Following the law was essential for the new settlements to thrive, and public order was maintained through the joint effort of marshals, sheriffs, Army soldiers, and private citizens. While the bad reputation of some towns was justified, they were the exception rather than the norm.

4

There was endless free land for the taking

The West was vast, but it was certainly occupied . Thousands of Native Americans were forcefully displaced, confined to reservations, or forced to assimilate to make way for those arriving. Many settlers were not aware of, nor complicit in this injustice —especially immigrants coming from afar— but others believed they were entitled to the land, even at the cost of native lives.

5

Everyone owned a gun

Pistols and rifles have become synonymous with the Wild West, but they weren’t as common as one might think. While they were a useful protection on the range or while travelling, they were usually forbidden in town , so cowboys and travellers had to check them in the sheriff’s office upon arrival.

6

Settlers and Native Americans fought constantly

Native Americans who were not displaced or confined to reservations were not necessarily hostile towards settlers. In fact, many of them were open to coexistence and trade with communities that didn’t pose a threat . The majority of their confrontations were with government forces, usually as a result of broken treaties and empty promises.

7

Cowboy hats were the norm

Stetsons, or cowboy hats, might be the quintessential headgear of the modern cowboy, but they were not the standard in the Wild West. Bowler hats, Army caps, and Mexican-style sombreros were far more common choices at the time. In fact, the Stetson brand wasn’t established until 1865.

8

Violence was the main cause of death

The Wild West was not as unruly as it is portrayed, and the chances of dying in a duel or a highway robbery were not as high as one would imagine. The main cause of death was disease , either caused by the harsh circumstances, the lack of sanitary conditions, or the spread of viruses and infections before the advent of modern medicine.

9

The Pony Express was the main communication service

The Pony Express and its riders revolutionized communication in the Wild West. Beginning operations in 1860, it reduced the travel time of messages between the East and West coasts to about ten days . However, its existence was short-lived: After merely 18 months of operations, the company went bankrupt when a telegraph line was established.

10

Banks in the Wild West were easy targets for robbers

Movie westerns would have us believe that bank robberies were a daily occurrence in the Wild West, but nothing could be further from the truth. Though there were heists carried out by famous outlaws, bank robberies were far from common , and train and stagecoach robberies were more likely to happen.

1

Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes was a lot of things: a businessman, a movie director/producer, and a record-breaking pilot. Born in Houston, Texas, he inherited his father’s tool company as a teenager and later moved to Hollywood. His World War I flying movie, Hell’s Angels (1930), used dozens of real planes and became a classic. In 1938, he flew around the world in about 91 hours, setting a new record.

During World War II, Hughes was hired to build a giant flying boat that could carry 750 soldiers. Since metal was needed for the war, he built it mostly of wood. The press called it the "Spruce Goose," a nickname Hughes hated. The war ended before it was ready, and critics said it would never fly. So in 1947, Hughes flew it himself for about a mile over Long Beach Harbor. It never flew again, and today it sits in a museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

2

Neil Armstrong

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil Armstrong said those words on July 20, 1969, when he became the first person to walk on the Moon, and the phrase became one of the most famous ever spoken. Being the first man on the Moon was monumental enough for a lifetime, but it wasn't his only achievement.

A native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong served as a Navy pilot during the Korean War, and later became a test pilot. After joining NASA, he flew the Gemini 8 mission in 1966, where, with David Scott, they became the first to connect two spacecraft in orbit, a skill the Moon missions would later depend on.

3

Buzz Aldrin

Second, but no less important, Buzz Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the Moon about 20 minutes later. Before stepping outside, he quietly took communion inside the lunar module, which made it the first religious ceremony ever held on the Moon .

During the Korean War, Aldrin was an Air Force fighter pilot and flew 66 missions. His spacecraft research was so useful that other astronauts nicknamed him "Dr. Rendezvous." In 1966, on the Gemini 12 mission, he made three spacewalks and proved that astronauts could do real work outside a spacecraft. After retiring from NASA and the Air Force, he spent decades pushing for new space missions, including sending humans to Mars. And yes, Toy Story 's Buzz Lightyear was named after him.

4

Chuck Yeager

When Chuck Yeager joined the Air Force in 1941, he started as a mechanic, but quickly became a pilot because of his good eyesight. After his good performance in World War II, he was assigned a mission: to fly faster than the speed of sound, something many experts feared could tear a plane apart. In 1947, Yeager was chosen to fly the Bell X-1 and try to break the sound barrier. Two nights before the flight, he fell off a horse and broke two ribs, but he kept it quiet so he wouldn’t lose his spot.

Once in the air, and with a friend’s help, Yeager climbed down into the small plane and locked the door from inside. Then the plane X-1, named Glamorous Glennis after his wife, was dropped from the bomber; Yeager fired the rockets, and minutes later he became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. The 1983 movie The Right Stuff tells this story, and Sam Shepard plays him.

5

Orville and Wilbur Wright

Before they created the first plane, the Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics in Ohio. The story goes that when they were kids, their father brought home a toy helicopter made of cork, bamboo, and a rubber band. They played with it until it broke, and then they built their own.

Flying and inventing were their obsessions: they observed birds, tested gliders, and learned about balance, chains, and making machines by hand. In 1903, when they built their own wind tunnel, they went to the dunes near Kitty Hawk in North Carolina to test their flyer. Orville took off and stayed in the air for 12 seconds. He covered 120 feet, becoming the first powered airplane flight in history, and the world was never the same.

6

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh started studying engineering in college but left after two years to learn to fly. For a while, he worked as a stunt pilot at county fairs, walking on wings and jumping with a parachute, until he trained with the Army and got a job flying the mail between St. Louis and Chicago.

On those mail runs, he heard about a $25,000 prize for anyone who could pull off the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris. Renowned pilots were already trying, and some had died in the attempt. After Lindbergh convinced businessmen in St. Louis to back him, he prepped for the adventure. Flying the Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh left Long Island on May 20, 1927, and landed in Paris about 33 and a half hours later. A huge crowd ran onto the field to greet him, and newspapers started calling him "Lucky Lindy."

7

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart worked as a nurse in Toronto during World War I. Once in 1920, she paid for a 10-minute flight in Long Beach, California, and that was the moment she knew she had to become a pilot. Earhart then took a job at the telephone company to pay for air lessons until she bought a used yellow plane nicknamed "The Canary." In 1922, she flew it to 14,000 feet, a new record for women pilots.

On May 20, 1932, five years after Lindbergh's flight, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic . The trip was rough: she took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, but ice buildup on the wings and a fuel leak forced her to make an emergency landing. About 14 hours after takeoff, she landed in a pasture in Culmore, near Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland, instead of reaching her planned destination of Paris. According to the story, when a farmhand asked if she had flown far, she famously replied, "From America."

8

Alan Shepard

You probably remember Alan Shepard as the man who played golf on the Moon. He went to the U.S. Naval Academy and later became a Navy test pilot. In 1959, NASA chose him as one of its first astronauts, "the Mercury Seven" (selected for Project Mercury). On May 5, 1961, he became the first American in space.

Two years later, an inner-ear condition called Ménière’s disease started making him dizzy, and NASA wouldn’t let him fly. Shepard spent years working on the ground until he had an operation and was ready to fly again. In 1971, he finally flew to the Moon as commander of Apollo 14. He became the fifth man to walk on the Moon and, at 47, the oldest. Before leaving the lunar surface, he pulled out a golf club head he had attached to a tool handle and hit two balls.

9

John Glenn

In December 1941, John Glenn was in college when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and he left to become a pilot. He flew combat missions for the Marines in World War II and again in Korea. In 1957, he made headlines by flying faster than the speed of sound from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes.

But that wasn’t all. NASA selected him to join the "Mercury Seven." In 1962, piloting the Friendship 7, he became the first American to orbit Earth, circling it three times. Glenn later returned to space in 1998 at age 77 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-95), becoming the oldest person to travel into space while participating in aging and microgravity studies.

10

Sally Ride

Los Angeles native Sally Ride first entered the public eye as one of the country’s best junior tennis players. However, she continued studying physics and English at Stanford University, and while working on her physics PhD, she saw a NASA ad in the student newspaper. For the first time, NASA was looking for women astronauts.

About 8,000 women applied, and in 1978 she was one of 35 selected. She helped develop the shuttle's robot arm and also talked to crews from Mission Control on early flights. On June 18, 1983, she flew on Challenger and became the first American woman in space, at age 32.

1

The American Revolution against the British Empire

When fighting began in 1775, Britain was the world’s most powerful empire. The colonies had no professional army, little money, and limited supplies . George Washington’s Continental Army often struggled with food shortages, harsh winters, and major defeats during the early years of the war.

The turning point came after the American victory at Saratoga, New York, in 1777, which convinced France to support the colonies. British General Charles Cornwallis finally surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781. The Treaty of Paris officially recognized U.S. independence in 1783.

2

Abraham Lincoln won the Civil War after early Union defeats

At the start of the Civil War, the Union suffered humiliating losses, including the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Many Americans doubted President Abraham Lincoln’s leadership, while Confederate General Robert E. Lee repeatedly defeated Union forces in Virginia.

Things changed in July 1863, when Union victories at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, shifted momentum . Lincoln’s support for General Ulysses S. Grant helped the North gain control. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865.

3

The Apollo 13 mission’s safe return

Apollo 13 was launched on April 11, 1970, and was supposed to become NASA’s third Moon landing. But two days later, an oxygen tank exploded in space. Astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert suddenly faced freezing temperatures, limited power, and dwindling oxygen .

NASA engineers in Houston worked nonstop to save the crew. The astronauts used the lunar module as a lifeboat and improvised repairs with onboard materials. Against enormous odds, Apollo 13 safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970.

4

Economic recovery from the Great Depression

The Great Depression devastated the U.S. after the stock market crash of 1929. By 1933, unemployment had reached nearly 25%, banks were collapsing, and millions of Americans lost homes, jobs, and savings during the worst economic crisis in modern U.S. history.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced New Deal programs aimed at relief and recovery after taking office in March 1933. Public works projects, banking reforms, and job programs slowly helped stabilize the economy . The country eventually emerged stronger during the years leading up to World War II.

5

The 1980 "Miracle on Ice" victory v.s the USSR

During the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the Soviet hockey team was considered nearly unbeatable . The USSR had dominated international hockey for years, while the young American team consisted mostly of amateur and college players.

On February 22, 1980, the U.S. shocked the world with a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Soviets . Mike Eruzione scored the winning goal, and broadcaster Al Michaels famously asked, "Do you believe in miracles?" The Americans later defeated Finland to win Olympic gold.

6

The Chicago Cubs ending their 108-year World Series drought in 2016

The Chicago Cubs had not won the World Series since 1908, suffering one of the longest championship droughts in sports history. By 2016, generations of fans believed the team was cursed after decades of heartbreaking losses and missed opportunities.

The Cubs fell behind three games to one against Cleveland in the 2016 World Series, but fought back to force Game 7. On November 2, 2016, Chicago won 8-7 in 10 innings after a rain delay, finally ending its 108-year drought

7

The Space Race

The Soviet Union dominated the early Space Race by launching Sputnik in 1957 and sending Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961. At the time, many experts believed the U.S. was permanently behind in space technology.

President John F. Kennedy challenged NASA to land a man on the Moon before the decade ended. After years of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, during Apollo 11.

8

New Orleans’ recovery after Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005 and caused catastrophic flooding in New Orleans after the levees failed. About 80% of the city was flooded, and hundreds of thousands of residents were displaced in one of America’s worst natural disasters.

Recovery took years and required rebuilding homes, schools, roads, and flood protection systems . Despite enormous challenges, New Orleans gradually restored much of its tourism, culture, music scene, and population while continuing to strengthen its storm defenses.

9

The U.S. women’s soccer team in 1999 and 2019

The 1999 U.S. women’s soccer team helped transform women’s sports in America. Facing strong international competition, the Americans defeated China in the Women’s World Cup final before more than 90,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Twenty years later, the U.S. returned to the top again at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France . Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle scored in a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in Lyon, giving the U.S. its fourth world title.

10

The Boston Red Sox reversing a 0-3 deficit against the Yankees in 2004

In a 2004 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox lost the first three games against their rivals, the New York Yankees. No baseball team had ever recovered from a 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series.

Boston stayed alive after Dave Roberts stole second base in the ninth inning of Game 4. The Red Sox then won four straight games to complete the comeback . They went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals and win their first World Series since 1918.