After the roaring 20s ended with the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression was a decade-long period of financial hardship and stagnation. It would take a second world war to bring the nation out of the depression.

The Taj Mahal was built over two decades, using 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants. The Mausoleum is dedicated to Mumtaz Mahal, the queen to Mughal dynasty ruler, Shah Jahan.

As potato crops failed in 1845 due to a fungal-like microorganism known as Phytophthora infestans, the Irish Potato Famine would result in millions of Irish poor fleeing the country or dying from starvation and diseases caused by malnutrition.

On March 23rd, 1989, the Exxon Valdez supertanker left Alaska with 53 million gallons of crude oil, soon colliding into a well-known reef before excreting 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. The ecological and economic devastation that followed was unprecedented at the time in maritime history.

After Emperor Nero’s decadent rule and flurry of successors, Emperor Vespasian tore down Nero’s Palace to build an amphitheater for the people — the Roman Colosseum was completed in 80 A.D. Gladiators, animal fights and mock naval battles were used to entertain Romans.

As World War Two ended, Operation Magic Carpet was the US response to the logistical challenge of repatriating more than 8 million servicemen and women to North America. The operation proved to be the largest mass movement of humanity in recorded history.

The Parthenon was constructed atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece between 447 and 432 B.C.E. It has had many purposes, served multiple religions and withstood numerous attacks and natural disaster.