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Discover the Top 7 Amazing Fun Facts About September 18: Uncover Surprising History, Events, and More!

illustration of september-18
Get ready to be thrilled by the surprising and intriguing world of September 18th – a date packed with remarkable occurrences and fascinating tidbits that you never knew you needed to know!

1. Bear-y Sweet Beginnings

Get ready for a bear-y sweet treat: On September 18, 1922, Hans Riegel Sr. concocted his masterpiece of a gummy creation called Dancing Bear (Tanzbären in German), laying the chewy foundation for the eventual sugar rush sensation, Haribo Goldbears.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

2. Cracking the Rosetta Code

Cracking codes and busting hieroglyphics like an ancient Sherlock Holmes, Jean-François Champollion was no child's play: On September 18, 1822, he made a monumental breakthrough in deciphering the Rosetta Stone by discovering cartouches with the phonetic representation of Greek names, including Ptolemy V, unlocking the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics after over a thousand years of mystery.
Source => wired.com

3. Record-Breaking Break-Up

Before gravity could call dibs, Joseph Kittinger opted for a swift break-up from 102,800 feet with style: On September 18, 1960, Kittinger set a world record for the highest skydive during Project Excelsior, free-falling for 4 minutes and 36 seconds at a hair-raising speed of 614 mph (988 km/h) before parachuting to safety at 18,000 feet (5,500 m), all while becoming the first to truly admire the Earth's curvaceous charm.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. First Miss America Crowning

Before the Kardashians and Instagram influencers battled for the crown of most fabulous, a group of lovely ladies strutted their stuff on a stage with wavy hair and sashes: On September 18, 1922, the first Miss America pageant took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, featuring beauties from 57 cities across the nation and ultimately bestowing the title of "The Golden Mermaid" upon Margaret Gorman, representing Washington, D.C., who became widely known as the first Miss America.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Birth of the Iron Chef

5. Birth of the Iron Chef

When chefs battled it out in a culinary coliseum, armed with their trusty knives and secret ingredients, one TV show was born that managed to capture both the flavor and flamboyance of the Japanese kitchen: On September 18, 1993, "Iron Chef" aired its first episode on Fuji Television in Japan. The show, which pitted guest chefs against its resident Iron Chefs in a themed, timed gastronomic gladiatorial contest, went on to have a cult following worldwide, including on networks such as Food Network in Canada, Cooking Channel in the United States, and on Special Broadcasting Service in Australia, completing six seasons with a whopping 309 episodes.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. First Space Tourist Diva

Houston, we have a tourist: On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari blasted off into space as the first Iranian descent space tourist, the first self-funded woman in space, and spent 10 days mingling with stars on the International Space Station.
Source => cnn.com

7. Neptune's Sneaky Hideout

In a celestial game of "Where's Waldo," astronomer extraordinaire Urbain Le Verrier sent a groundbreaking letter that paved the way for unmasking a mysterious planetary stowaway lurking in our solar system, living up to Neptune's elusive nature: On September 18, 1846, Le Verrier predicted the location of the unseen Neptune based on irregularities in Uranus's orbit, and in just five days, fellow astronomer Johann Galle unveiled the eighth planet's hideout at the Berlin Observatory, with both men zooming to the heights of theoretical astronomy fame.
Source => mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk

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