Murphy's law was born in John Stapp's tests.

1949

At Edwards Air Force Base in 1949 engineer Edward Murphy found every sensor wired backwards, and Stapp later repeated his grumble to the press: if anything can go wrong, it will.

◍ Show on the globe

The event

• John Stapp's rocket sled1954 · Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. Air Force doctor John Stapp tested on himself how much deceleration a human can take. On 10 December 1954 a rocket sled took him to 1,017 km/h and stopped him in 1.4 seconds; he survived 46 g, and his work fed into car seat belts.

20th century

More amazing facts

• 1946 The bikini is named after an atoll used for atomic bomb tests.
• 1947 The first real computer bug was an insect.
• 1947 · 1963 Wojtek, the bear veteran of Monte Cassino, ended his days at Edinburgh Zoo in 1963.
• 1948 Cricket's greatest batsman fell four runs short of a perfect average of 100.
• 1950 · 1972 One poet wrote the anthems of two countries.
• 1952 Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel.

All amazing facts (1058) →