π The Kon-Tiki raft crosses the Pacific (1947)
The raft is now in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo.
Where: Raroia atoll, French Polynesia
π On This Day: August 7
August 7, 1947: The Kon-Tiki raft crosses the Pacific. On 7 August 1947, the balsa-wood raft Kon-Tiki, carrying Thor Heyerdahl and his crew from Norway, reached the reef of Raroia in the South Pacific. It had left Peru 101 days earlier and drifted about 6,900 km with only wind and currents.
β¨ More events on this day
- 1858 π The first Australian rules football match was played in Melbourne in 1858, between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College.
- 1944 π‘ The Harvard Mark I, a room-sized calculator that followed a program on punched paper tape, was presented in 1944 as an early step toward modern computers.
- 1985 π Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai were chosen as Japan's first astronauts in 1985, and all three later flew on the Space Shuttle.
π§ Question of the day
What moved the Kon-Tiki across the ocean?
- A big engine
- Whales pulling it
- Wind and currents
Show the answer
Answer: Wind and currents
Questions
What happened on August 7?
August 7, 1947: The Kon-Tiki raft crosses the Pacific. It happened in Raroia atoll, French Polynesia.
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