In 1966 Russia’s Venera 3 crashed into Venus. The probe, which took of on the 16th of November 1965, was meant to land on the surface of Venus and take measurements but crashed. It was still the first space craft to reach the surface of another planet.
In 1954 The United States test their second Hydrogen Bomb in Bikini, in the Marshall Islands. Their first Hydrogen Bomb (10.4 megaton) was detonated in the Marshall Islands on the 1st of November 1951 and was so powerful it destroyed the island of Elugelab. This bomb was 1,000 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It was a 15 megaton bomb which was too powerful for the testing equipment and was the biggest man made explosion in history (until Russia tested their 50 megaton hydrogen bomb in 1961). Because the bomb had been far more powerful than expected the radiation from nuclear fallout was also greater and 264 people were exposed to high doses of radiation. Twenty-Three crew aboard a Japanese fishing boat named “The Lucky Dragon” were affected despite being 80 miles away from the explosion at the time. Atom bombs such as the one dropped on Hiroshima are produced from nuclear fission (splitting the atom) but Hydrogen Bombs use a nuclear fission bomb to create enough heat to cause a secondary nuclear fusion reaction which is were two atoms (in this case hydrogen) are fused into one atom which is the same process that powers the sun and produces much more power.
In 1692 First Witches in Salem, Massachusetts, USA found. After the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris become ill and started displaying fits the doctor of the puritan village claimed the cause was witch craft. On this day three young women were captured for the crime. Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and a slave from Barbados, Tituba were all accused of witchcraft and after a day of questioning, and possibly torture, Tibuta confessed to the charges. After more people became ill the residents of Salem began searching for more witches and within a few months they had captured 150 people of the crime including women, men and a four year old child. In June 1692 Chief Justice William Stoughton began trying the accused starting with Bridget Bishop who was found guilty and hanged on the 10th of June. Many more were convicted and executed for the crime, usually by hanging although Giles Corey was killed by crushing. In October of that year the court was dissolved and the witch trials officially ended, but in the four months of trials 19 people were executed.
