Well, two very important events happened on this date in history. They both involved technology, and they were considered great strides in that field.
The first happened on August 20, 1911. The Times decided to send a telegram on this day to see how fast a commercial message could be sent around the world via the telegraph. And the message that was sent? "This message sent around the world." This message left the dispatch room at 7 P.M. in New York, traveled more than 28,000 miles, was relayed by 16 different operators, and it was received by the same operator 16.5 minutes later. Not bad for 1911!
Fast-forward 66 years later. August 20, 1977. NASA launched an unmanned 1820 pound unmanned spacecraft named Voyager II. It left Cape Canaveral, Florida for a grand tour of the outer planets. It carried an aluminum-jacket covered capsule that contained a phonograph record that would hopefully be discovered by extraterrestrials someday. That was thankfully only an insignificant part of its mission. More importantly, it sent back much information about the outer planets to scientists here in earth. It is set to continue through the outer reaches of our solar system/galaxy until 2020 or until its engine gives out.
So from this:
to this:
All on the same day in history!!
Websites Used:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-around-the-world-telegram-sent-66-years-before-voyager-ii-launch
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/fastfacts.html
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/12152
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