City and South London Railway — Denis Barber · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Engineers open a railway deep under London, electric-powered

The cable contractor goes bankrupt, so the line switches to electric power, and a new kind of transport is born by accident.

Then

The City and South London Railway opened between King William Street and Stockwell, running 3.2 miles. It was the first successful deep-level tube railway in the world. It was meant to use cable-hauled trains, but the cable contractor went bankrupt during construction, so it used electric traction instead. That made it the first major railway to do so.

Wikipedia · City and South London Railway

Now

NASA announced an experimental aircraft called the X-70 Fractal. Like the tube, the first version of a new way to move looks odd and improvised, then becomes ordinary.

TWZ · NASA Announces X-70 "Fractal" Experimental Aircraft

Perhaps the next transport idea that sticks is one that came from a plan B, after the first contractor walked away.

Quick hits

1960

Goodall sees chimps make tools

At Gombe in Tanzania, Jane Goodall watched chimpanzees creating tools. It was the first such observation in non-human animals. Goodall also made her name by seeing what others had missed.

1737

Naples opens its opera house

The Teatro di San Carlo opened in Naples. It became the oldest continuously active opera venue in the world, ahead of La Scala and La Fenice. Bob Dylan met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, and an old stage is still active.

1973

The Netherlands goes car-free

During the oil crisis, the Netherlands held its first car-free Sunday. Highways were left to cyclists and roller skaters. Oil prices slid after the US vote, a reminder of how fast fuel can shape a weekend.

1922

Carter finds Tutankhamun's tomb

Howard Carter's team found the entrance to Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It was the only known near-intact royal burial from ancient Egypt. A meteor shower promised rare fireballs tonight; some finds come to those who keep looking up, or digging.

Born today

1916