Battle of 73 Easting

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A thermite mixture using iron(III) oxide

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At a featureless map-grid called 73 Easting, nine M1A1 Abrams tanks destroyed 28 Iraqi Republican Guard tanks in exactly 23 minutes on February 26, 1991. It was the largest US tank battle since World War II.

Gothic cavalry obliterated two-thirds of the Eastern Roman army in a single afternoon, killing Emperor Valens — whose body was never recovered. The battle proved infantry alone could not hold the empire. Rome began its long unraveling.

When the Flor de la Mar sank off Sumatra in 1511, it took four elephant-loads of Malaccan royal gold with it — the largest prize Afonso de Albuquerque ever seized. The wreck's location remains disputed.

Jay Gould and partner James Fisk cornered the entire U.S. gold market in September 1869. On 'Black Friday' the price collapsed, ruining thousands — while Gould had already quietly sold at the peak.

Once ignited, thermite burns at 2,500 °C — hot enough to melt through an engine block — and pouring water on it accelerates the reaction. The military uses it to destroy their own equipment.

The last Dacian king slit his own throat on horseback as Roman cavalry reached him — the moment was carved in stone on Trajan's Column, his severed head then paraded to Rome.

Liu Ziye forced his own aunts into his imperial harem, declared them imperial concubines, then was stabbed to death by a palace servant at sixteen — his ministers had arranged the blade.

The Wild Bunch sat for a formal studio portrait in Fort Worth in 1900 — bowler hats, watch chains, polished boots. The Pinkertons had the photo copied and mailed it to every bank and rail office in the West.

A small boy in a cardboard crown discovers a kingdom and builds it not by conquering, but by politely knocking on doors and asking residents — farmers, bakers, warriors — if they'd like to help. They usually say yes.