World History Minute: the big bang in Siberia

World History Minute: the big bang in Siberia
World History Minute: the big bang in Siberia

World History Minute: the big bang in Siberia

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The Tunguska River valley is a remote, sparsely-settled region of Siberia. On this June 30th in 1908, the people in a village there thought the world was coming to an end. Shortly after 7 o’clock in the morning, a bluish-white fireball, bigger and brighter than the sun, streaked across the northern sky. When it touched the horizon there was a gigantic explosion. People were knocked to the ground. There was a searing blast of heat. Then silence. The villagers slowly regained their senses. To their relief, no one had been killed or seriously injured. But what had happened? Historian John Schmidt tells us. (photo: Vokrug Sveta, 1931 \ (copied from the German Wikipedia, uploaded there by user Dilerius who copied it from the English Wikipedia, uploaded there by user Avsa))