Australian republic referendum

On 6 November 1999, voters in Australia were asked if they wanted to become a republic

• 9 mins

'I created MasterChef'

In 1990, the cookery programme MasterChef launched on BBC TV

• 9 mins

When instant noodles came to India

A turning point in Indian culinary history

• 9 mins

Chef to five presidents

Cristeta Comerford was the first woman and person of colour to the White House's top chef

• 9 mins

'Kimchi war'

In the 1990s, a diplomatic dispute broke out between Japan and South Korea over kimchi

• 9 mins

Dinner for One: How an English comedy became a German tradition

The sitcom Dinner for One, recorded in 1963, has become a German New Year's Eve tradition

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Indian Ocean tsunami - Tamil Nadu

On 26 December 2004, communities around the Indian Ocean were swept away by a tsunami

• 9 mins

Indian Ocean tsunami - Aceh

In 2004, a deadly tsunami swept away entire communities around the Indian Ocean

• 9 mins

Robert Ripley and the ‘Believe It or Not’ empire

During the Great Depression, cartoonist Robert Ripley made millions from freaky facts

• 9 mins

Klaus Fuchs: Oppenheimer’s atomic spy

In 1950, Klaus Fuchs admitted passing top secret nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union

• 9 mins

Creating Alexa

In 2000, two Polish students started creating a smart speaker which sounded human

• 9 mins

Marie Kondo

In 2011, Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo's first book was published.

• 9 mins

Charlie Hebdo attack

On 7 January 2015, 12 people were shot dead at a satirical magazine in France

• 9 mins

The invention of the hotel key card

In the 1970s, Norwegian Tor Sornes invented the hotel key card

• 9 mins

The mystery of Raoul Wallenberg

The Swedish diplomat saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War Two

• 9 mins

The Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks

In 2015, ship spotter Yörük Işık saw Russian military trucks on a ship going to Syria

• 9 mins

Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal

In 1933, President Roosevelt enacted the New Deal to drag the US out of depression

• 9 mins

Confronting Betty Ford’s addiction

In 1978, former first lady Betty Ford sought help for addiction

• 9 mins

Kobe earthquake

On 17 January 1995, an earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, in Japan

• 9 mins

'I wrote Schindler's List'

Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase

• 9 mins

Drum: Africa’s revolutionary magazine

The first African lifestyle magazine Drum, was first printed in 1951

• 9 mins

Hunting the Unabomber

In September 1995, US newspapers controversially published a terrorist's manifesto.

• 9 mins

Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

In 1995, the doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro

• 9 mins

The murder of Maurizio Gucci

On 27 March 1995, the former head of the fashion house was shot dead in Milan, Italy

• 9 mins

Replacing the Panchen Lama

On 29 November 1995, China exerted its influence over Tibetan Buddhism's leadership

• 9 mins

The launch of Windows 95

In 1995 Microsoft released a new operating system after a $300 million marketing campaign

• 9 mins

The Milltown Cemetery attack

In 1988, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, three people were killed at a funeral

• 9 mins

The Baltic chain protest

On 23 August 1989, approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain

• 9 mins

Lithuania's 'wolf children'

In the aftermath of World War Two, children fled East Prussia in order to survive

• 9 mins

1968 New York City teachers' strike

In 1968, more than 50,000 teachers went on strike in New York City, in the USA

• 9 mins