◆ On this day

August 27

4 sourced moments from August 27 in history: The first commercial oil well struck oil in Pennsylvania (1859); Krakatoa's 1883 eruption was so loud it circled the planet; The shortest war in history lasted under 40 minutes (1896), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on August 27

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1955 Culture & Arts · Literature

The first Guinness Book of Records was published

A brewery boss wanted to settle pub arguments, so he commissioned a book of superlatives that became a global bestseller.

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1896 History · War & Conflict

The shortest war in history lasted under 40 minutes

On the morning of 27 August 1896, Britain and the Sultanate of Zanzibar fought a war that was over before most people had finished breakfast.

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1883 Earth & Climate · Natural Disasters

Krakatoa's 1883 eruption was so loud it circled the planet

The blast was heard 3,000 miles away, and its pressure wave lapped the Earth more than three times.

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1859 Technology · Energy

The first commercial oil well struck oil in Pennsylvania

At sixty-nine and a half feet near Titusville, a former railroad conductor's stubborn well tapped the modern petroleum age.

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