◆ On this day

February 16

4 sourced moments from February 16 in history: Tut's burial chamber was likely peeked into before it opened (1923); Nylon was patented in 1937 — before it was called nylon; Castro became Cuba's prime minister, not president, in 1959, plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on February 16

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1968 Technology · Engineering

First U.S. 911 Emergency Call

In a small Alabama town, a bright red telephone rang and launched the emergency number that now answers hundreds of millions of calls a year.

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1959 History · Modern

Castro became Cuba's prime minister, not president, in 1959

Fidel Castro took Cuba's premiership on 16 February 1959 and ran the country for 17 years before he ever held the title of president.

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1937 Science · Materials

Nylon was patented in 1937 — before it was called nylon

DuPont won its nylon patent on February 16, 1937. The name came a year later: it began as 'Nuron', meant to spell 'no run' backwards.

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1923 History · Archaeology

Tut's burial chamber was likely peeked into before it opened

Carter officially opened Tutankhamun's burial chamber on 16 February 1923, but Carnarvon's private letter shows the team planned an earlier peep.

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