February 28: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

The FBI publicly confirmed that they believed COVID-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan, China.

The UN released a report warning that 14% of Earth’s species face a very high risk of extinction.

The particularly damning part of this report is that this is the best-case scenario, in which the world's temperature increases by just 1.5°C. If we continue as is, without making drastic changes to our lifestyles, more than 29% of Earth's species will go extinct.

A Duke University neuroscientist connected two rat brains together over the internet.

The successful experiment meant the rodents could share sensory information and problem solve digitally.

The largest prehistoric penguin was discovered.

The penguin species Kairuku grebneffi was discovered from a 27 million-year-old fossil, which showed the penguin to weigh around 132 lbs (60 kg) and stood at nearly 5ft tall (1.5 meters).

The FDA in the US started requiring that those purchasing cigarettes under the age of 27 must provide ID to prove they are over 18.

Alanis Morissette claimed four Grammy’s, including Album of the Year with “Jagged Little Pill.”

The New Zealand Navy ended its daily allowance of rum to their sailors.

Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, was shot at point-blank range on the busiest road in Sweden.

While many suspects were arrested over the years, a culprit was never found.

The series finale of M*A*S*H, Goodbye, Farewell and Amen aired.

The first killer whale calf was born in captivity at Marineland in Los Angeles, California.

The calf was named Corky but sadly passed away after just eighteen days.

The US Air Force launched the Discoverer 1 reconnaissance satellite.

Discoverer 1 didn't contain any cameras or film, as it was a test flight, but the proceeding 37 Discoverer satellites did. The Discoverer missions were highly classified until 1995 as they aimed to photograph Soviet military activities. While the launch was successful, the spy satellite failed to reach its intended polar orbit.

The twisted ladder structure of DNA was discovered.

It's more commonly known as the double-helix. The discovery was made by scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick at Cambridge University.

An anti-government uprising took place in Taiwan, where around 28,000 people lost their lives.

Martial law was declared soon after.

The erroneous word “Dord” was added to Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition.

The word was accidentally created as a ghost word.

President Hindenburg issued the Reichstag Fire Decree.

This was done on Hitler's advice after the German Parliament Building was burned down the previous day. It suspended due process and habeas corpus protections allowing for anyone to be arrested without cause.

John Wesley opened the first Methodist Church in the US.