Witness History Episodes Available now
How rats were trained to clear landmines
In 2004, the world's first team of rats were cleared to be used in demining operations
The mirrors that lit up a dark Norwegian town
In 2013, Rjukan saw winter sunshine for the first time – thanks to an unusual invention
Egypt’s President Sadat is assassinated
In October 1981, President Anwar Sadat was assassinated at a military parade
The Peruvian pilots who secretly delivered fighter jets during the Falklands War
In June 1982, Peru sent fighter jets to help Argentina combat the UK
The first Rubik's Cube world champion
In 1982, a teenage refugee from Vietnam, Minh Thai, made puzzle-solving history
Boer War: Siege of Ladysmith
In 1899, British troops faced a four-month siege in South Africa
The Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, a missing goat led to a remarkable archaeological discovery
The contraceptive pill gets legalised in Japan
In 1999, after decades of campaigning, the oral contraceptive was legalised in Japan
Sulawesi's cave art and the origins of storytelling
In 2012, cave art found in Indonesia challenged the idea that storytelling began in Europe
The birth of Jodrell Bank
In 1957, building finished on what was then the largest radio telescope in the world
