history is a peculiar thing we love our firsts the first man on the moon the first sip of coffee in the morning the first time someone looked at an oyster and thought I bet I could eat that but just as fascinating if not more so are the lasts the final Harrah of a piece of technology The Last Stand of a species or the ultimate Curtain Call of an icon these moments offer profound insights into How Far We've Come how much we've lost and sometimes how much much we've bungled along the way so today we're getting
into the final resting places of famous people and things including the last Blockbuster Video but before we go too far back make sure you're subscribed to stay up to date on all our latest videos after that leave us a comment and let us know what Milestones you want to hear about all right last one ends a wonderful video in the waning days of World War II a time when the world was desperately clutching at The Frayed edges of Peace there was a small corner of Czechoslovakia where War refused to die quietly private first class Charlie
havlat of the 83rd tank Battalion found himself on a dirt road near Valar blissfully unaware that he was about to become the closing act of a very bloody play on May 7th 1945 Charlie and his platoon were advancing retreating treating or perhaps pondering the existential question of why their boots always seem to collect mud when they were suddenly ambushed by German machine gun fire unknown to everyone on that dirt road a ceasefire had just been signed and declared 9 minutes before in a bizarre Twist of postumus courtesy the Germans once informed apologized for the oversight
this rather unfortunate incident is memorialized at the spot where havlat fell serving as a somber reminder that even the most orchestrated endings can have discordant notes imagine if you will the barren Dusty expanse of Mars a place that looks like Arizona's cranky cousin amidst this red desolation roamed Spirit a Rover designed to last a mere 90 Martian days Spirit however was much more tenacious than its expiration date launched in June 2003 Spirit landed on Mars in January 2004 and immediately exceeded expectations much like an underdog in a feel-good sports movie for over 6 years Spirit
explored transmitted data and existentially questioned why its gears always seem to collect space dust then in a cruel Twist of planetary fate Spirit got stuck in a martian sand trap near the Columbia Hills spirit's final transmission came on March 22nd 2010 a plaintive beep lost in the infinite void meanwhile her twin Rover opportunity soldiered on for nearly a decade more proving that sometimes even the bravest of adventurers need a backup morius a tropical island paradise was once the home of the dodo a bird that became the poster child for extinction that bird waddled with the
grace of a drunken sailor and was blissfully unafraid of humans enter the 16th century Sailors who upon discovering these peculiar creatures did what humans do best bar but contrary to popular belief the dodo wasn't wiped out because it was delicious the real culprits were the rats dogs and pigs that the sailors brought with them these invasive species gobbled up dodo eggs like kids let loose in a candy store by 1681 the last Dodo had shuffled off this Mortal coil leaving behind only Tales of its ungainly charm the island morius remains a verdant reminder of how
human curiosity and its unintended impact can lead to the most regrettable of [Music] lasts there was a time not so long ago when a trip to Blockbuster Video was a Friday night ritual rows upon rows of VHS tapes and DVDs stood like Sentinels holding the promise of entertainment or the threat of exorbitant late fees then came Netflix a Plucky upstart that delivered movies to your door and later streamed them directly into your living room like moving from horsedrawn carriages to hoverboards Blockbuster in a move that will live in infamy declined the chance to buy Netflix
for a mere $50 million as the digital age dawned Blockbuster stores closed one by one until only a single stubborn holdout remained in Bend Oregon this last Blockbuster has become something of a shrine a nostalgic Time Capsule for those who remember the tactile Joy of physical media and the peculiar smell of a rental store and conveniently forgot they were once a mighty corporation that stomped out mom and pop joints all across the country [Music] whoops Woolworth's was more than a department store it was a cultural institution especially its lunch counters these counters became unlikely Battlegrounds
during the Civil Rights Movement starting with the Greensboro stins of 1960 however Beyond its historical significance Woolworths was also the place where one could enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich in a malted milkshake as the years marched on Woolworth's stores closed one by one succumbing to the inevitability of changing times and consumer habits the very last Woolworth's lunch counter held out in Bakersfield California until 2022 this last Diner was a nostalgic Relic serving up not just food but memories of a simpler time when lunch counters were the social networks of their day the Supreme Court Court's
1954 decision in Brown V Board of Education declared that segregating schools by race was unconstitutional one might reasonably expect that the desegregation of schools would have followed swiftly but progress often meanders like a lazy river sometimes getting stuck in a particularly stubborn Bend in the confusingly named Cleveland Mississippi segregation persisted through a series of loopholes and geographical Shenanigans it wasn't until 2016 62 years after the Supreme Court ruling that Cleveland High School finally desegregated this remarkable tardiness serves as a reminder that societal change is often a marathon not a Sprint often with a lot of
rest stops along the way the Beatles a band that needs zero introduction stopped touring in 1966 retreating to the studio to craft the timeless music that would define a generation yet in January 1969 in a fit of spontane they staged one last live performance not in a Grand Stadium but on the rooftop of their apple core headquarters on Seville row as they played londoners below paused in confusion was it really The Beatles were they hearing new songs what on Earth was happening this impromptu concert the stuff of Legend ended not with a bang but with
a amused shrug from the authorities it was a fittingly quirky farewell from a band that was anything But Ordinary [Music] the telephone a Humanity defining invention that shrank the world evolved rapidly from its nent days of operator assisted calls to the Glorious Independence of the dial Telephone by simply turning a dial one could connect to anyone anywhere provided the line wasn't busy most of America embraced this convenience early on but Catalina Island a picturesque Enclave off the California coast hiled out until 1978 here the modern world arrived fashionably late like a guest who takes the
concept of Island Time a bit too literally when the first dial telephones were finally installed it was a momentous occasion marking the end of an era of operator dependency the Concord a Sleek supersonic Marvel promised to whisk passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound it was the epitome of highflying luxury and for a while it seemed Invincible but even Marvels have their limits and on July 25th 2000 a tragic accident grounded the Concord Fleet by 2003 both British Airways and Air France decided to retire their Concords the last flight from New York's
JFK to London's Heathrow on October 24th 2003 was an event to behold celebrities wealthy patrons and Aviation enthusiasts vied for a seat eager to be part of History the Concor for's final Landing marked the end of an era of SuperSonic travel leaving us with memories of a time when the skies were just a little bit [Applause] faster war elephants Majestic padm powerhouses were once the tanks of Ancient Warfare they trampled enemies carried Warriors and generally caused Havoc wherever they went but as Firearms evolved the once Mighty war elephant found itself at a disadvantage as any
dog owner during the 4th of July knows loud bangs and large beasts do not mix well yet in a curious Twist of military history the last known use of war elephants occurred as recently as 1987 in kuk irak Iranians employed elephants to transport weapons a nod to ancient tactics in a modern conflict It's A peculiar historical footnote a reminder that sometimes old strategies Die Hard even in the face of progress [Music] the castrate ethereal voiced male singers who soared to vocal Heights at a painful personal cost were the rock stars of their time their voices
preserved through a particularly Grim surgical procedure castr ain't just a name you dig captivated audiences across Europe by the late 19th century however the practice was outlawed and the castrate became a relic of a bygone era alesandro moresi the last castr lived out his days near the Vatican his once celebr ated voice Fading Into history he died in 1922 marking the end of a practice that now seems more suited to a dark comedy than real life small poox the scourge of humanity once seemed Invincible it ravaged populations leaving death and disfigurement in its wake but
Humanity armed with the power of science declared war on smallpox and won decisively the last known case of small pox occurred in America Somalia in 1977 Ali Maan the final patient made a full recovery and later dedicated his life to vaccination efforts small Box's eradication stands out as a Monumental achievement a testament to what people can accomplish when United against a common foe so what do you think what are some of your favorite famous lasts let us know in the comments below and while you're here why not check out other videos from our weird history
