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Nov 20, 2022 14 tweets 6 min read Read on X
A commercial flight from London to NewYork takes 8+ hours today. But a few decades ago this trip took less than 3 hrs!

Made possible by The Concorde, the supersonic flight! Join me on a #HistoryTour to know how it was to fly in the greatest plane ever made & how it all ended

🧵 Image
The Concorde was a collaborative effort between the British & the french. It was researched to become the first supersonic flight which could reach 2000+km/hr & reach altitudes of more than 60,000ft

Normal planes dont fly more than 800km/hr generally to get a perspective! 2/n Image
Introduced in the 70s, the main market was Trans Atlantic flights between main cities in Europe & the US. The supersonic speed meant London to NY could be done in < 3 hrs. 2 Financial capitals of the world. People could be in London for breakfast & be back in NY for dinner 3/n Image
Given the luxury, the ticket almost cost 1000$ one way - close to 5000$ or 4Lakh INR for a 3 hour flight. So, mainly big shot bankers & celebrities became the clientele. Traveling on Concorde itself became a status symbol. Someone taking a concorde was covered in the news!! 4/n Image
Some celebrities made it their favourite pasttime giving it more publicity. Diana, Michael Jackson, Paul Mccartney, Madonna, Margaret Thatcher etc frequented the Concorde making it an aspirational dream for the common public 5/n Image
But given the aerodynamics needed, the plane was smaller than todays vehicles but had all the luxury service one could imagine. Specially designed silverware, costly welcome gifts, gourmet menus, costliest champagnes and what not 6/n Image
The plane slowly picked up speed and reached 2180km/hr which was termed as 'Mach 2' meaning twice the speed of sound. There was a counter in the flight which showed the speed. When it reached Mach 2, all passengers celebrated as a tradition! 7/n Image
But the biggest attraction was something even grander. The Concorde reached an altitude so high that the curvature of the earth could be seen from the window!! The view was so surreal that this itself was a big selling point for the concorde! you were so close to space itself 8/n Image
One would think such a wonderful thing would only keep going on and improving more and more. But there is no Concorde today. Planes are much slower and no curvature of earth wonders from the window.

History works in weird ways. Great things fall. 9/n Image
When things go wrong, many things go wrong together.

Firstly, the fuel cost was increasing & increasing & the price to drive this luxury went up exponentially. Given the high price, only few rich people could afford it. The common public could never be the market for this. 10/n Image
Secondly, in addition to being very fuel inefficient, supersonic flights let out a big sound at takeoff called a Sonic Boom which was so loud & airports really shaked the cities.

Also, Concorde let out Nitrogen Oxide as output which was found to deplete the ozone layer. 11/n Image
So through the 90s, there was a continuous debate about the Environmental harm of Concorde. The public perception that it was for the rich didnt help it as the rich were seen as exploiting and environmentally irresponsible.

A concorde crashed as well in Paris in 2000 12/n Image
The final nail in the coffin came on Sep 11th, 2001. When Al Qaeda ran 2 flights into the World trade center, whole aviation industry hit a block for next 2 years world wide. Concorde couldnt get out of that blow. The final flight flew out on Nov 2003. An era was over. 13/n Image
Supersonic flights are used only by the defense forces. A viable market for a Concorde like flight hasnt come till now.

So, we just take long flights like primitive humans but the environment says thanks😄

RT this thread if you liked this #HistoryTour & follow for more Image

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More from @myhistorytales

Jul 21, 2023
What is happening in Manipur?
Who is fighting with whom?
Why?

The answer involves history & geography.

A simple explainer 🧵 Image
Manipur is full of mountains. And one large valley in the middle called the Imphal Valley.

The mountains are mainly populated by the Kuki people and the Naga people.

The valley is populated by a third clan - the Meitei people.

2/n Image
Basis historical evidences, its the Meitei & the Naga who have lived in this area from earlier times. A large expansion of Kuki tribe happened during the British era who encouraged more Kuki settlers to balance power against other tribes as part of their 'Divide and Rule policy' Image
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Jul 20, 2023
#OnThisDay 54 years ago, July 20th 1969 - humanity landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong taking the first step for man and a giant leap for mankind.

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Commander Neil Armstrong,
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were chosen as the astronauts for this iconic mission. Image
July 16th 1969 - the 3 astronauts are ready!!! Image
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Jul 15, 2023
#OnThisDay July 15th, 1799 - A remarkable discovery of a single slab of stone changed our understanding of human history!

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Join me on a history tour to visit this crazy story! 🧵 Image
The story starts all the way around 3000 BC when the ancient Pharaonic Egyptian civilization started. We know the Pyramids & the Sphinx but another major relic from then are the Hieroglyphics - an advanced pictorial script that the Egyptians used in their wall inscriptions!

2/n Image
It was the main script for communication for those in the Nile Delta for more than 2000 years & it was mainly pictorial mixed with grammar and syllables.

But by 300 BC Egypt was under Greek rule, hieroglyphics was being slowly forgotten for the new Greek & Latin scripts 3/n Image
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Jul 9, 2023
Lets say you've a simple well in your backyard. One day suddenly you find out that it's hiding a 1000 yr old historic monument!

Imagine the shock & thrill you'll feel as it unravels

Join me to hear one such actual wonder story in Ep3 of #ArtTreasuresofIndia

Rani Ki Vav! 🧵
First the story. 11thC AD. Modern day Gujarat was ruled by the Chaulukya Dynasty with Bhima I as it's king & Udayamati as it's queen. The landscape was part desert & arid like. Water management was a key priority & creating water bodies was a very royal act! 2/n
As Bhima I died, Udayamati was grieving him. It was the time when everyone built temples. But Udayamati decided to build an inverted temple of sorts. 65m long & 20m wide and 28m deep strucutre!

A step well built by the queen in memory of her king - Rani Ki Vav!

3/n
Read 19 tweets
Jul 1, 2023
Welcome to Episode 2 of #ArtTreasuresOfIndia

This time we travel back 1000 years ago to look at an artwork of astounding beauty commissioned by Rajendra Chola, the all conquering Chola emperor

Join me on a tour to visit the 'Chandesa Anugraha Murthi' - an Indian art marvel

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First the story. In the Chola country, along the banks of the river Vanni in a small village a pious man Yajnadatta is blessed with a son who is named Vicharasarman.

Vicharasarman was very intelligent & one day he sees the village cowherd beating the cows.

2/n
Angry at him, Vicharasarman takes upon himself to tend the village's cows & his love ends up producing a bounty of milk.

Seeing the excess milk going waste, he builds a sand Linga & starts bathing it with the milk everyday & meditates upon Lord Shiva in front of it

3/n
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Jun 27, 2023
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One of the main reasons for this worrisome situation is the 'El Nino' weather system which has set in this year

Join me in this Geography Explainer on what El Nino is & how it impacts you! 🧵
First lets understand how monsoons form due to winds from the pacific ocean. The Pacific covers almost half the surface area of earth & affects global climate

In a normal year, warm winds blow across the pacific in western direction - from South America to Aus to Asia

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As summer progresses, these warm winds heat up the ocean near India which leads to more evaporation in these waters & leads to formation of the monsoon cloud systems & we promptly get monsoon rains across the country at the start of June

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Read 10 tweets

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