Learning Tools

Video Clips

Edison Film - 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
After the earthquake shook San Francisco, the city burned for several days.  It is believed that 250,000 people were immediately rendered homeless.  This clip, from a film by the Edison Company, shows the disaster's aftermath as tents line the city street.  
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Edison Film - Galveston Waterfront, 1900
Historic footage, filmed by an assistant of Thomas Edison, shows the devastated waterfront at Galveston after the Great Storm of 1900.  
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Edison Phonograph Recording - 1888
Thomas Edison ammounced his invention of the phonograph on the 21st of November, 1877.  He wanted to "see a Phonograph in every American home." This clip contains one of the earliest-known recordings made on an Edison-produced phonograph.  The device used wax cylinders (instead of tin ...
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Endeavour - Launch of STS-127, 15 July 2009
This NASA video depicts the launch of Endeavour as it begins its STS-127 mission.  During the shuttle's ascent, pieces of foam from the external fuel tank broke loose, causing NASA officials to be concerned about possible damage to the orbiter's heat tiles. Of note, in this video, are the foll...
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Exploring Titanic at 12,600 Feet - NOAA Mission
In June of 2004, Dr. Robert Ballard and members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Ocean Exploration, explored the remains of the R.M.S. [Royal Mail Steamer] Titanic.  Their mission was to examine part of the remains, then assess why the ship is deteriorat...
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Explosion of the Lusitania
Although a single torpedo penetrated Lusitania, she was in peril almost immediately when a second, massive explosion occurred. People have debated the cause of the major explosion ever since.  Some believed that American weapons, being provided to Britain, were on board and blew up in the...
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Feynman, Dr. Richard P. - BBC Interview
During a jaw-dropping moment in the Challenger investigation, Dr. Richard Feynman demonstrated why he believed that faulty o-rings caused the disaster. Without any regard to politics, he freely spoke his mind about major safety concerns. Who was Dr. Feynman? This video clip, from The Pleasure of ...
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Final Moments of Pompeii
A pyroclastic surge - a deadly, fast-moving avalanche of searing gas and rock fragments - made its way toward Herculaneum.  People, who thought they would be safe on the beach, were not.  All died from the enormous heat, essentially turned into charcoal.  For them, at least, death was...
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Fire - Our Lady of the Angels School
On the 1st of December, 1958, Chicago was the scene of another catastrophic fire.  This disaster occurred at Our Lady of the Angels School.  Historical footage - beginning at 1:20 in this news clip from the National Archives - depicts the event which claimed the lives of 92 children and t...
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First Shuttle Landing - STS-1
Two days after launch, the shuttle Columbia returned to Earth.  It was the first time anyone saw an orbiter land.  This NASA video depicts Columbia's return to Edwards Air Force Base.Two men - John Young and Robert Crippen - were aboard the shuttle as it orbited the Earth 36 times.  Y...
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