🌎 This Week In History - The U.S. Lost A Nuclear Bomb

Welcome back History Nerds,

As we enter into the second month of the year, and the last week of NFL football, I just want to remind everyone that LOL History isn’t going anywhere! "History never looks like history when you are living through it." — John W. Gardner

If you like and regularly read LOL History, would you consider moving our emails to your primary folder? We want to make sure our letters hit your inbox, since we had some feedback on our last one showing up in the promotions tab. Also, reading through the completely random and absolutely hilarious replies to these emails is the highlight of our week, so keep them coming!

Did You Know? In 1971, Alan Shepard was the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. We are huge fans of golf and love this fact but I also think its hilarious that the United States government spent thousands of dollars so someone could hit two golf balls on the moon. #MERICA

During Your History Lesson You’ll Learn About:

• Zucccerberg Launches The Facebook

• U.S. Causally Losing a Nuclear Bomb

• The Introduction of Paper Money

• The Beatles Takeover

Zuccc Launches the facebook

On February 4, 2004, a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, commonly referred to as Zuccc or Zuccc the Cuck, unleashed a digital beast onto the unsuspecting students of Harvard University. That beast? "the facebook"—yes, with a lowercase "t". Zuckerberg, along with his college roommates and fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, set the groundwork for this beast. Originally designed as a way for Harvard students to creep on each other’s profiles, the site quickly rose to popularity.

The site's launch was met with immediate success, capturing the attention of Harvard's student body. Within the first 24 hours, over 1,200 students signed up, and by the end of the first month, more than half of Harvard's undergraduate population had registered. This rapid adoption was a testament to the need for such a platform among college students. By March 2004, "the facebook" expanded beyond Harvard to include Stanford, Columbia, and Yale, illustrating its potential for growth. The momentum continued, with the site opening to most universities in the United States and Canada by the end of 2004, accumulating its first million users by December of that year.

By the end of 2004, the site had ditched the "the" and expanded to colleges nationwide. It was the MySpace killer, the Friendster slayer, and the ultimate proof that people will happily trade their privacy for the chance to poke their high school crush.

Fast forward 21 years, and Facebook (now Meta, because rebranding fixes everything, right?) is a global juggernaut with over 3 billion users. It’s gone from a college hookup tool to a place where your aunt shares Minion memes and your uncle argues about politics with strangers.

That Time The United States Lost A Nuclear Bomb

On February 5, 1958, the U.S. Air Force lost a 7,600-pound nuclear bomb off the coast of Georgia. A B-47 bomber collided mid-air with an F-86 fighter jet near Tybee Island, forcing the crew to drop the bomb into the ocean to avoid a catastrophic explosion. It was a smart move—except for one problem: the bomb was never found. Despite multiple search efforts, the government eventually just shrugged and moved on, leaving a nuclear weapon somewhere in the Atlantic.

The Air Force claimed the bomb did not contain its plutonium core, meaning it couldn’t trigger a nuclear explosion. However, it did have a high-explosive component and uranium, which could pose environmental risks if disturbed. In 2001, a retired Air Force officer who led search efforts in the 1950s stated that the bomb was likely still intact and should remain undisturbed to avoid potential hazards. Despite multiple searches, including a large-scale effort in 2004, the bomb was never found. Today, it remains a classified “irretrievably lost” nuclear weapon, one of several the U.S. has misplaced over the years.

Despite decades of searching, the bomb remains missing, likely buried under 10 to 15 feet of sand and silt near Wassaw Sound. A 2004 study by the Air Force concluded that disturbing the bomb could pose a greater risk than leaving it untouched, as its high-explosive components could still be volatile. While officials insist it poses no immediate danger, it remains a Cold War relic sitting just off the Georgia coast—a reminder that even nuclear weapons can get lost like a set of car keys. If it ever turns up, let’s hope it’s found by trained professionals and not a guy with a fishing net.

Trivia Time

In every issue of LOL History, we take a break from sharing historical events to bring you a quirky trivia section.

When Massachusetts Got Paper Crazy

On February 3, 1690, the Massachusetts Bay Colony introduced something revolutionary to the Western world: paper money. Yes, you read that right, the very same colony that gave us the Salem Witch Trials also pioneered the idea of paper currency in the Western world. Driven by the urgent need to pay soldiers after a failed expedition against Quebec, the colony issued promissory notes because gold and silver were in short supply. These notes, essentially IOUs promising future payment in coin, were denominated in shillings and printed on paper, making them much lighter and easier to distribute than traditional metal coins.

The process for issuing these notes was meticulous; the General Court authorized the production of 7,000 pounds worth of bills, which were to be backed by future tax revenues. Each bill was hand-signed and numbered by officials to combat counterfeiting, with inscriptions like "This Indented Bill of Ten Shillings" indicating their value and promise. The denominations ranged from five to fifty shillings, aimed at facilitating local trade and commerce.

However, this innovation was met with skepticism. Europeans were accustomed to coins with intrinsic value, and the idea of paper money, which had no inherent worth beyond government assurance, was met with doubt. Concerns included potential inflation if too many notes were issued without corresponding value, and the fragility of paper compared to metal. Despite these reservations, the necessity of a functional currency for trade and public services eventually led to acceptance. As Massachusetts demonstrated stability by backing its currency with tax revenues, confidence grew, influencing other colonies to adopt similar systems by the early 18th century, marking the inception of modern financial practices.

The Day The Beatles Took Over America

On February 7, 1964, a plane landed at JFK Airport, carrying four young men who would change music forever. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr arrived in the U.S. to thousands of screaming fans, some of whom had been camping out for days just to catch a glimpse of them. Two days later, they performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, where 73 million people (about 40% of the U.S. population at the time) tuned in to watch. That night, the British Invasion had officially begun.

For the next six years, The Beatles were an unstoppable force in music, breaking records at every turn. They racked up 20 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, making them the best-selling band of all time with over 600 million albums sold worldwide. Their music wasn’t just catchy—it pushed boundaries, blending rock, pop, and experimental sounds in ways no one had heard before. Albums like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road became instant classics, influencing generations of musicians. But by 1970, internal tensions and creative differences finally caught up with them, and the band called it quits.

Though The Beatles eventually went their separate ways, their impact never faded. John Lennon’s shocking assassination in 1980 and George Harrison’s passing from cancer in 2001 were heartbreaking losses, but their music lives on. Decades later, Paul and Ringo still perform, their songs still top the charts, and new generations keep discovering their genius. The Beatles remain the gold standard of rock and roll.

Links To More Interesting Content! 

• The 15 foot high wave of beer that went through London (Historic UK)

• The day it started raining meat in Kentucky (6 News)

• When the U.S. trained pigeons to guide missiles (NIST)

We hope that you enjoyed this edition of the LOL History newsletter! See you next week!

— Evan & Derek - LOL History Co-Founders