Did you miss it? These events were watched from billions of homes

Image: History in HD

There are rare moments when the world seems to pause and look in the same direction. From royal weddings to space exploration, the past century has held live broadcasts that became shared experiences across international borders and inside billions of homes. Let’s look at some of the most-watched events in history!

Image: Museums of History New South Wales

In 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II passed away after 70 years on the throne, the world paid its respects. Estimated to have been watched by around 4.1 billion people globally, it became the most-watched television broadcast in history.

Image: Chen Liu

Around 3.5 billion viewers worldwide tuned in for the 1996 opening ceremony, making it one of the highest-watched sporting events ever.

The show included memorable performances and the iconic lighting of the Olympic flame by Muhammad Ali, whose Parkinson’s disease made his appearance all the more powerful.

Image: Provincial Archives of Alberta

In September 1997, the streets of London filled with mourners as the world watched one of the most widely broadcast funerals in history.

Estimates for viewership of beloved Princess Diana’s final goodbye range from 2 to 2.5 billion globally. The image of Princes William and Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin became a scene etched into collective memory.

Image: Nelson Ndongala

One night in 1978, the Superdome in New Orleans became the center of the sporting world as Muhammad Ali sought to reclaim his heavyweight title from Leon Spinks.

Ali had suffered a shocking defeat just months earlier, and the rematch was expected to be a career-defining moment. More than 63,000 people packed the arena, while an estimated 2 billion tuned in globally to watch.

Image: Dominik Scythe

The dual-venue concert for famine relief in Ethiopia reached around 1.5 to 1.9 billion viewers in over 110 countries. Its star-studded lineup (including Queen, U2, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, Madonna, and dozens more) and satellite broadcast turned it into a legendary day for music and media history.

Image: Fauzan Saari

Football (a.k.a. soccer) remains one of the few mass spectator sports able to unite audiences across every continent. The 2022 World Cup finale might be called the greatest in history, as it attracted around 1.5 billion viewers globally.

Argentina and France delivered a rollercoaster of drama: Lionel Messi against Kylian Mbappé, and the tension of a shootout that crowned Argentina champions.

Image: JR Harris

An Elvis Presley concert, beamed live worldwide from Hawaii, was one of the first broadcast globally via satellite, reaching about 1.5 billion viewers. It marked a milestone in both cultural globalization and live entertainment broadcasting.

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Michael Jackson’s memorial service held in L.A. in 2009 was not only attended by fellow stars like Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Hudson, but watched by around 2 billion people around the world. Family and friends remembered Jackson not just as the "King of Pop" but as a father, son, and brother.

Image: Peter Albanese

The royal wedding of 2018 at Windsor Castle became the focus of millions of curious watchers as Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle.

It reportedly reached about 1.9 billion viewers worldwide. Royal weddings traditionally capture massive audiences, and this one in particular became a symbol of a more diverse and contemporary monarchy.

Image: NASA

Of course, it must be included in this list: an estimated 600 million people worldwide watched live as Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the Moon. For the 1960s, that was groundbreaking.

Though smaller in raw numbers than later global broadcasts, it was unprecedented for its time and remains one of the most iconic television moments in history. The landing symbolized a giant leap not only for space exploration but also for the shared experience of global media.

The nose knows best

Dogs can smell diseases—here’s what else you didn’t know about scent

Image: Lisette Harzing

Smell is one of our most underrated senses, yet it shapes memories, triggers emotions, and even affects behavior. While taste and vision often take center stage, scent works behind the scenes, influencing everything from who we’re attracted to, to what we remember most vividly. Here are 10 real, brainy, and sometimes bizarre facts about smell that reveal just how powerful your nose really is.

Image: Minh Ngọc

A 2014 study published in Science shattered the old myth that humans can only detect 10,000 odors. Using complex mixtures of odor molecules, researchers showed people can distinguish over 1 trillion unique scents.

Image: Declan Sun

The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus—areas tied to memory and emotion. That’s why scents can instantly bring back vivid memories or feelings.

Image: Anastassia Anufrieva

Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors, compared to a human’s 5 to 6 million. Their olfactory bulb is also 40 times larger relative to brain size. This allows dogs to detect some odors in parts per trillion—like explosives, drugs, or even diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Image: Ali Kazal

Humans can detect the direction of a scent using stereo olfaction—each nostril processes slightly different odor concentrations, helping you locate sources. It’s not as precise as in animals, but studies show people can track scents across open ground, especially with practice or training.

Image: Vince Fleming

Babies can recognize their mother’s scent within days of birth. Breastfed infants prefer the smell of their mother’s milk over others. This olfactory recognition helps form early attachment and may guide newborns to the breast for feeding in the first hours of life.

Image: Nathan Dumlao

While human pheromones remain a controversial topic, studies show we can subconsciously respond to scent cues linked to immune system genes (known as MHC). People often prefer the natural scent of partners with different MHC profiles—potentially increasing offspring health through greater genetic diversity.

Image: The Nix Company

Retail stores often use "scent marketing" to influence customer behavior—like pumping out baked cookie smells to make shoppers linger. Studies show pleasant scents can increase time spent in stores, improve mood, and even boost how much people are willing to spend.

Image: Sean Sinclair

Synesthesia is a rare condition where stimulation of one sense involuntarily triggers another. Some synesthetes smell scents and see colors or shapes. The cause is likely cross-wiring in the brain.

Image: Stefan Rodriguez

Studies show that the scent of peppermint can increase alertness, memory, and physical performance. It’s often used by athletes and students for focus. The menthol in peppermint stimulates the trigeminal nerve, giving a cooling sensation that makes the brain feel more awake and refreshed.

Image: HUUM

Human sweat is odorless. The smell comes from bacteria on your skin breaking down sweat molecules into smelly compounds. Different bacteria produce different odors—some people’s sweat smells like vinegar, others like onions or even cat pee, depending on their microbiome.