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.

Watch what you order

No, German Chocolate Cake isn't German: Beware of misleading dish names

Image: Umesh Soni

If "puppy chows" are not dog snacks, "duck sauce" contains no duck whatsoever, and "German Chocolate Cake" is reportedly Texan… who is handing out these misleading dish names? Decidedly, some of the terms on this list might make you check with the waiter before you place your order. Let’s explore the stories behind unexpected food labels!

Image: Van Thanh

This might be good news: No ducks are harmed in the making of this popular takeout condiment! Duck sauce is a sweet-and-sour orange jelly often served with Chinese-American dishes.

It’s made from apricots, plums, or peaches, combined with sugar and vinegar. The name likely came about because it was invented as a match for crispy duck dishes in Chinese restaurants.

Image: Taria Camerino

English muffins look nothing like American muffins, do they? And, technically, they do not come from England either.

These breads were popularized in the US by Samuel Bath Thomas, a British immigrant who began selling his "toaster crumpets" in New York in the late 1800s. It was the American consumers who branded them as "English muffins."

Image: Logan Clark

Did you know that German Chocolate Cake was actually popularized in… Texas? It did not come from Germany. The name refers to Samuel German, an American baker who created the delicious dark baking chocolate for Baker’s Chocolate Company.

In the 50s, a Texas homemaker later used his chocolate in a layered coconut-pecan cake recipe, and newspapers spread it with that name.

Image: Jay Gajjar

There’s no duck in duck sauce, and there’s no rabbit in Welsh rabbits, or Welsh rarebit! It’s actually melted cheese sauce served on toasted bread. Sometimes it comes flavored with ale, mustard, or spices.

The term "Welsh rabbit" was a tongue-in-cheek jab, likely implying that cheese was the "poor man’s meat" in Wales.

Image: Alex Gorey

Definitely not oysters! There’s nothing oceanic about this dish. Rocky Mountain oysters are actually bull or sheep testicles, usually battered, deep-fried, and served as bar fare or at ranch festivals in the American West.

Image: Piotr Musioł

Don’t expect poultry when you order this South Asian specialty! Bombay duck is actually a type of dried fish, locally known as "bombil," long eaten along India’s western coast.

Why the name, then? Some theorize that it derived from the mail system that transported this food, the ‘Bombay Dak’ (which translates to Bombay Mail).

Image: Charles Chen

You may or may not know this, but some Midwestern states enjoy a homemade candy called "puppy chow." Contrary to what the name might imply, it is not meant for dogs!

They are usually made of cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. The same snack goes by other cute names, like "monkey munch" or "muddy buddies."

Image: Jolien Coryn

No bread and not "sweet." This dish has a grossly misleading name. Sweetbreads are the thymus or pancreas glands of young animals, prized in French cuisine for their delicate, tender texture.

The "sweet" refers to their mild flavor compared to other organ meats, while "bread" may stem from an old English word for "flesh."

Image: Sebastian Coman Photography

It turns out, "Scotch egg" is not Scottish at all. Some place the origins in London, while others point to Indian dishes like kofta as possible inspirations.

The dish is a hard or soft-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, breaded, and fried.

Image: Alexandra Tran

We all know what French toast means, but, just like French fries, the origins are disputed! This classic breakfast recipe is far more ancient and pan-European than the name implies.

Versions of egg-soaked bread fried in fat go back to ancient Rome, and have popped up across Europe for centuries under names like pain perdu in France or arme ritter in Germany.

Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

Hearing "mincemeat," most people imagine ground beef. But this pie filling doesn’t always involve minced beef, as it once did.

Traditional mincemeat once did contain actual minced beef or mutton mixed with dried fruits, spices, and suet. Over time, many chose to drop the meat content, but the name stayed.