August 17, 2016 9 AM Update

On this day in 1977, the Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. Part of it was they built stronger ice breakers and it was a warmer summer, part of it was climate change.

And in 1982, the first Compact Discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany. Happy sterile listening, although at least you could play the same song over and over again, without wearing out the record grooves.