May 22nd is one of those calendar dates that refuses to be boring. On this single day across different eras, humanity managed to nail everything from breaking into the sky to breaking bread after decades of conflict — and somehow, a video game about eating dots became the most iconic arcade machine ever made.
Start with the headline: 180 years ago, the Associated Press organized in New York City as a nonprofit news cooperative to cover the Mexican American War. What began as a cost-saving measure among five newspapers has become a global force with 235 news bureaus across 94 countries, 59 Pulitzer Prizes, and a style guide that literally shaped how American English journalism is written. The AP didn’t just report history — it fundamentally changed how news gets told.
Then there’s the Wright brothers. On this day in 1906, Wilbur and Orville Wright received U.S. Patent 821,393 for their“new and useful improvement in Flying Machines.”Three years after making history with the Wright Flyer in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, they finally got the official legal recognition for inventing the aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible. It took nearly a decade to get from first flight to patent, a reminder that innovation moves slower than we’d like to think.
But wait, there’s more. In 1762, the Trevi Fountain was inaugurated in Rome — that baroque masterpiece designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini. Sitting at the junction of three roads, the fountain marks the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo, the ancient Roman aqueduct that supposedly brought pure water to the city with the help of a virgin back in 19 BCE. Today, it’s the most famous fountain in the world and arguably the most romantic backdrop ever built.
Fast forward to 1980, and Toru Iwatani, a 25-year-old Japanese video game designer, put Pac-Man in an arcade in Tokyo. He grabbed a slice of pizza from a box, saw the remaining slices forming the character’s shape, and created something that would become the most successful arcade game of all time. Iwatani deliberately designed it to appeal to girls and couples — tired of seeing violent alien-shooting games dominate arcades, he wanted to make them welcoming spaces. That pizza-slice epiphany changed gaming forever.
The peace angle hits hardest: In 1998, citizens of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland voted overwhelmingly to accept the Good Friday Agreement, ending 30 years of bloody conflict and bombings. Negotiated by eight disparate political factions, it established self-rule for Northern Ireland after 26 years under direct British control. Peace doesn’t always announce itself with fanfare, but sometimes it arrives on a ballot.
And in 2010, Internazionale became the first Italian football club to win the treble — domestic league, domestic cup, and European cup — all in one season. Managed by Jose Mourinho, Inter beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final in Madrid, with two goals from Diego Milito. Only four teams in all of Europe had ever pulled it off before them. In a sport where keeping energy and concentration at peak levels across 60 matches in nine months is nearly impossible, Inter proved they were built different.
May 22nd reminds us that history isn’t confined to one type of achievement. On the same day, humans learned to fly, organized the news, won wars through diplomacy, created timeless art, and proved that a pizza slice could become a cultural icon. Not bad for 24 hours.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
