On this day: January 28

Prune the Capybara Wins Japan’s Bizarre Long Bath Contest

A capybara named Prune snagged victory in a Japanese multi-zoo bathing contest by soaking for over an hour, outlasting all other contestants in a quirky competition.

Toddler Sensation Shatters Pool and Snooker Records in England

A 2-year-old prodigy in England has stunned the world by breaking not one but two Guinness World Records for his skills in both pool and snooker, all before turning three.

The First Recorded Serial Killer Confession: H. H. Holmes, January 28, 1889

On January 28, 1889, Chicago criminal Herman Webster Mudgett (alias H. H. Holmes) made a detailed confession to authorities about multiple murders connected to his so‑called 'Murder Castle,' producing the earliest widely cited recorded confession of a serial killer in U.S. legal history.

Debris from the Challenger shuttle washes ashore in Florida

Bits of the Space Shuttle Challenger were recovered along the Florida coastline in the days after the vehicle broke apart on January 28, 1986, as search teams worked to locate wreckage and the remains of the seven crew members.

Challenger’s Final Launch: STS-51-L Departs on January 28, 1986

Space Shuttle Challenger lifted from Launch Complex 39B on January 28, 1986 for mission STS-51-L, the vehicle’s tenth flight and the program’s 25th mission; 73 seconds after liftoff the shuttle broke apart, killing all seven crew members aboard.