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Thor Heyerdahl and his five crewmates launched a balsa wood raft from Peru to de
Featured Event 1947 Event

April 28

Kon-Tiki Sets Sail: Proving Ancient Oceanic Migration

Thor Heyerdahl and his five crewmates launched a balsa wood raft from Peru to demonstrate that ancient South Americans could have reached Polynesia by drifting on ocean currents. Their successful 101-day voyage across the Pacific proved that such long-distance migration was physically possible, challenging prevailing theories about how the Pacific islands were settled.

April 28, 1947

79 years ago

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