It’s not what I think, it’s a known fact! The plow, in Egypt. First time in human history we had surplus food and could plan for the future, unlike any other animal on the planet. From here, all human civilization developed.
Be prepared to have your entire world blown. This film changed my life.
Fall of the Roman empire
the Norman conquest of England in 1066 has to be up there. It set into motion the rise of the British Empire which shaped the modern world
Vasily Arkhipov’s decision to not fire nuclear torpedos at American submarines.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Arkhipov was one of the three commanders on board his nuclear submarine. In order to use the sub’s nuclear weapons, all three members had to vote unanimously. Arkhipov’s submarine had not received word from Moscow, and US ships were dropping depth charges on their submarine, trying to get it to surface. Thinking nuclear war had already broken out, the submarine commanders thought the charges being dropped were intended to sink the sub, and firing on them would be defensive. When it came to a vote, Arkhipov refused to give approval for use of the nuclear weapons, and the sub surfaced. Had he caved to the wills of the other two commanders on the ship, the world would have fell
into WWIII.
The #1 event, no question, was Cai Lun’s invention of cheap, durable, and easily-produced paper (various similar materials existed before, such as papyrus, but lacked as least one of the aforementioned characteristics.) The ability to store and transfer information on such a massive scale literally changed the world.
Columbus setting up the beginnings of European colonies in America was also massively world-changing… not necessarily always in a good way, mind you, but definitely a dramatic change.
And the introduction of Christianity, Islam, Bhuddism, and Confucianism all deserve a spot on the list. Other religions and philosophies grew and evolved over time, but those four in particular have a clear starting point, brought on by a specific person.