In 1908, there was an event called the Tunguska Blast. They now believe it was a squishy asteroid that did it, though it's been a mystery for a long time. Turns out a big chunk of Eastern Siberia suddenly blew up, and the shock wave travelled around the world twice. But since the Czar didn't much care what happened to the backwards folk out that way, it took 'til 1930 (!) for anybody to really go investigate.
