The Channel crossed by air

Bleriot flew from Calais to Dover in thirty-seven minutes with no compass, lost sight of land in the middle, and admitted afterwards that he had simply kept going and hoped.

He landed heavily in a meadow behind Dover Castle, breaking the undercarriage and one propeller blade. A British newspaper had put up the prize; a British newspaper then pointed out that the island had stopped being an island, which is roughly what happened.