Crossing the Pacific on a raft, the Kon-Tiki and Tangaroa expeditions

78 years ago, on August 7th, 1947, a Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl and his crew of five reached French Polynesia by crossing the Pacific Ocean on a raft made of balsa wood. The raft didn't have an engine, only the current, the wind and a controversial idea powered it.

Thor wanted to demonstrate that ancient South Americans could have reached and populated Polynesia using balsa wood rafts and ocean currents. The Kon-Tiki crew spent 101 days at sea, sailed 6,900 km (4,300 miles) across the Pacific Ocean and eventually ran aground on a coral reef by the Raroia atoll in Polynesia. This expedition became worldwide famous. The book by Thor Heyerdahl about the expedition was translated into 70 languages, and the documentary filmed during the voyage won an Oscar in 1951.