March 4, 1918

1918-03-04 00:00 UTC

Held by The Museum. Not for sale.

The first recorded case

The first recorded case
Photo: Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
A cook at Camp Funston reports sick, the earliest documented case of the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Source ↗

Questions and answers

When exactly did the first recorded case take place?
It is recorded at 1918-03-04 00:00 UTC — March 4, 1918 in Coordinated Universal Time. Every minute in this registry is stored in UTC so it reads the same anywhere in the world.
Can this minute be bought?
No. Museum minutes are curated historical entries held permanently by the registry and are never for sale. The minutes around them can be claimed.
What does owning a minute mean?
Buy The Time is a novelty registry. Nobody buys real time or property — an owner buys a permanent, public entry against one UTC minute in this database, visible to everyone.
Independent proof

Recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain

Confirmed on October 1, 2026 in block 969,500. Anyone can verify this record exists, without us.

SHA-256 8d01ac3b13b3983347fad7c6ad9dc9995f52e9e451128dad5f531ad9b724a7a6

ShareShare card showing the exact minute, its title and photo
Adjacent minutes

Every minute within five minutes of this one is unclaimed.