Land Run of 1889

On April 22, 1889, tens of  thousands of people lined up at the borders of what would become Oklahoma City to claim their 160 acre parcel from the almost 2,000,000 unassigned acres that were newly available for white settlement. 

In one day all 2,000,000 acres were claimed. It was a literal sprint for land:

The events that day at Fort Reno on the western border were typical. At 11:50 a.m., soldiers called for everyone to form a line. When the hands of the clock reached noon, the cannon of the fort boomed, and the soldiers signaled the settlers to start. With the crack of hundreds of whips, thousands of Boomers streamed into the territory in wagons, on horseback, and on foot. (Source)

When reading about this, I kept thinking about how crazy it sounded. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that this is happening now as we speak. New platforms and technologies open the opportunity for settlers to rush in and claim their stake, and like the Boomers of 1889 some will strike it rich and others will be left with handfuls of dust. The past 40 years of innovation has been one big Land Run after another.