Today in History - June 27: Residents saw a cloud of fog, then they started feeling very sick
Eight people were killed when a refrigerated truck released sarin gas on a residential street in Matsumoto, Japan, on June 27, 1994.
Some of the 274 people treated in hospital reported seeing a fog before suffering severe symptoms.
After finding a range of chemicals in his home, local man Yoshiyuki Kono was identified as the prime suspect.
Though he was never charged, Japanese media dubbed him "poison gas man" and he was bombarded with death threats.
All the while, his wife lay in a coma after inhaling the toxic gas.
It was not until March the next year that the real perpetrators were identified.
Encouraged by the success of their first attack in Matsumoto, the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in a Tokyo subway, killing 14 people and injuring 1000.
It was not until after the subway attack that the Matsumoto attack was publicly linked to the cult.
Their motive in Matsumoto was to kill three judges who lived in the targeted apartment block.
The judges were expected to rule against the cult in a real estate dispute.
Asahara started the cult from a yoga and meditation class in Tokyo.
As the mastermind of the attacks, he was sentenced to death in 1994.
He was executed by hanging in 2018.
An investigation by Australian police would later reveal Aum Shinrikyo had tested sarin on sheep at an outback cattle station in Western Australia.
The cult had also explored the remote and vast station in the hopes of finding uranium ore to make a nuclear bomb.
Aerosmith became the first band to make a song available for download on the internet on June 27, 1994.
About 10,000 people downloaded the song Head First in eight days.
The three-minute bonus track took about 90 minutes to download.
Exactly 11 years later, a song was released that became the first track to hit two million digital sales.
Daniel Powter's Bad Day was released on June 27, 2005.
The song is one of the purest examples of a one-hit wonder. The song topped the Billboard charts for six weeks.
None of the Canadian singer's other songs cracked the top 200.
Heat from lights on the stage then set the powder alight, creating a fireball that covered the crowd.
The dust fire burned for 40 seconds.
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