Which came first? · Counterintuitive
Which came first: the giant panda or the Pony Express?
The Pony Express came first, in 1860 (began). The giant panda followed 9 years later, in 1869 (described).
- Second1869
The giant panda
animal · describedWhen science described the giant panda in 1869, the name panda had belonged to the red panda alone for about 40 years.
- First1860
The Pony Express
event · beganThe Pony Express carried mail across the American West for only 18 months, from 1860.
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All which-came-first pairs · About Older Than You Think · Quiz games
Years from Wikidata, each checked against the item’s English Wikipedia article on 2026-10-18. A year stands for what its label says: a founding, a first patent, a premiere.