It may sound like a movie script, but some brave sled dogs and their drivers actually saved many lives in Nome, Alaska, on this day in 1925.

Washington, D.C. - infoZine - A diphtheria epidemic had broken out in the town and the weather was too bad to fly in the needed serum. So, a relay of sled teams made the almost 700-mile journey in 50-below zero temperatures in just 127 hours. After the serum was thawed and administered, no more deaths occurred. The two lead dogs, Togo and Balto, became national heroes, and a statue of Balto was erected in New York's Central Park. In 1925, there were some 1,500 people living in Nome. Today, Nome and its surroundings are home to almost 3,600.

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