History is full of strange events that often sound too outrageous to be true. Join us as Reddit users’ journey through 14 such ridiculous and bizarre moments from the past:
14. Dublin Whiskey Fire of 1875
“A fire at a distillery’s warehouse caused thousands of barrels to burst from the heat, sending rivers of flaming whiskey coursing through the streets of Dublin. 13 people died—not from anything related to the fire or the flooding, but from alcohol poisoning from gathering up and drinking all the free whiskey in the street.”
13. Spain Forgot To Tell Guam About The War With The US
“When America went to war with Spain, the Spanish forgot to tell their territory, Guam. The US sent a single warship to the island…The leaders on the island rowed out to apologize they couldn’t return their salute.”
“That is why Guam is a US territory.”
“It’s kind of low-key embarrassing for the US too that they took 13 completely open shots at an enemy fort and missed so badly that the opposition didn’t know they were under attack.”
12. The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist
“The largest ($ value, inflation-adjusted) heist in Canadian history.”
“Fun fact: Canada has a strategic maple syrup reserve.”
“Someone had sticky fingers.”
“This stuff is wild. There’s a cartel for syrup…and they control the flow and price.”
11. The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold
“An English King and a French one tried to out-bling each other. The fact that two monkeys covered in gold leaf were far from the most ostentatious display is a good indication of how tasteful it was.”
“I briefly googled this and assumed you meant two statues of monkeys in gold leaf. But no, actual real-life monkeys.”
“Not just ‘an’ English king. It was Henry VIII.”
10. The Great Windham Frog War
“In 1754 Windham, Connecticut was still a frontier settlement. One hot night the residents awoke to gruesome sounds that convinced them that the local Indians were attacking. In the morning they crept out, to find thousands of dead frogs who had spent the night competing for the dwindling water.”
“Is this near Willimantic? I thought I remembered seeing a lot of frog stuff when I drove through there a few years ago.”
“Remember when they built the Frog Bridge! I was a kid and it was super exciting to drive under those giant frogs.”
9. Operation Mincemeat
“The British dressed a random dead guy in a military uniform, put fake invasion plans in his pocket, and dropped him on the shore of Spain. The Spanish found the body…and informed Germany. Germany, believing the invasion plans were real, sent an army to Greece – which is exactly what the Brits wanted, because they were actually going to invade Sicily.”
“Somewhat after the fact, they gave the homeless guy whose body they used a decent grave and some military recognition for his involuntary contribution to the war effort.”
8. The Gombe Chimpanzee War
“It sounds like something right out of a Planet of The Apes movie.”
“The film of this one is coming out soon.”
“Well, now we have entered the animal kingdom wars. Ants go hard.”
“It blows their minds that animals can be so cunning and ruthless, much like us.”
7. The Failed Assassination Of US President Andrew Jackson
“Two perfectly working pistols failed to fire on US President Andrew Jackson, who then beat his would-be-assassin so badly that the presidential security detail had to pull him off to save the man’s life.”
“Basically ALL of Andrew Jackson’s life sounds fake but it isn’t…man was definitely something else.”
“Owned an attack sheep and kept an alligator in a bathtub.”
6. “Russia Sending Their Baltic Fleet To Fight The Japanese Navy”
“Yes, the Baltic is on the other side of the planet. No, the baltic sailors had never seen ocean, or naval war, ever. Yes, it was a ********. They attacked everything from Danish fishing vessels to each other.”
“That’s not even the best part. When they finally DID encounter a Japanese fleet…They thought it was Russian. The ONE time they didn’t think it was a Japanese ship!!”
“And they almost started a war with the UK, after attacking a fleet of British fishing boats in the North Sea.”
5. Hubbard Committing An Act Of War In Mexico
“The guy who founded Scientology once engaged in a multi-day naval battle with a log. He would then go on to commit an act of war against Mexico.”
“I believe he had his men fire into hills in Baja California. He must not have realized that you can’t just use another country for target practice.”
“I’m still trippin’ that someone saw fit to give this wacko his own command.”
“It was WW2, lots of incompetent people were given commands.”
4. Hannibal Marching His Army Of Cows
“Hannibal saved his army by tying torches to the horns of 5,000 cows and driving them one direction. The Romans thought they were the enemy army and converged on them, while Hannibal quietly snuck his 10,000-man force out of the valley.”
“Hannibal has a ton of these. He made the Romans look like idiots for more than a decade.”
“Won the battles lost the war and it led to the destruction of Carthage.”
3. “The 1904 Olympic Marathon In St. Louis”
“32 athletes took part, but only 14 were able to finish – there was only one water station in the entire 26-mile course. The ‘winner’ was later disqualified because they found out he drove half the race in his car.”
“Andarin Carvajal of Cuba finished fourth. Despite running in street clothes and shoes.”
“You didn’t even mention the guy who got chased away by a pack of dogs.”
“This reads like a Mr. Bean episode.”
2. “The Four Seasons Total Landscaping Press Conference”
“It would have been rejected for an episode of Veep because it was so ridiculous.”
“And crematorium. A great place to push their election-denying ******** on national television.”
“The entire Trump saga, before, during, and after his term, is so ridiculous it’s too much even for satire.”
1. “The Erfurt Latrine Disaster…”
“Occurred on 26 July 1184, when Henry VI, King of Germany… held a Hoftag (informal assembly) in the Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt. The combined weight of the assembled nobles caused the wooden second-story floor of the building to collapse and most of them fell through into the latrine cesspit below the ground floor… About 60 of them drowned…”
“Well, that is a horrific way to die.”
“Happened in the US too. Cincinnati Privy Disaster of 1904. Nine girls died.”
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Source: Reddit.