People Break Down The Biggest Scandals In America That Most People Don't Know About
A big scandal has the potential to keep people talking till the end of time.
Even decades later, people are still endlessly fascinated by Watergate and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
But not all scandals are as well remembered.
Indeed, even if the overall consequences were no less extreme, there are some scandals that never quite manage to earn a page in the history books.
Or, at the very least, a Ryan Murphy produced mini-series based on it.
"What is a massive American scandal that most people seem to not know about?"
$400 Billion?!?!?
"How about that time the major telecoms took over 400 BILLION dollars to install fiber optics in homes, schools and libraries across the entire country and just... diidn't?"
"The money was just reinvested in the companies to expand overseas and pay legal fees fighting against competitors with fiber plans and blocking future expansion."
"'Here is 400 billion dollars, please use it to give us all good internet'."
"'Ok'."
"'Hey, where's that high speed internet you were gonna put in?'"
"'Oh we decided that was way too expensive, it would cost like 400 billion and we just don't have the money'."
"Have this DSL instead over the existing network."- Horrific_Necktie
Just When You Think They Couldn't Get More Messed Up
"Operation Snow White, absolutely gonzo stuff."
"The Church of Scientology successfully infiltrated the government at high levels and purged records which were unfavorable to L. Ron Hubbard."- sancho___panza
"The church of Scientology blackmailed and threatened IRS people to get their tax exempt status."- Gaelir
stan marsh pictures GIF by South Park GiphyA Literal Train Wreck
"The Ohio train derailment and the decision to burn the spill releasing chlorine gas into the prevailing winds."- Naive-Background7461
What ISN'T A Scandal In American Politics
"In terms of political scandals that were major at the time but hardly remembered today:"
"The ABSCAM operation."
"The FBI set up a fake Arab investment company and offered various state and federal officials bribes to pass bills that would better enable their investment process."
"It led to the convictions of half a dozen Representatives and a Senator for bribery."
"The Keating Five."
"In 1989, in the midst of the Savings and Loan crisis, banker Charles Keating was charged with fraud and racketeering."
"During the investigation, five Senators to whom he'd donated substantial sums (including John Glenn and McCain) were accused of having pressured federal regulators to drop previous cases against Keating."
"The Senate Ethics Committee found that none of them had formally broken any laws, but found three of them were implicated enough to be formally censured."
"The House banking scandal."
"It was revealed that numerous Congressmen had been overdrawing their office accounts with zero financial accountability."
"It resulted in the convictions of three former Representatives and the House Sergeant-At-Arms for bribery and corruption."
"The Abramoff scandals."
"Jack Abramoff was a federal lobbyist, primarily involved in gambling and Indian tribal law, who was convicted of defrauding and over billing Indian tribal councils he was representing to the tunes of tens of millions of dollars."
"Investigations also revealed that he was giving unlicensed gifts to Congressmen, leading to a Representative being convicted of accepting bribes and the Deputy Secretary of the Interior being convicted of obstruction of justice."- AdmiralAkbar1
Voting United States GIF by Jimmy ArcaGiphyAn Ongoing Issue Which Needs To Be Fixed
"The absolute and cataclysmic FAILURE of the foster care system."- SunsetKittens
A Global Disaster
"The Dupont scandal."
"DuPont chemical dumped thousands of tons of chemical waste containing a long chained fluorocarbon also known as PFOA into waterways in Parkersburg, West Virginia."
"These chemicals were found to directly cause cancer and birth defects."
"Unfortunately the irresponsible disposal and manufacturing of this chemical didn't just effect America."
"Trace amounts of PFOAs can be found in virtually every single living creature on earth."- super_mega547
Dealing With Children Here!
"The for-profit juvenile detention system."
"Basically, judges in Pennsylvania were intentionally handing out harsher sentences because these for-profit juvenile prisons contributed to the judge's campaign ."
"In PA they elect their judges which blows my mind for this very reason but that's another story."- granweep
And Yet Woman Are Still Fighting For Control Of Their Own Bodies
"DES given to pregnant women from 1940 until 1971."
"It gave girls who were born after prenatal exposure a much higher risk of several cancers, including one cancer that no one else gets."
"It also causes an inability to carry pregnancies in some women who were exposed to it before birth."
"Boys born after exposure were cryptorchid and had a high rate of micro penis."
"There was a registry for these children so they could be tracked for medical needs and if other effects cropped up, but Congress did away with the registry."
"The changes that DES caused to gene expression are heritable, and it is now affecting DES granddaughters and great-granddaughters."
"While Congress has funded continuing research on effects, there is no registry anymore so no possibility that DES daughters will ever see any compensation."
"The FDA approved the drug for use in pregnant women based on a single non-blind study."- randomusername1919
Before You Take Another Sip
"The current and previous pollution of PFAS chemical compounds across our water systems."
"There has been reporting on it, but everyone I bring it up to hasn’t heard of it."- PM-me-your-tatas---
Kimmy Schmidt Drinking GIF by Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtGiphyAs If Global Warming Wasn't Bad Enough
"It is literally raining acid in Ohio right now."- Polengoldur
Overshadowed By The New Deal
"The business plot against FDR."
"Wall Street tried to lead a coup against sitting president FDR."- Reefermaniabruther
It's an unfortunate sign that the fact that all these scandals didn't cause much of a stir not because they were minor.
But simply because there were other, more glamorous scandals that overshadowed all of them.
It's very popular to create rumors about certain historical figures to which there is no concrete evidence.
Such as the sexual orientation of Abraham Lincoln or the alleged illicit behavior of Lewis Carroll and Hans Christian Andersen.
Understandably, these mostly baseless, though not necessarily false, theories are left out of history books.
However, there are facts about legends of history which have, indeed, been proven true, but are also left out of history books.
Namely, because it's not the sort of information many would consider in polite conversation, let alone be talked about in schools.
Even if it is no less fascinating than anything else we might learn.
"What’s a NSFW detail about a historical figure that’s normally left out of the history books?"
Dubious Contributions To The War Effort...
"During WW1, sex workers in Britain were more expensive if they had STD's."
"This was because if a soldier hired them and got infected, the soldier could be honorably discharged, and not have to fight in war."- KaleBrew
Talk About A Huge Relief...
"Ancient Egyptians believed the god Atum created the universe by pleasuring himself to ejaculation, and that the ebb and flow of the Nile corresponded to how much."
"To honor this, the pharaohs ceremonially pleasured themselves into the river."- -weef
lets go luna fun GIF by PBS KIDSGiphyThe Downside Of Their Journey...
"Lewis and Clark described the screaming sh*ts that they got from eating unfamiliar food (camas) in detail in their journals."- ayriana
Shameful Thanks For A Hero
"After Alan Turing cracked the enigma code, essentially ending WW2 years earlier than expected and saving countless lives, he was thanked by the British government in the form of chemical castration."
"All because he was a gay man."- Dangerjayne
Talk About Man About Town...
"Probably said here elsewhere, but Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame among other tales, was a notorious philanderer who had affairs on top of affairs with sex workers throughout his life."
"When he died, ALL of the brothels in Paris had to close because so many attended his funeral."- JLWilco
classic film vintage GIF by FilmStruckGiphyNone Of Our Business What They Got Up To In Private...
"Pyotr Tchaikovsky was a submissive bottom."
"In one note, never before published in Russian or English, Tchaikovsky wrote of a young servant 'with whom I am more in love than ever', adding: 'My God, what an angelic creature and how I long to be his slave, his plaything, his property!'". Reddit
The Secret Lives Of The Founding Fathers
"Patrick Henry, the American founding father better known for his quote, 'give me liberty or give me death', kept his wife imprisoned in a cellar because of her frequent outbursts due to postpartum depression."
"His wife had eventually died in that cellar, and he had buried her in an unmarked grave."
"10/10 quote but the wife killing part always seems to get left out of history texts."- sortatoxic
"Ben Franklin was a notorious flirt, and hit on and/or ploughed just about every woman he ever met."
"Single women, married women, young women, old women, women of title, women of the royal line."
"Protestant women, Catholic women."
"All of them."- TheLastIronMan
GiphyTaken To Heaven... Just Not Back...
"French President Félix Faure died during oral sex"- Wiesterfeler
His Bubble Was Bound To Burst Eventually...
"It's said that Henry VIII 'exploded' in his coffin."
"Dogs then licked up the Henry juice."- B1LMAN
It's understandable why most of this information is left out of history books.
Particularly those used in schools.
Even if it might make students' attention might be a bit more attentive...
Remember when McDonald's sold pizza... or rather "McPizza"?
If you don't, it's fairly understandable, as it was generally reviled, and today there is exactly one McDonald's in the USA which continues to serve it.
As a result, not many people go to McDonald's wishing the McPizza would make a comeback.
But there are other items once seen on the McDonald's menu which people do wish might return to their menu, such as the McRibb sandwich, or the adult oriented Arch Deluxe.
Indeed, almost every fast food restaurant in the country must have at least one item which has since disappeared from their menu which at least one loyal customer is campaigning for a return.
"What's your one discontinued fast food menu item you want back?"
Not Your Grandmother's Burritos
"The Volcano Burritos from Taco Bell were my fav fast food item ever."- kefefs
"Taco Bell Chili Cheese Burrito."- insertcaffeine
The Perfect Alternative To A Big Mac...
"McDonald’s Snack Wraps."- MadisonPearGarden
"McDonald’s chicken snack wrap ;(."- Ok_Moonlight
Food Burger GIF by McDonald's ParisGiphyIf A Taco And A Quesadilla Had A Child...
"Meximelt."- Canesfan2718
For Those Who Needed More Than McNuggets...
"The original McDonald’s Chicken Select Strips."- H0D00m
...Or Couldn't Settle For An Egg McMuffin...
"Mcdonalds Steak, Egg & Cheese bagel."- TheRealSzymaa
National Bagel Day GIF by BagelNetGiphyWho Doesn't Love A Handheld Pie?
"McDonalds fried apple pies."- NoOneEscapesTheFury
Don't Leave Any Consonants For Anyone Else!
"McDLT."- ManimalBestShowEva
Desert Empanadas? Yes Please!
"Taco Bell's carmel apple empanadas."
"They dropped them like a couple years ago."
"Plus side is that I very rarely ever go there anymore."
"Maybe twice a year now."- Pragmatist203
Hungry Taco Bell GIFGiphyWe generally don't go out for fast food to expand our palettes and try new things, but rather to get a reliable and comforting favorite.
Which makes the disappointment of discovering that old favorite is off their menu all the more bitterly disappointing.
Though, one can only assume that anyone who actually misses the McPizza might not actually understand what pizza is supposed to taste like...
The good thing about that embarrassing secret only a handful of people knew about you getting out in school is that it quickly becomes old news.
It's only a matter of time before another scandal surfaces that gives everyone at the school something to gossip about.
That is the hope anyway, especially in life way beyond your high school years.
Curious to hear of the controversies that eventually died down, Redditor Late_Cicada6740 asked:
"What's a massive scandal / controversy that people seem to have forgotten about?"
The fact that many horrific crimes are long forgotten does nothing to provide peace and closure for victims and their families.
Enslaved Siblings
"Those Turpin siblings that escaped being chained to their beds by their sh**ty parents? Happy ending, right? Yeah, no. Turns out their foster parents ended up abusing them even worse and now a bunch of them are suing."
"Edited to add: I'm not American and this update did not make international news at all. Nobody I've spoken to about this knew of the update."
– TwoFingersWhiskey
Why is it that politicians and scandal are inextricably linked?
Power Of The Cult
"In 2016 South Korea had a political scandal in which the president Park Geun-hye was exposed for being manipulated/controlled by a cult called 'The 8 Goddesses Cabal.'"
"South Korea was literally being ruled by a cult. Park was impeached."
– YaBoyVolke
Misplaced Funds
"The NYC Mayor's wife misplaced a whole lot of money and nobody seems to care."
"Edit: Warren Wilhelm, more commonly known as Bill Deblasio, appointed his wife who then proceeded to 'lose' 850 million dollars"
"Edit 2: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirlane_McCray"
– irishpwr46
RIP
"assassination of haiti's president."
– YesImThatGirl
Behind The Assassination
"Shoot the stories behind it are so wild. A florida pastor was accused of orchestrating the assassination. Some of the assassins were instagramming their way as if on vacation all the way to the Dominican Republic."
"Gangs took over the country in the interim. The new President refusing really any real investigation. Just a crazy weird mess."
– CricketSimple2726
The world we live in is hardly Utopian. Some things we prefer wiping from memory, while other notable headlines we hear or read about should remain as important reminders to stay alert of ongoing problems.
Take Care Of The Environment
“Recycling”
"You’d be amazed and disgusted at how much stuff you think you are recycling that your municipalities are shipping off to other countries just so they can dump it in the ocean for you. We know this is happening too but because we’re disconnected from it we just ignore it."
"Call your local gotta and push to have better programs in place. Ban single use plastics. E mail your fast food chains to turn their lids into drinkable lids etc. so many plastic items CAN NOT be recycled."– tibbymat
Banking Fraud
"Wells Fargo bank opening BS accounts and submitting credit card applications on behalf of their customers....without their knowledge or consent."
"I'm actually a customer with them and have been for years so for all I know they did that to me, but all I ever got was a couple emails about how they're really a good company with good people and that doesn't reflect their values or some such crap like that."
"I think they ended up firing a lot of people and executives who knew about it were fined millions of dollars. But I mean if the practice went that high it must have been widely known."
– anfla56
Turbulence In The Industry
"Airlines getting bailed out by taxpayers during crisis and with executives still taking huge bonuses. The quality of airlines significantly deteriorated because they don’t want to compress profit by paying more to hire more and expand flight offerings again to pre pandemic levels."
– rpoh73189
Art Of Scalping
"Ticketmaster buying their own tickets to scalp out at thousands of dollars."
– wpggloryhole
Poisoning The Ocean
"Dupont (still active company) when producing Teflon dumped loads of bad chemicals into the water and Teflon was posioning people all over the world giving them 6 known types of cancer. They covered it up for decades. Crazy how evil some companies are."
– Opposite-Mediocre
It's good that some earth-shattering scandals are left in the past.
The ugly truth is, there is new gossip fodder always waiting in the wings for the public to masticate on. There's never a dull moment in our world right now.
People Confess Which Things They've Purchased And Never Actually Used
Whether it's a fad product from Instagram or something for that hobby you just know you'll start doing one day, it's easy to buy things that seem useful and then just never use them.
Redditor Doctor_Disaster asked:
"What is something that you have purchased in the past, but have never used once since then?"
Never Gonna Make That Telescope
"On a trip to Chicago at about age 14 to visit the museums, my parents bought for me a telescope mirror grinding kit from the Adler Planetarium which I desperately wanted. It had all the components needed to construct a 6" mirror for a beautiful reflector scope. I kept that kit until I was about 50 years old, moving from apartment to apartment and city to city, until I finally decided I probably just wasn't gonna make that telescope."
-konqueror321
You Probably Don't Need The Book
"College textbooks, as a freshman you think you need them but it’s a scam most of the time. Just get the pdf online tbh. I’ve even had professors that strongly hint at a textbook being available online and for students not to buy it."
-vanynoose
"I had a professor complaining and complaining that a mass anonymous email went out to all his students with a pdf of the text book. He just kept asking if 'everyone saw it and how terrible it was… but everyone saw it right? Everyone… did anyone miss it or not get it… that terrible anonymous email sent too ALL of his students got'"
"He was a good dude lol."
One Day...
"I bought a book on methods to tackle procrastination, 7 years ago. It remains unread though I’m sure the methods within are glorious."
-PhotoKaz
"On page 1 it just says, 'Congratulations! You have taken the first step towards conquering procrastination! Now just keep taking one step at a time!' Or some other cheesy stuff like that."
-tiredoflife2212
Bye Bye Bicycle
"Not me but my dad - bought a bicycle he never used, a year rolled by and the shop he bought it from called him and asked if he wanted it serviced, to which he agreed. Still hadn’t used it. I went to his place one day and saw the bike and asked if I can borrow it. He then tells me this story and said I can have it. Thanks dad!"
-WallyButterbean
Aspiring Artist
"I bought a wacom pad like a year ago cause i wanted to start drawing. Never got around to start learning."
-LordofthePigeons619
"You know, I got one to use as a mouse. I know that sounds crazy, but I was starting to get some RSI in my hand from constant mouse use at work and home."
"No lie - once I got over the first 24 hours of it being awkward as a daily pointing device, I quickly realized that I by far preferred using it to the alternatives. When you're over the learning curve it starts to feel so much more precise. It always got me funny looks and questions when co-workers stopped by my desk, since my roles never had anything to do with illustration or design."
"Absolutely useless for anything game related, mind you. But day to day document/office/browser/other stuff? Super useful. Maybe give it a try."
-infosec_qs
Time For A Game Night
film opening GIFGiphy"*Looks at the shelves of unplayed board games*"
-Mortlach78
"One day, the perfect group of people will be assembled in your house and ready to play that game... Until that day it sits on the shelf awaiting its time."
-silentknight111
Forever Disorganized
"Containers to get myself organised. Months ago. And now I’m on reddit. Not being organised."
-ReaganInc
"At least now, when you someday get the urge to organize your stuff, you will have the containers ready & be able to just do it."
-batsofburden
You Mean You're Not Supposed To Just Collect Them?
"I'd like to introduce you to my steam library."
-Fynn_the_Finger
"Me: there are no games to play."
"Steam library: *sad game noises*"
-SeparateBluejay9818
Banger Banjo
Sloth Banjo GIFGiphy"When I got my job back in April after a 3 year attempt at freelancing, my first pay check was the most exciting."
"I bought a banjo. I'm a city boy in the UK. I have no idea how to play instruments."
"To this day it stays in the corner of my room getting an occasional twang when I get a little spicy."
-schofield101
Yarn Hoard
"Yarn, so much yarn."
-erabera
"Yes, I am more a yarn collector than a knitter."
-shinyacorns
It's not too late to use that thing you bought forever ago and forgot about. It's never too late to pick up that hobby or read that book!
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