Historical Events That Are Hard To Believe Happened
Reddit user ThrowAwayMyLife2341 asked: 'What are some events in recorded history that are extremely hard to believe, but without a doubt actually happened?'
While we may not all enjoy studying history, we all have certain types of stories that interest us, and one that seems to catch everyone's attention are the hard-to-believe, almost far-fetched tales.
Interestingly enough, history is full of these stories, leaving many to believe that reality is truly stranger than fiction.
Redditor ThrowAwayMyLife2341 asked:
"What are some events in recorded history that are extremely hard to believe, but without a doubt actually happened?"
Second Chance Flight
"My colleague was on the plane to Hawaii where the entire top of the plane ripped off… they flew the rest of the way without any overhead."
"They landed and everyone walked off. It's absolutely insane to see the pictures. Talk about being given a second chance."
- SkydivingSquid
Running Late for the Olympics
"In 1908, Russia showed up 12 days late to the Olympics because the world switched calendars while they did not."
- drailCA
"To accommodate the Russian team, some events were rescheduled so that the Russian athletes could participate. This led to a longer duration for those Olympics, which lasted from April 27 to October 31, making it the longest Olympic Games in history."
- parkerjh
An Inescapable War
"The Battle of Bull Run, one of the first battles of the US Civil War, occurred on and around Wilmer McClean's farm in Northern Virginia. Not wanting to live surrounded by war, McClean and his family moved to Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia."
"The Battle of Appomattox Courthouse was the last significant battle between Union and Confederate forces. The Confederates signed the surrender order in Wilmer's sitting room."
"It is said that the Civil War started on Wilmer's farm and ended in his sitting room."
- csudebate
History of Bombings
"There was a Japanese man called Tsutomu Yamaguchi who was on his way to work in Hiroshima in 1945, when he saw falling through the sky, two miles from where he stood, what ultimately turned out to be the atomic bomb."
"He had just enough time to take cover in a ditch as the bomb detonated and miraculously he survived. Somehow the Hiroshima train station was still operational and so Yamaguchi, battered, bombed and bruised, decided to board a train to his family home so he could recover... in Nagasaki."
"Three days later, Yamaguchi was called into work to explain what he saw, which he did. At work, as he began to tell the story of what happened, the second bomb dropped."
"It was the reinforced concrete walls around him that saved him this time, and Yamaguchi quickly ran to find his wife and son. Ground temperatures in the city reached 4,000°C and radioactive rain poured down."
"The family's home was destroyed, but Yamaguchi's wife and son had thankfully been out shopping - looking for burn ointment for Yamaguchi, when the bomb fell, and they'd survived."
"Despite this ordeal of having survived two nuclear explosions and subsequent radiation exposure, Yamaguchi went on to live till 93 yrs of age. He died in 2010 after being recognized by the Japanese government as a 'nijyuu hibakusha,' or 'twice-bombed person.'"
- Voodizzy_
A Monumental Fall
"Nicholas Alkemade fell 18,000 feet without a parachute from a burning plane in 1944 and suffered no serious injury."
- hazps
"I see how the snow cover helped but how he didn’t get skewered by pine trees or break a single bone is shocking."
- switchbladeeatworld
"Imagine what he was thinking when he got up from that fall. What kind of crazy thoughts were running through his head."
- Lankey_Craig
"'Yeah, no one is gonna believe this one.'"
- Pennywise626
"Germans almost didn't, after finding him in just a flight suit but no parachute. They initially pegged him as a spy who'd been dropped behind their lines and had stashed his chute and gear. As such, he was likely to be executed."
"Except Alkemade was so insistent his captors went and found the wreckage of his aircraft, with the burnt remains of his chute stashed behind his gun position. Germans told him the news and shared vodka with him to celebrate."
- JohnnyJohnCowboyMan
Mass Dance in France
"That time everyone died of a dancing sickness where they danced themselves to death in France. Mass hysteria."
- DavinaCole
"St. Vitus’ Dance, as it is called, still doesn’t have a definitely known cause."
"New research as of 2021 shows Sydenham chorea as the most likely cause."
- ENFJPLinguaphile
The Return of the Sun
"The Battle of Halys."
"In roughly 6th century BC, the Medes and the Lydians were at war. The war had lasted for six years and climaxed at the Battle of Halys."
"During the battle, a solar eclipse began. Both sides believed that the Gods were angry at their long and bloody war, and were taking the sun away from them."
"They declared peace that day, and the sun was returned. But yeah, a war ended because of a solar eclipse."
- TheRogueBear
A Spicy Battle
"The Nutmeg Wars. The Dutch and the English went to war THREE times over nutmeg, which at the time was only known to grow on one South Pacific island."
- missoularedhead
Entertaining Prisoners
"Theodore Roosevelt found his boat was stolen. So he built a new boat, tracked the thieves down, and arrested them."
"He then proceeded to walk them multiple days, without sleeping, so they could receive a trial instead of just shooting them on the spot."
"It was in the middle of a harsh winter so he didn’t handcuff them (for fear they’d get frostbite), so instead, he just kept himself awake by reading Tolstoy with a gun trained on them the whole trek."
- Another_Road
"That's only the twenty-second most Teddy thing I've ever read, but a new one, which makes me love it."
- Beard_of_Valor
"I am always half convinced that Teddy Roosevelt was not a real person. No one could have been that absolutely wild and done that many things, but there is just too much overwhelming proof."
- LeSilverKitsune
Christmas Day 1914
"Christmas day 1914. The truce on the WW1 battlefields."
"It shows the humanity inside everyone, but they were able to wake up the next day and go straight back to war, kill the men that they’d spent a sincere day with."
- PotterWhoLock01
Honoring Everyone's Dead
"I can't remember where I saw/heard the story of Christmas Day 1914 (I think from the BBC), but I believe from one of the last-living Tommys, who said that whilst they were forced to start shooting at each other, the majority of shots intentionally missed, from both sides of no man's land."
"I believe it was also the same man who said, in reference to Remembrance Day, to also remember the Germans. That stuck with me. They were like our lads; sent out to fight a war for war's sake, forced to do unspeakable things to other men because some higher-up told them they had to."
- The_Gene_Genie
"Australia is a bit like this with regard to the Turks on ANZAC Day."
"One of the main ceremonies is reading the letter from Turkish commander and later founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Atatürk:"
"'Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours...'"
"'You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons, as well.'"
- Zebidee
The Medical Church
"In 1944, during the allied invasion of France, 2 American paramedics, Ken Moore and Robert Wright, 101st Airborne, saved around 80 soldiers of both sides, allied and axis. They set themselves up in a church, had only what was in their first aid kits and medic bags, and had a strict no-gun policy."
"The church was almost destroyed by a mortar shell, but it didn’t go off. It was almost destroyed again, due to friendly fire. Ken Moore would risk his life by venturing out of the church and finding injured soldiers, and both medics stayed behind at the church, even though the rest of their forces had to retreat. Wright took on the responsibility of looking after the soldiers."
"The church still stands in Angoville-au-Plain, France, the blood-stained pews are still there, and a broken tile from the mortar shell was never fixed, to honor the legacy of these men."
"This is very simplified, and probably inaccurate in a few ways, but it is still an incredible story."
- JustACanadianGuy07
A Lack of Perspective
"In 1903, The New York Times published an article about flying machines. They stated that it would take the combined efforts of all Mathematicians and mechanics 1-to-10 million years for powered flight to be achieved."
"Anyway, about nine weeks later, the Wright brothers achieved powered flight for the first time."
"They were also overly cynical after. In 1910 they said that flight would only ever be for billionaires, of course, we had commercial flights by around the 60s achievable for many."
- Joe_PM2804
The Year Without Summer
"1816, The Year Without Summer."
- theassassintherapist
"I'm a big classic horror fan, so I'm kinda glad this happened. Indirectly lead to Mary Shelley writing 'Frankenstein.'"
- UniversalHammer71
An Astronomical Life Cycle
"Halley's Comet appeared in the sky when Mark Twain was born in 1835."
"The comet moves in a seventy-five or seventy-six-year orbit, and, as it neared Earth once again, Twain said, 'I came in with Halley’s Comet and I expect to go out with it.'"
"Sure enough, he died on April 21, 1910, just as the comet made its next pass within sight of Earth."
- SuvenPan
While history may not be everyone's favorite subject, it'd be really hard to believe if someone didn't find at least one of these hard-to-believe occurrences interesting.
History Buffs Break Down Little-Known Historical Events That Actually Shaped The World
History's Backstory....
We must learn and appreciate the history that has come before us; or else we are doomed to repeat it. Truth in knowledge. That reason alone makes historical knowledge imperative. It is fascinating to know the drama of life. There are so many turning points that crafted the way we live, it's criminal not to be aware.
Redditor u/Kalehfornyuh wanted to hear from all us history geeks. Let's teach people some lessons. it was asked..... History buffs of Reddit: what historical events dramatically shaped world history but for some reason are nearly forgotten about?In Threes
Come At Me Bring It GIF by Game of ThronesGiphyThe 3rd Battle of Panipat.
Completely winded the Afghans, turned the Mughals into puppets and weakened the Marathas greatly.
This turmoil was astonishingly good fortune to the lucky British who were then able to scrap their way to the top of India.
Once the British had India, the history of Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa was set.
The "Dark Era"
Clouded in darkness for 18 months:
The "dark era" of 536 AD which was also one of the worst years to be alive. A mysterious dust cloud had engulfed Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia into darkness for 18 months!
Temperatures during summers dropped to as low as 1.5° C and it is the coldest decade in the past 2300 years. The "dark" era witnessed snow falling in China, people starving, famine and failure of crops.
The culprit of this phenomenon is a cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Iceland which expelled ash around the Northern Hemisphere. This was followed by two more volcanic eruptions.
The historical event was especially deadly for Europe as it wiped out nearly a third of its population!
Oh Fritz....
Frtiz Haber, in 1910, invented the Haber-Bosch process, which allowed for the production of ammonia from nitrogen gas. This ammonia would end up allowing for increased fertilizer production, allowing millions more people to be fed and clothed by agricultural processes. However, nitrogen compounds are also used heavily in explosive compounds such as artillery shells and smokeless powder. Basically, Haber provided the means for the world powers of the day (And especially Germany) to cheaply produce all the armaments that would be used in WWI and beyond.
the cool
Cool Down Season 2 GIF by FriendsGiphyThe invention of air conditioning.
Fun fact is that it was invented for its dehumidifying ability; cold was just a side effect.
False Alarm
Stanislav Petrov was the Soviet duty officer in charge of an early-warning system on September 26, 1983. The system detected a missile launch from the United States. Then another... and another (up to 6 total). He decided that the reports were false alarms (spoiler... they were), and probably saved humanity from a nuclear holocaust. In an investigation later conducted by the Soviet military it was discovered that the sun's reflection was creating false positives on the warning system.
Being Blunted
Might be too recent to qualify, but James Blunt (the singer) prevented World War Three.
He was the captain in command on the ground leading NATO forces into Kosovo.
They got to an airfield that had been occupied by 200 Russian soldiers, and General Wesley Clark (US) ordered Blunt to attack and take the airfield by force.
Blunt refused. Questioned his orders up two different chains of command until a British general (Mike Jackson) intervened, declaring he would not have his men starting World War Three.
They later agreed to share the airfield with the Russians.
Jonas Salk
That one time when humanity was worth more than money.
Before there was a cure, polio would paralyze as many as 20,000 kids a year. In the US, everyone had at least one relative stricken with it: it was deadly in up to 5% of children and 30% of adults. Enter Jonas Salk who in the early 1950's invented a cure for this scourge. While within his right to take out a patent and charge royalties for it, he passed on the prospect and gave the cure away.
Let me say that again: he didn't lose the window of opportunity to patent, he didn't not know what a patent was or face any form bureaucratic, institutional or political resistance: he knowingly and willingly donated his cure to the world without expecting anything back. By doing so, he lowered the cost of his treatment by as much as 25% and cut the red tape required to manufacture the medicine worldwide. Forbes estimates that Salk could have made as much as 6 billion dollars off his patent: if he had wanted to, he could have easily built and lived in an average 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1600 square ft suburban home... but made of gold.
Because of his outstanding act of kindness and all the suffering he ended, Salk was known nationwide and barbers, shoe shiners, tailors and diner owners would frequently refuse to charge him for their services as an act of gratitude. As of 2018, there have been less than 40 reported cases worldwide, and polio is on track to be eradicated by the end of the decade.
The Fire
revenge of the sith power GIF by Star WarsGiphyThe Reichstag fire in Berlin in 1933. It was basically the catalyst that enabled Hitler to attain unlimited power.
Papal Ways
Battle of Tours. If Charles Martel lost, Christendom would have been destroyed by the Umayyad Caliphate. There would be no Papal States, no Charlemagne, no Holy Roman Empire, No Germany, no third reich. Quite frankly history as we know it would turn out quite different.
The Big C
GiphyThe donation of Constantine, it was a forged document discovered by the midici that gave early Catholics land and power , no one really knows who wrote it, but because of it the Catholics got as powerful as they did.
Mixed Routes
The 1453 Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey). Due to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottomans, many Greek scholars fled to Italy and started what is now known as the Renaissance.
Perhaps more importantly, due to the closure of many trade routes to Asia, European powers had to find new ways to trade with India and China.
Enter Christopher Columbus; who's original aim was to do exactly that for the Spanish crown and instead encountered the Americas along the way. The rest, as they say, is history.
Also the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. Which led to the formation of the German Empire (thereby upsetting the balance of power in Europe) and the French vowing revenge on the Germans, which had an impact on the First World War.
The Fog
Cartoon Knife GIF by Scooby-DooGiphyThe Great Smog of London in the 1950's. Killed up to 12,000 and injured thousands more.
A mysterious pea soup fog mixed with coal smog that covered the city for days. In the fog there was a crime wave where criminals were hidden by the fog and police couldn't operate, and there was even one famous serial killer who killed in the fog. John Reginald Christie. A book about it called Death in The Air is very interesting and worth a read.
Hail Mary
Mary Louvestre. She completely helped change the course of the civil war, and yet not many people know about her.
She was a newly-freed slave and worked as a housekeeper for a Confederate engineer who was a part of the group of people building the new confederate ship/vessel.
She intercepted a letter (blueprints) sent to the engineer regarding the secret plans for the confederacy's newest navy vessel, which would be the first ship of its kind. She hurriedly sketched/copied the plans onto another piece of paper and hid it on her before returning the letter back to its previous spot.
Mary Louvestre then managed to get ahold of the Secretary of the Union Navy and showed him the blueprints that she had copied. This was a turning point because this new vessel would be an element or surprise in the war and would've changed the tides had Mary not found out about it.
Mary's bravery led to the Union having the upper hand and the capability to overcome the confederacy's new vessel.
She literally risked her life and, in the end, made a drastic difference in the war. She deserves way more attention and acknowledgement. <333
Revolution
German Revolution (November 1918)
The Russian Revolution was the beginning of the end of WW1. The German Revolution was the actual end. The armistice happened because the German Navy had mutinied and the mutiny was spreading among soldiers. Strikes were widespread.
The fiercest opponents of this revolution were the German officer class. Many of them would join the Freikorps to fight against the revolution. One of them, an officer named Adolf Hitler, would later seek to recruit many of these Freikorps veterans, first in an armed uprising against the post-revolution state, then later into a new type of political party, one that maintained both a 'legitimate' wing (the NSDAP) and a street fighting wing (the SS).
Go Fish
Big Fish GIF by PBS KIDSGiphyThe battle of Fishguard - the last time there was a foreign invasion in the Uk was the french invading Wales in 1797. The french came inland and some fighting was done (33 killed I think) but due to lack of discipline (and boozing) the french were taken aback.
The British then told the french they had until a certain time the next morning to surrender. The next morning the British lined the beach of Fishguard and a women named Jemima Nichols organized the welsh women to dress in the traditional welsh costume, which at the time looked (from afar) like a soldiers uniform. The french thought there were far more soldiers than there actually was and surrendered.
Thao
Pham Ngoc Thao was a high ranking commander in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) during the Vietnam War. In actuality he was a sleeper agent working for the North Vietnamese. Thao sabotaged the Strategic Hamlet Initiative by having ARVN/US forcibly relocate rural people from their villages causing resentment of the Diem regime in rural areas along the North/South border. Thao also acted as a key player in the coup against Diem.
He was a key player in keeping the junta divided and would be a key player in several more coups. After a failed coup attempt, Thao's rivals in the South found out about his true loyalty and had him killed. However the division he caused in South Vietnam took its toll and was one of the factors that led to the North's successful takeover of the South.
The Occupied
Almost any decision prior to Kursk in Operation Barbarossa; Stalin moving factories north and away from the front lines, German Army treatment of Soviet civilians, Hitler's decision to not go after Moscow, Hitler not stopping Barbarossa after a certain point and negotiating surrender terms when he had enormous chunks of Europe and Asia, the Lend-Lease Program's effects on it all...
And on the other side, the entire Chinese occupation by Japan. China lost a lot of people keeping the largest chunk of skilled, veteran Japanese soldiers in China for years, sapping Japan's strength from the Pacific war with the US, and that sacrifice isn't even mentioned in US history books.
Wash your hands....
Ignaz Semmelweis. Pioneered sterilization procedures after discovering that washing your hands between dissecting cadavers and delivering babies would keep women from dying from infection after childbirth.
It's actually a pretty sad story, and I don't feel like typing it out, so here.
The Elixir
The invention of black powder! And the Mongolians introducing it to the Europeans through war.
It was created trying to make an "Elixir of Life." It is a mixture of charcoal (used for filtering water, soap, and other types of cleaning and filtering). Potassium Nitrate salt basically (was used for killing bacteria and healing infections) And sulfur that well can't remember why they added it but it was used for something.
But they mixed them together and added heat that made it explode.
If that didn't happen then we wouldn't have gotten out of the medieval period and wouldn't have started the industrial revolution.
Think about it, without black powder we would still be using swords, armor, horses, and castles. Still be dying of broken legs, a small cut, or unclean water.
In trying to make immortality and something peaceful they made the most deadly weapon in history.
Drown
There was a pharmacist who saved a boy from drowning. The boys name was Adolf Hitler.
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Women are criminally underrated, they always have been. Even when we laud them for their historic accomplishments we still tend to play down the gravity of their contributions. There are way to women we need to know more about. Know your history people.
Redditor u/daaaaaahling wanted to know all about the ladies we don't know enough about by asking.... Who is an underrated woman from history who needs more exposure?