19 Absolutely Bizarre Historical Events I Can Hardly Believe Actually Took Place

I don't attraction what the jocks successful movies accidental — humanities events are always chill to larn about. So, erstwhile I saw this post connected the fashionable Ask History leafage from idiosyncratic Blacksmith_Most asking, "What’s the weirdest humanities lawsuit that we person grounds for?" I was decidedly intrigued. The examples radical gave were each truthful interesting, I conscionable had to share. So, present are immoderate of the best:

1. "Trees existed for millions of years earlier bacteria evolved to interruption down wood. So for millions of years, trees grew and died but ne'er rotted, piling up until lightning sparked fires much monolithic than immoderate quality volition ever witness."

2. "The Cadaver Synod, successful the twelvemonth 897. Pope Stephen decides that the erstwhile pope was a heretic, truthful helium puts him connected proceedings posthumously. Only, helium physically puts Dead Pope connected trial, arsenic in, disinters his corpse, props the rotting assemblage up successful a chair, and denounces it for heresy, pronounces him guilty, cuts his fingers disconnected (so helium can't contented posthumous blessings), and chucks his assemblage successful the Tiber. Dead Pope washes up connected shore, and radical commencement attributing miracles to his body. Stephen is rapidly deposed, aboriginal dies successful prison, and the Catholic religion is each like, 'let's conscionable unreal this ne'er happened.'"

3. "A famously unusual coincidence...some of the archetypal shots of the American Civil War were fired astatine the location of Wilmer McLean, erstwhile his farmhouse astatine Manassas was utilized arsenic a headquarters by a Confederate wide and subsequently shelled by Union artillery. Mr. McLean had his capable of warfare aft that acquisition and decided to determination his household begetter distant from the warring to Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Appomattox didn't enactment retired of the crosshairs, however, and would beryllium the tract of 1 of the war's past campaigns, with McClean's location erstwhile again utilized by wide officers, this clip arsenic the tract for Lee's surrender to Grant. Because of that, it has been said that the warfare began and ended successful 1 man's home."

4. The Halifax Explosion: "The largest man-made detonation anterior to the atomic weaponry led to innovations successful ocular country and the founding of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Two ships colliding successful Halifax harbor during WWI resulted successful a 2.9 kiloton detonation that caused a 60-foot tsunami, killed astir 2,000 people, and resulted successful astir 200 oculus removals. Nearly 1 1 successful each 50 radical successful municipality mislaid an oculus owed to flying debris and shattered glass. Innovations successful the attraction of pain victims and pediatric surgeries besides resulted from the explosion."

5. The Great Molasses Flood. "A 25-foot question of molasses rushing down a Boston thoroughfare is beauteous weird."

9. "Before the invention of integer photography, aboriginal spy satellites had to nonstop their photographs backmost physically successful bid for the movie to beryllium developed. How did they bash this? The movie was enactment into capsules that parachuted down to Earth, and were snatched retired of the aerial by specially modified Air Force cargo planes."

11. "I was funny 1 time and Googled erstwhile the past US Civil War veteran died, and it was 1956, meaning he'd witnessed the Civil War with each its cannons and muskets close done to the atomic bomb. Both eras are a hellhole of a leap successful exertion and surviving standards, and I'd ne'er thought of however adjacent they were unneurotic until then."

16. "The 1814 London Beer Flood. A vat of brew containing much than a quarter of a cardinal gallons of beer burst astatine Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery, resulting successful a flood of brew that killed 8 radical and devastated the surrounding neighborhood, a not-terribly salubrious country of London known arsenic St. Giles. The lawsuit was ruled An Act of God, and the institution was not required to wage damages, but the nonaccomplishment of the brew and the harm to their gathering were severe. The institution avoided bankruptcy lone by a crown refund connected the excise taxation already paid connected the beer; it remained successful concern until 1961."

18. "By the 15th century, anyone with acquisition knew however large the Earth was — but immoderate crackpot mathematician, who 'proved' the Earth was fractional the size with immoderate sketchy math. No 1 took him seriously, prevention for Christopher Columbus. He wholly bought into it and began going each implicit Europe looking for wealth to marque the voyage. No 1 was interested; everyone told him helium was unhinged and sent him away. Spain initially passed, but the 2nd clip helium asked, they reconsidered. Spain figured helium mightiness observe immoderate caller islands retired there, and it would beryllium amended if helium were moving for them and not England oregon France. So they gave him the money, not truly expecting much. The worst that could hap is helium sails off, and nary 1 ever sees oregon hears from him again."

So, what d'you think? Feel escaped to stock your ain favourite bizarre past information successful the comments below. Or, if you privation to constitute successful but similar to enactment anonymous, you tin cheque retired this anonymous form! Who knows — your remark could beryllium included successful a aboriginal BuzzFeed article.

Please note: Some comments person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.