15 People Share Strange and Insane Chains of Events from History

Author image for Eric Lund
Eric Lund
Aug 26, 2019 1:00 PM EDT

One thing leads to another. Sometimes one small change, like the death of one noble or the  use of some kind of pesticide, can cause unintended consequence that reverberate throughout time and space. A lot of this stuff has ramifications to this day. Sometimes they end with a great big historical "F*ck you".

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  • 01
    fail - Text - 2 Tuck_Pock 20.2k points 5 days ago We learnt about this is school: in the 1950s in Borneo they were suffering from an outbreak of malaria, so, with the help of the world health organization, they sprayed DDT all over the island to kill the mosquitos. But the DDT also killed the islands wasps which helped control the population of thatch eating catapillars, thatch that people's homes were made of, and thanks to this, their roofs began to collapse. Many other small insects started t
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  • 02
    fail - Text - 5 days ago carl_888 13.2k points Horses evolved in North America, spread during pre-historical times into Asia, and then later went extinct in North America. If things had been only slightly different, horses could have been native only to the Americas, or just completely extinct by pre-history. Not having horses would have made a huge difference to Asian & European history: no Mongol invasions, no European knights.
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  • 03
    fail - Text - TollinginPolitics 5.5k points 5 days ago The Miranda Supreme Court decision is one of the best. His case make it so that when you are arrested the Police have to tell you your rights and it became a staple of american TV. What most people do not know is that Ernesto Miranda the defendant in the case was a crappy guy and about 20 years later he was playing poker illegally in a basement of a bar. He got was cheating and when the people he was playing with found out they stabbed him w
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  • 04
    fail - Text - Frenchorican 4.7k points 5 days ago The events that led and culminated in the War of the Bucket for sure. Essentially one Italian State who followed Holy Roman Emperor stole a bucket from another Italian State who followed the pope. War broke out, The papal state highly outnumbered the HRE state, but HRE state won. Then stole another bucket. Was a trip for sure when I learned about this one.
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  • 05
    fail - Text - EdithGoettl 11.7k points 5 days ago The British government wanted to get rid of the cobras in India, so they started offering money for dead cobras. To take advantage of this, many people started breeding cobras to kill for the money, so they stopoed buying dead cobras onve they realized it was going on. All of the cobra breeders released the snakes and there ended up being even more cobras than there had been in the first place
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  • 06
    fail - Text - 5 days ago wekillpirates 645 points The immovable ladder! Guy leaves ladder leaning against wall of the church of the Holy sepulchre in Jerusalem some time before 1728. A thing called the Status Quo happens in 1757 which means don't touch shit on holy sites. Ladder is still there.
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  • 07
    fail - Text - Poplo1232 9.9k points 5 days ago edited 4 days ago Pretty much the fall of the Berlin Wall. The USSR was already crumbling by this point and so they agreed to allow the wall to be opened for a bit. Well the guy in charge over in Berlin didn't really get the point across to the public very well and as a result everyone assumed that the wall was permanently coming down. This led to pretty much all of East Berlin flocking to the wall and demanding to be let through. The guards there k
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  • 08
    fail - Text - mitchade 4.4k points 5 days ago edited 5 days ago President Andrew Jackson was walking out of the Capitol Building with his buddy Congressman Davey Crockett. A man approached them, drew a gun, but it misfired. The man drew a second gun, which also misfired. Andrew Jackson, fairly old at this point, lifted his cane and began beating the would be assassin. Normally, people would react with "justice served," but Jackson was beating him so badly that Davey Crockett had to pull Jackson
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  • 09
    fail - Text - Jimeh86 612 points 5 days ago edited 4 days ago In the 17th century, most of Europe was on the verge of famine, but potatoes were in plentiful supply. The general population thought of the vegetables as disgusting so just didn't eat them, amazingly. Frederick the great, the king in Prussia, grew fields of potatoes and stationed guards to protect them, saying no one is allowed to eat these. Soon enough people were stealing potatoes, and then everyone wanted them Edit: he was the kin
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  • 10
    fail - Text - Zacoftheaxes 9.1k points 5 days ago Recent history but it still boggles my mind. Jeri Ryan gets cast on Star Trek: Voyager as Seven of Nine. Jeri Ryan divorces her husband. Her ex husband, Jack, with a really strong resume and a lot of money, announces a Senate campaign in the state of Illinois in 2004. His entry in the race is enough that it is now considered a tossup. Because both Jeri and Jack are public figures journalists push for their divorce records to be released and a maj
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  • 11
    fail - Text - danwhite89 1.8k points 5 days ago Arab Spring is recent history, but still history. Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, has his wares confiscated. Unable to combat the police, he goes to the local governor to ask for his wares back, but is refused even a meeting. In response, Bouazizi sets himself on fire in public. It's not the sole reason, but certainly the catalyst for the Arab Spring, which includes civil war in many countries, leaders being ousted and in cases like Gad
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  • 12
    fail - Text - batmans-uncle 8.5k points 5 days ago A Chinese man wanted to create a potion to become immortal instead he accidentally created gunpowder
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  • 13
    fail - Text - Santosp3 7.6k points 5 days ago During the black plague, people thought the cats were spreading the disease. They then killed all the cats. The problem is that the cats killed rats, the real source of the plague. The plague now spread faster
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  • 14
    fail - Text - pretend_shower 1.3k points 5 days ago British officers in India in the 18th century were eating quinine powder to help treat malaria. Quinine is so bitter on its own so they started putting it in their club soda to make easier to down. They invented tonic water. Brought the water back to Europe and they started putting it in their gin. Hence, gin and tonic
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  • 15
    fail - Text - CocoJuka 6.8k points 5 days ago Probably how Pepsi briefly became the 6th largest military in the world In 1959, President Eisenhower wanted to show the Soviet Union how great America was, so the government set up an "American National Exibition" and sent Vice Pres Nixon there Well Nixon and Soviet leader Khrushchev got in an arguement over Communism vs Capitalism. As it got heated the President of Pepsi stepped in and was like, "Bro Khrushchev, chill out, have a pepsi." Khruschev
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cool history strange military ridiculous dumb awful weird stupid chain
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