Humans are silly beings. Even our history books can testify to this fact. In its pages lie stories of wars sparked by a stolen bucket, farmers taking snails to court, and even emperors fleeing from an army of rabbits. These historical events sound so bizarre that they almost don’t seem real, but they are, which just shows how unserious people can be.
Folks under this popular thread had been sharing many more funny events from the past they know, which we gathered below for your entertainment. To find them, all you have to do is scroll down!
#1
In 1866 when going to war, Liechtenstein’s army of 80 men came back with 81 men after making a friend from the enemies side.
Image source: DavosLostFingers, Unknown, Liechtensteinisches Landesarchiv
#2
Potatoes were not very popular as a food in France. Like they were seen as fit only for animals. A pharmacist named Parmentier knew they were good food and wanted to popularize them among the working class. He got a 2 acre farm to grow potatoes and placed armed guards around it. People assumed armed guards meant something very valuable was growing there so they began to steal the potatoes.
That’s how potatoes became popular in France’s working class.
Image source: SuvenPan, François Dumont
#3
In WWII the Germans built a fake airfield (with wooden fake planes) as a decoy in Holland.
When they’d finally finished it, the British dropped a wooden b**b on it.
Image source: fly1away
#4
In 1945 the Americans were pushing through Germany.
General Eisenhower sent General Patton a message, instructing him not to take the city of Trier because it would require 4 divisions to seize the city.
Patton sent a message back saying “Have taken Trier with two divisions… what do you want me to do, give it back?”.
Image source: SayNoToStim, National Portrait Gallery
#5
In British India there was a little problem with cobras. The obvious solution was to put a bounty on them. The only problem was that the price for each cobra the British were offering was greater than the cost of breeding and raising a cobra. The result was people breeding tons of snakes to claim the bounty. When the government realized what was happening they scrapped the whole program. People raising the now worthless cobras set them loose.
The end result was a big cobra problem.
Image source: GeneralMyGeneral, kuritafsheen77
#6
The Whisky War will never not make me smile. Hans Island is a tiny rock between Canada and Greenland. When I say tiny I mean like 0.5 square miles. The Danes and Canadians both laid claim to the island because of a weird loophole in a treaty sometime in the 70s, but seeing as how it is literally just a rock sticking up out of the ocean neither really cared. The militaries of the countries took turns showing up, planting a flag and a funny note, and leaving their “enemies” a bottle of liquor (usually Canadian whisky or Danish schnapps). They even took out Google ads good naturedly claiming the island and poking fun at their “enemy”. In 2022 they signed a treaty splitting the island between each other, thus technically making the two countries land neighbors.
Image source: HoopOnPoop
#7
The South African parliament was in sitting and as a guest speaker a prominent author and poet would speak to the parliamentarians.
During his presentation he stated that he understands that language is a difficult concept for some of them to understand, because half of parliamentarians are donkeys.
The were very upset and stated that he needs to retract the statement, he then stated ok, half of parliamentarians are not donkeys.
They accepted the apology.
Image source: SA_Swiss
#8
Ancient Korea had special recording officials, whose job was to record everything. They were considered separate from the government, so the emperor of the time wasn’t allowed to give them orders or tell them not to record something.
Of course, some emperors would try anyway.
On one occasion, King Taejong (15th century) fell off his horse while hunting. The recorder nearby wrote it down. The emperor insisted that it be removed from the record, and even tried to have the report destroyed.
This lead to some nonsense as the emperor kept destroying their work, but the recorders kept copying it and hiding it in increasingly obscure places. And of course, recorded the whole thing as it happened.
A few hundred years later, and the only thing that emperor is famous for is trying to hide the fact he fell off his horse.
Image source: lankymjc
#9
When Persian king Xerxes punished the sea for ruining his bridge.
He tried to build a bridge across the Dardanelles to get to Greece faster but storm destroyed the bridge.
>Infuriated with the sea, Xerxes ordered his soldiers to punish it by whipping it with chains 300 times and poking it with red-hot irons. Handcuffs were also tossed into the water to symbolize the sea’s submission to his authority.
Image source: _Norman_Bates, Darafsh
#10
In 1982 cartoonist Gary Larson drew a cartoon of a caveman giving a classroom lecture, pointing to the spikes of a stegasaurus dinosaur tail and calling that the thagomizer “after the late Thag Simmons.”
That particular arrangement of tail spikes had no name at the time, so scientists who were fans of Larson unofficially named it the thagomizer.
Image source: doublestitch
#11
The King of France annulled his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine because she failed to give him a male heir. The official reason given was consanguinity (they were too closely related.)
She promptly married Henry, Duke of Normandy (future King of England) 8 weeks after the annulment.
Over the following 13 years, they had 8 children together – including 5 boys.
The King of France, meanwhile, only had 1 son by his third marriage.
I will never not find it funny that she popped out 5 boys to her new husband straight after her being cast aside for being unable to have a boy.
Image source: FormalMango, pch.vector
#12
Rudy Giuliani at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
GloomyCamel6050:
The best part is that a worker at Four Seasons Total Landscaping received a call from the Republicans asking to book a podium and media backdrop for a press conference and the worker just smiled and agreed. He knew what was happening and allowed it to unfold.
Image source: Sys32768
#13
The 1904 Olympics Marathon in St Louis. It reads as a mockumentary.
The winner was later disqualified when it was discovered he ended up getting a ride from someone. Only 14 of the participants actually finished as the road they ran on was dusty and dust was causing many of them to not be able to breathe. One of the finishers took a nap. The eventual winner drank a concoction of strychnine, raw egg, and brandy. The designer of the course decided to test a theory he called “purposeful dehydration” so the course lacked water for the participants. The Cuban representative showed up in a long sleeve shirt and pants. Someone assisted him in cutting his pants into shorts. He raised money to make it to St Louis but when he reached New Orleans he gambled it all away and had to hitchhike the rest of the way. He was the one to take a nap after eating rotten fruit during the race and had stomach cramps. One of the racers collapsed and coughed up blood due to dehydration and had to have surgery for a dust lined esophagus. 4th place finisher got chased off course by a dog.
Image source: Seated_Heats, unknown
#14
The Kettle war. it was the 8th of october 1784.the Dutch kingdom and then Holy Roman Empire had a short naval battle and the only casualty was a kettle full of soup that got hit by a cannonball and that was the only shot that was fired.
Image source: AlwaysHappy4Kitties, Anton von Maron
#15
The Austrian army attacking itself in 1788, also known as the Battle of Karánsebes. It basically started out as a fight over schnapps between different units of the (multi-lingual) army which escalated into a full scale skirmish. Soldiers calling each other “Turci” (used as a slur as the Austrians were fighting the Ottomans at the time), as well as calls to stop the fight (“Halt! Halt”) being understood as “Allah! Allah!” didn’t help things either. The casualties of the battle are said to be up to 10,000, depending on which account you believe.
Image source: Freakoffreaks
#16
In the 1800s Rough and Ready, California voted to secede from the United States. It was short-lived as they voted to rejoin the union because they wanted to celebrate the 4th of July and the nearby city refused to sell alcohol to foreigners.
Image source: anon
#17
During the heights of the Cold War, somewhere deep in the halls of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, intelligence officers came up with the idea to parachute thousands of XL condoms labeled Medium onto the Soviets. The idea behind the operation was to undermine the morale of people living in the USSR by implying that the men of US were superior.
Image source: SuvenPan
#18
Everyone mentioning the Emu Wars – not even Australia’s funniest moment in history.
Harold Holt was the country’s Prime Minister in 1967 when he went for a swim in the ocean and went missing, presumed drowned … 2 years later they named the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Pool.
Image source: UsernamesSpusernames, Commonwealth Parliamentary Library official photograph
#19
During the Song dynasty, there was a poet and government official named Su Dongpo. One day he sent to his friend Chan Master Foyin, a Daoist priest on the other side of the lake he lived near, this poem:
>Bowing, Heaven within Heaven, I am the light that illuminates the boundless universe. The eight winds cannot move me, who am seated mindfully upon the purple golden lotus.
Foyin sent a response message:
>FART [yes, just the one word, written in massive font that took up the whole page]
Naturally, Dongpo was furious, and immdiately dashed to to Foyin demanding he explain himself. Foyin answered thusly:
>Oh, so the eight winds cannot move you, but one fart sends you across the lake?
#DaoBurn.
Image source: Valuable-Banana96
#20
During the Salem trials a farmer sued a snail because it was loitering on his land, on Sunday when the snail did not show up it was marked as absent and guilty.
Image source: Saythatfivetimesfast, wirestock
#21
When Belgium broke the record of “days without a government”, they celebrated, had a beer and carried on with their lives.
No chaos, disruption or rioting.
Image source: anon
#22
Until 1896, Abyssinia, now known as Ethiopia, had no electricity. The emperor was thrilled by the invention of the electric chair, and ordered 3 of them. But he couldn’t get them to work, as the country didn’t have electricity. He then used one of them as his imperial throne.
Image source: CessnaBlackBelt
#23
Andrew Jackson taught a parrot how to swear and it had to be removed from his funeral because it upset the attendees.
Image source: DisThrowaway5768, Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl
#24
The con man who sold the Eiffel Tower twice and got away with it.
Image source: drunk_haile_selassie, s.salvador
#25
One game where Michael Jordan scored 69 points and Stacey King scored 1, a reporter asked Stacey what he thought of playing in that game and he stated “I will always remember this as the night that Michael Jordan and I combined to score seventy points.”.
Image source: ctopherv
#26
Dwight D Eisenhower’s wife Mary was known as “Mamie”, a nickname that she’s acquired when younger. She was called this by everyone she met and insisted on it.
Well, not with everyone.
The Eisenhowers loathed Senator McCarthy and his famous witch-hunts. So this led to a situation when McCarthy was presented to the First Lady at the White House and referred to her as ‘Mamie’, to which she replied:
“Senator McCarthy, my maid calls me ‘Mamie’. The cop in the street calls me ‘Mamie’, as does the garbageman. You will call me ‘Mrs. Eisenhower’”.
Image source: Scotsgit73
#27
Qin Shi Huang managing to back away from Jing Ke’s assassination attempt and managing to outrun him by running down the hallway and circling a pillar until his retainers arrived.
Yakety Sax worthy moment.
Image source: Skylair13
#28
Mary Toft convincing a load of doctors and clergymen, including the personal doctor to the King of England, that she could give birth to rabbits.
Image source: Apart_Park_7176, John Laguerre
#29
Karl XII of Sweden almost caused a serious diplomatic incident when he, in the middle of diplomatic talks at the Russian capital, disappeared without a trace.
After several hours of frantic searching, angry shouting and accusations, a stableboy finally revealed what had happened:
The king had decided that he didn’t want to waste anymore time with “meaningless nonsense” and decided to ride back to Sweden, alone, in the middle of the night without telling anyone except the stableboy who helped him get his horse ready.
Do note that the main topic of discussion was apparently the potential marriage between a Russian princess and the king so, you know, ouch…
Image source: anon
#30
The small German town of Rothenburg has wheels heavily featured on its coat of arms. In the 17th century it was under attack and faced almost certain destruction. Before the invading army decimated the town the general took a tour through their famously beautiful cathedral. The main hall of this cathedral was covered in the town coat of arms. The general looked around and said something to the effect of “I wish I could take the cathedral back home with me” and without missing a beat the priest said “you can, it has wheels!” The general laughed so hard at that dad joke he spared the town. And you just *know* the priest was absolutely insufferable after that.
Image source: tanksandthefunkybun
#31
The 2021 Suez Canal obstruction.
captaintrips_1980:
That was my Halloween costume two years ago. I teach at a high school and had it rigged up with horns, so I blocked the hallways and classroom doors. I almost legit got stuck when I had to go up some stairs.
Image source: manicpixie_horseboi
#32
In the 1950s, two guys ended up controlling 98% of the onion market in the US, which was done by convincing the farmers that grew them to sell to them otherwise they would flood the market with onions. A little bit later, they flooded the market with onions to the point where a 50lb bag of onions went for 10 cents, which was less than the bag containing them. These guys ended up making millions off of this, and because of them, trading onion futures in the US is now banned.
Image source: spacewulf28
#33
Napoleon was forced to flee from an army of rabbits.
Image source: Anarchaeologist
#34
When the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes were laying siege on the Aztec capitol of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs were holding out a lot longer than expected. Apparently the city being built on a lake, among a complex canal system and out of almost entirely fireproof materials, was something of an advantage to them.
One day, one of the conquistadors with Cortes says, “Hey, guess what. I know how to build a trebuchet. Let’s build one and show these indigenous what’s what.” (I may be paraphrasing here but that was the general sentiment recorded by Bernal Diaz, who was present at the time, in his record of events ‘The Conquest of New Spain’.)
The Aztecs also recorded the incident on their side. They watched from across the lake as a large piece of complicated-looking machinery was constructed from wood on the shore. They weren’t sure what they were looking at, but knew it probably wasn’t good news for them. They watched, nervous but compelled by curiosity, as the payload consisting of a single large boulder was heaved into place on the strange device.
Then the wooden construction began to turn slowly—taking aim? And suddenly the counterweight is let loose—swinging heavily, heaving the boulder into the air!—landing a few dozen yards away in the lake.
The Aztecs continue to watch from afar. Looks like the Spanish are kinda yelling at each other about something. Lots of pointing, lots of raised voices. Guess that wasn’t exactly the effect they were going for.
On the Spanish side, it’s finally agreed that trebuchet payloads are like pancakes, first one is always kind of a dud, we all know that.
The Spanish commence to reload the trebuchet. Now that the Aztecs know what it’s supposed to do (kind of), they clear everyone out of the line of, uh, fire. They have plenty of time because it’s not exactly a speedy process to load it up.
The Spanish release another boulder payload. This one manages to knock a hole in the wall of the (now totally empty) marketplace. Annoying, but not exactly devastating.
The Aztecs watch as the Spanish argue some more, and then finally wheel the trebuchet away in shame. It is never seen again.
Image source: originalcondition
#35
Maybe not strictly funny, but I love the idea of professional incompetence resulting in the reunification of a nation: Gunther Schabowski was tasked with informing media of plans to open the border between east and West Berlin. Instead of explaining that this would be a slow gradual response, he said it would be with immediate affect as he hadn’t read the full briefing. Berliners rush the Berlin Wall, border guards can’t reasonably stop them, wall begins to fall, nation reunified. All because a mid level bureaucrat could not pay attention.
Image source: Boris_Nonce-son
#36
During the Mexican American war there was one particular battle where both sides had cannons and gunpowder, but due to a logistical [mistake] only one cannon ball between them. So they spent the entire battle firing the same cannon ball back and forth at each other.
Edited: wrong war
Edit 2: according to my source, who focused her history degree on the American South West, it was the Battle of Rio San Gabriel.
Wikipedia is vague in their description. They mention that there was issues with the ammo for the cannons, but don’t elaborate. My source is looking for the print sources she originally used.
Image source: korar67
#37
In formula one when Taki Inoue’s car caught on fire and whilst attempting to put it out he got ran over by the medical car that was coming to save him.
It’s the way he looks at the car after getting run over.
Image source: cecil_the-lion, Steve Gregory
#38
That one guy in Pompeii that survived the outbreak of the Vesuvius just to be crushed by this huge boulder hurtling through the air.
It‘s the 79AD version of being crushed by a falling piano.
Image source: PerPuroCaso
#39
When the Gulf War broke out the Iraqis just rounded up the men and put them in the military. There was an American who I believe was born in Iraq who had gone to visit his mother just before the war started. He was among those rounded up and put in the army. I would suspect he didn’t want to say, “but I’m American,” for his own safety. He wasn’t even issued a uniform. His unit was captured fairly quickly, but when they were all standing there surrounded by the American soldiers, this dude in a Chicago Cubs t-shirt stepped forward and, in English with no Iraqi accent whatsoever, said “what the hell took you guys so long?!”.
Image source: FatHoosier
#40
Shortly after the Allies landed at Normandy, a team of the OSS was dispatched to find a certain cross-section of wine from different regions in Germany and France – vintages from 1939-1943 – as a way to find out whether the Germans were processing Uranium. Uranium gets *everywhere* and even back in the 1940s the tiniest amounts of it would have found its way into the soil, then the grapes, then the wine. So the OSS went around and collected what they needed — and shipped it back to the office in London.
Where it was promptly drunk, because the guy who received the shipment didn’t know what it was for.
So the OSS had to go around and collect it again.
And it showed Germany had done nothing to process Uranium at that point.
Image source: CardboardSoyuz
#41
The Emu war.
Image source: iam4r33, Unknown author
#42
That time Fabio got hit in the face by a goose on a rollercoaster.
Image source: ContactHonest2406
#43
When potatoes first arrived in Russia and Peter I ordered people to grow them and eat them. They ended up eating the flowers and many people [perished] because of food poisoning. They began anti-potato protests which really confused the government. After a while Peter I realized what the problem was and then had to send people with instructions on how to eat potatoes.
Image source: No_Ride_9358
#44
The last invasion of Britain in 1797:
Upon landing, the French invasion force appear to have run out of enthusiasm for the ‘cunning plan’. Perhaps as a result of years of prison rations, they seem to have been more interested in the rich food and wine the locals had recently removed from a grounded Portuguese ship. After a looting spree, many of the invaders were too drunk to fight and within two days, the invasion had collapsed: Tate’s force surrendered to a local militia force led by Lord Cawdor on February 25th 1797.
Image source: Phillyfuk
#45
During most of the Roman Republic and Empire, generals would keep several sacred chickens to consult whether to go to battle or not. They’d throw seed in front of the chickens: if they ate, it was battle; if they didn’t eat, they’d abstain.
During the First War with the Carthaginians, Publius Claudius Pulcher, a senator and naval commander known for his Larry David-like antics, went to consult the sacred chickens on whether they should attack the Carthaginian fleet. When Pulcher saw that they were not eating, he exclaimed, ‘Since they do not want to eat, let them drink!’ and had them thrown them into the sea. The naval battle was a catastrophe with most of the Roman fleet obliterated, and Pulcher was exiled.
Always abide the sacred chickens.
Edit: Additional antics by our man Clodius (how they haven’t made a historical comedy series out of his life, I’ll never understand)…
* In 68 BC he went to the East with brother-in-law who was proconsol in the war against Mithridates. Due to a percieved slight to his honor, Clodius started a mutiny among the troops. He then fled to Anatolia (Southern Turkey).
* In 67 BC he is kidnapped by pirates. Clodius demanded he be ransomed for a huge sum, vastly overestimating his worth. When the ransom came in from a local king and alley of Rome, it was a tiny amount. The pirates released Clodius nonetheless as they felt sorry for him.
* In 66 BC after retreating to Syria, he once again needs to flee the proconsol’s wrath for formeting unrest among the local troops
* In 65 BC Clodius accompanies the new govenor of Gaul and enriches himself through schemes involving forging wills, then having the wills’ heirs m******d
* 62 BC would see Clodius’ chef-d’hoeuvre of antics with the Bona Dea scandal. The Bona Dea was a sacred meeting of high-born Roman women and the Vestal virgins to perform holy rites. No men were allowed, their entrance to the event being a sacriledge punishable by death. Our man Clodius, convinced Caesar’s wife Pompeia (who was in attendance) had the hots for him, dressed as a woman and snuck into the event. He was quickly discovered an brought to trial. He barely wins the trial through a combination of bribery and calling in favors.
Edit 2: I failed to list my favorite of Clodius’ comedic post-Bona Dea actions…
* 59 BC – With the aim of avenging himself against those who stood up to him in trial, Clodius concocts a plan where he is adopted by a Plebeian (lower-ranking) family and changes his name so he can be elected Tribune of the Plebs. Of note, the father in the family is considerably younger than him. Although he sees moderate populist support during his tenure, his plan for revenge, namely towards Cicero, ultimately fails.
Edit 3: I’ve stupidly confused Publius Claudius Pulcher (chicken anequdote) with his ancestor, Publius *Clodius* Pulcher (rest of the antics) who confusingly was also “Claudius” until he was adopted by Plebs and used the spelling more common to Plebs. The nuns would be lining up with rulers at this point, was I still in high school.
Image source: fulthrottlejazzhands
#46
The continued existence and political activities of Lord Buckethead and Vermin Supreme.
I will never ever stop finding them hilarious, particularly since their political platforms are frequently *better* than the non-satirical political parties they face.
Here’s Lord Buckethead’s 2017 manifesto:
* The abolition of the House of Lords, with the exception of Lord Buckethead
* Nuclear weapons: “A firm public commitment to build the 100-billion-pound renewal of Britain’s Trident weapons system, followed by an equally firm commitment, privately, not to build it. They’re secret submarines, so no one will ever know. It’s a win-win.”
* Free bicycles for all to “combat obesity, traffic congestion, and bike theft”.
* Reducing the voting age to 16 and restricting voting beyond the age of 80
* Instead of Theresa May’s commitment to bring back grammar schools, Buckethead would build “gamma” schools founded on three principles: “One, better funding for teachers, to attract bright graduates. Two, increased facilities for children, especially playing fields. Three, if any child misbehaves three times, they are blasted into deep space, with the parents provided with a lovely fruit basket, by way of consolation or celebration, depending on the child. Discipline is key”.
* A referendum on whether or not to have another Brexit referendum.
* Legalise the hunting of fox hunters
* Nationalise pop singer Adele
* Exile of right-wing columnist Katie Hopkins to the “Phantom Zone”.
* Regeneration of Nicholson’s Shopping Centre, Maidenhead.
* The cessation of arms sales to Saudi Arabia so that Britain can purchase laser weaponry from Lord Buckethead.
Image source: Ruadhan2300
#47
Switzerland, a neutral country, accidentally invading our smaller neighbour Lichtenstein.
Image source: Xenon_Vrykolakas
#48
Fyre Fest.
Everything about that disaster yeilded some of the worlds greatest memes.
Image source: Dirtface40
#49
In 1992, then president, George H. W. Bush vomited on the Japanese prime minister.
Image source: EnoughRub3987
#50
How about Diogenes meeting Alexander the Great?
It was in Corinth that a meeting between Alexander the Great and Diogenes is supposed to have taken place. These stories may be apocryphal. The accounts of Plutarch and Diogenes Laërtius recount that they exchanged only a few words: while Diogenes was relaxing in the morning sunlight, Alexander, thrilled to meet the famous philosopher, asked if there was any favour he might do for him. Diogenes replied, “Yes, stand out of my sunlight.” Alexander then declared, “If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes.” To which Diogenes replied, “If I were not Diogenes, I would still wish to be Diogenes”. In another account of the conversation, Alexander found the philosopher looking attentively at a pile of human bones. Diogenes explained, “I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave.
Image source: anon
#51
The beer riots in Bavaria, Germany.
German people won’t upset a lot, but when King Ludwig I of Bavaria decreed a tax on beer in 1844, the crowds of urban workers started a riot and beat up the police. The army did nothing, so the rioters damaged several breweries and governement buildings, etc. Only after decreeding a 10% price reduction of beer, the civil order could be reestablished.
King Ludwig even abdicated after the riots, letting his son King Maximilian II take over the throne.
Image source: LatteEspresso
#52
A 1631 publication of the Bible caused an uproar when it was discovered that one of the Ten Commandments had been misprinted to read ‘Thou shalt commit adultery.’
Image source: jewyouevenlift
#53
President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit while paddling around in a rowboat.
The president was minding his own business rowing around a small pond and fishing when a rabbit left the shore and swam deliberately towards the boat, apparently crazed. Carter splashed the rabbit with water, driving it away from the boat. According to Press Secretary Jody Powell:
“Upon closer inspection, the animal turned out to be a rabbit. Not one of your cutesy, Easter Bunny-type rabbits, but one of those big splay-footed things that we called swamp rabbits when I was growing up.
The animal was clearly in distress, or perhaps berserk. The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat.”
Staff back on shore initially didn’t believe the president’s account, but a photographer managed to capture the moment:
Carter’s political enemies used the incident as fodder to show that he was weak and claimed that his response to the rabbit attack incited the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan that same year.
Image source: bookem_danno, Wikipedia
#54
“They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.”
Last words of Union Gen. John Sedgwick.
Image source: UnzippedButton
#55
Dennis radar asking the police if they could track him through a floppy disk and them replying no so he sends the floppy disk.
Image source: Brookee79
#56
How Richard Nixon made Elvis a government agent and Elvis then almost immediately [taking advantage of] that power to stop a plane on the tarmac to pull a guy off and rough him up for stealing jewelry from Elvis at a party.
Image source: Intelligent-Hall621
#57
Lady Agnes, the wife of Canada’s first Prime Minister Johnny McDonald, rode the Canadian Pacific sitting in a candle box on the train’s cow-catcher for days.
The staff did everything to dissuade her because, you know, that is really dangerous, but McDonald said it was okay. The man really didn’t gaf.
Image source: anon
#58
Area 51 raid to “see dem aliens and clap their cheeks”
Run like Naruto to dodge bullets.
Image source: barwhalis
#59
In the Spanish Civil War, some Nationalist pilots attached live turkeys to supply drops intended for a garrison under siege, so it would slow the fall when they flapped their wings. And we all know that turkey is also delicious.
Image source: Maso_TGN
#60
Tycho Brahe. He was known to be exceedingly vain for a guy with a prosthetic nose (lost the real one in a duel). He was attending some kind of awards ceremony in which he was to receive one. He had to urinate, but he didn’t want to leave the room and miss his big moment. So he held it until his bladder ruptured.
Image source: FoldedaMillionTimes
#61
The Pig War (1859)
Image source: Phantommy555
#62
The CIA Spy Cat that was released to eavesdrop on a Soviet agents in a park in DC and was almost instantly ran over by a taxi.
Image source: Other-Barry-1
#63
The origin of the story “slower than molasses in January.” While sad and funny at the same time, it still makes me chuckle.
Image source: capnmerica08
