Surrealism as a term has been around since 1917 when it was introduced by Guillaume Apollinaire to describe the work of Erik Satie.
Originally applied to the visual and performing arts, surrealism expanded to become a cultural movement.
Leaders of the movement include Breton, Carrington, Dalí, Ernst, Fini, Magritte, and Oppenheim.
Now the term represents anything dreamlike or seemingly too strange for reality.
Films like Brazil, Eraserhead, El Topo, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Swiss Army Man are often labeled as surrealist cinema. Federico Fellini is considered a master of the style.
But what about real life?
Reddit user PaddedValls asked:
"What is, by far, the most surreal event to have ever happened in history?"
WWII POW András Toma Repatriated in 2000
"The last prisoner of war from WWII—András Toma—returned home in 2000, nearly sixty years after the fighting ended."
~ Durumbuzafeju
"On 16 September 2000, he returned to his hometown of Sulyánbokor, Hungary, where he was reunited with his siblings."
"Since he was never discharged, Toma was promoted to sergeant major by the Minister of Defense, and since his military service had been continuous, his decades of accumulated unpaid salary were paid in full."
"Toma, then aged 74, moved in with his half-sister Anna, who cared for him until his death in 2004. He was buried with military honours."
~ dickonajunebug
*András Toma was a Hungarian soldier taken prisoner by the Soviet Red Army in 1944. He was discovered in a Russian psychiatric hospital in 2000. He is believed to be the last prisoner of war from WWII to be repatriated.
Battle of the Eclipse in 585 BC
"The Battle of the Eclipse—also known as the Battle of Halys—took place in the early 6th century BC in Anatolia—present-day Turkey. It involved the Medes and the Lydians."
"The sudden darkness from a solar eclipse led both parties to halt the fighting and negotiate a peace agreement, ending a six-year war."
~ BeRad_NZ
Napoleon's Return to France in 1815
"Napoleon landing with 1,000 men in France and taking back control of the country in 3 weeks without a shot being fired."
~ HelicopterNatural
"Napoleon's whole life was so surreal."
"If it had been an alternate-history timeline, I would say it was implausible."
~ JolietJakeLebowski
Christmas Truce of 1914
"The WWI Christmas Truce of 1914, in which soldiers came across the battle lines to sing and play football against each other."
"Or, more precisely, the way soldiers on both sides went back to fighting when Christmas was over."
~ Melenduwir
"I wonder what the parting words were when the dinner was over."
"'Well, I better get going, got a busy day tomorrow shooting you guys'."
"'Not if I shoot you first'."
"'Merry Christmas!'."
"'Frohe Weihnachten!'."
~ NotBradPitt90
Night the Stars Fell in 1833
"The Night the Stars Fell in 1833. A meteor shower so intense fell over the southern United States that people thought the world was ending."
"Slave owners reportedly repented at the feet of their slaves, begging forgiveness for enslaving them. And then the next day when the world hadn't ended, I suppose, went right back to being complete b*stards."
"But the event was so memorable it was used as a touchstone moment slaves used to estimate their age for decades. Up until around 1920, people could say 'I musta been 8 years-old the night the stars fell' and thus historians could approximate their birth year."
~ DryTown
Boston Molasses Disaster in 1919
"The Great Molasses Flood of Boston in 1919."
"An enormous storage tank of molasses burst and 2.3 million U.S. gallons (8,700 cubic meters) of the thick syrup flooded the surrounding neighborhood in a wave traveling at 35 mph (56 kph)."
"21 people were killed and 150 were injured."
~ mom_with_an_attitude
"The first time I heard about this I remember thinking 'ha ha, I bet this looks funny'. Googled pictures and it's horrifying.
"Super weird to think sugar syrup murdered a whole bunch of people and caused millions in property damage."
~ supergooduser
Dancing Plague of 1518
"The dancing plague of 1518."
"Ergot poisoning."
~ Squode_the_Toad
* The dancing plague of 1518 or dance epidemic of 1518 began in July 1518 when a woman identified as Frau Troffea began to dance "fervently and uncontrollably" in a street in Strasbourg, Alsace—a disputed area between France and Germany that changed hands numerous times but is now part of France.
By August, the "dancing plague" had affected 400 victims and dancers were beginning to collapse. It is claimed—but unsubstantiated—some even died from stroke or heart attack. By early September, the outbreak began to subside.
Battle of Castle Itter in 1945
"There was a battle in WW2 where the Germans fought alongside allied forces against the SS and freed a famous tennis player. The Battle of Castle Itter took place on May 5, 1945—Germany officially surrendered on May 8.
"The Nazi surrender was imminent at this point, but there were some SS forces that were still fighting, so the Nazis, Americans and Austrians teamed up against the SS."
~ Best_Lengthiness3137
* The Battle of Castle Itter in Tyrol, Austria saw a combined force of U.S. Army, German Wehrmacht, one SS officer, Austrian resistance fighters and recently freed French prisoners of war (36 people total) take on 150-200 members of the Waffen-SS.
The French prisoners included former prime ministers, generals, tennis star Jean Borotra, and Charles de Gaulle's sister.
The small force held out until U.S. reinforcements arrived with only one death and four injuries. An unknown number of SS troops were killed, but approximately 100 were taken prisoner after the battle.
Tunguska Event of 1908
"Tunguska Event of 1908. This incident involved a massive explosion in Siberia, believed to be caused by the airburst of a comet or meteoroid."
"It flattened an estimated 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometers, yet incredibly, it caused no confirmed human fatalities."
"The event’s cause remained mysterious for decades, fueling various scientific and fantastical theories, making it a prime candidate for one of the most surreal events in human history due to its scale, mystery, and the dramatic visuals it must have produced."
~ surfer808
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie of Hohenberg in 1914
"The escalation of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie from a manageable situation to World War 1."
"I'm sure everyone in the region was unable to process it."
~ Odd_Mood_3417
"My favourite fact about this is that the assassination squad had utterly failed in their original plan to attack the Austro-Hungarian heir on his way to a reception. After the reception, the royal car took a wrong turn."
"The driver went to reverse and stalled right where Gavrilo Princip happened to be standing, who then stepped up onto the footboard and shot Franz and Sophie at point blank range."
"Almost comedic."
~ badmother
Bronze Age to Nuclear Age to Space Age
"The fact that there is more time between the first bronze weapons and the first steel weapons—about 4,400 years—than there is between the first steel weapons and nuclear weapons—about 1,045 years."
"It took us thousands of years to figure out how to fly, but less than 70 years to then put a man on the moon."
~ Fyrrys
"One of the Wright brothers—Orville—lived long enough to see an airplane drop nuclear bombs on on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
~ xenomorphs_at_disney
Chicago River Incident in 2004
"The Dave Matthews Band Chicago River incident."
"On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) of human waste from the bus's blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto an open top passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below.”
~ aloe_veracity
Homo Sapiens Sapiens
"A bunch of weak a** apes becoming the most dominant species on Earth."
~ Not-Post-Malone
Cambrian Explosion 538.8 million years ago
"This may be stretching the definition of an 'event' a bit, but the Cambrian Explosion."
"It's the period where evolution was just kinda trying sh*t out and seeing what happened."
"The optimal numbers and configurations of limbs, sensory organs, and random appendages hadn't been worked out yet."
~ paraworldblue
Four Seasons Total Landscaping in 2020
"Four Seasons Total Landscaping—the press conference mocked 'round the world."
~ itsthatmattguy
"That is the gift that keeps on giving."
"When I’m old, senile, and on my death bed, I’m going to be laughing my head off, and my family—or care workers, more likely—are going to be wondering what the hell is wrong with me, and it’ll be me reliving memories of Four Seasons Total Landscaping."
"Located next to Fantasy Island Adult Bookstore, and across the street from the crematorium."
~ Lil_Artemis_92
"If it was in a political satire, then you'd find it too unbelievable."
~ plantmic
As author Tom Clancy put it:
"The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense."
What events would you add to the list?