Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Most Terrifying Historical Facts They Know

People Share The Most Terrifying Historical Facts They Know
Gerasimov174/GettyImages

History is full of infamous disasters one can't imagine experiencing in their lifetimes.


The same can probably be said of our ancestors if they became privy to some of the horrific events that have occurred in our modern era.

Which are the most frightening?

That is exactly what Redditor dat_b_o_i asked strangers on the internet in the subReddit titled:

"What is an terrifying historical fact that you know?"

Remnants from the past still pose risks.

Undetonated

"There is a missing hydrogen bomb somewhere off the beach where my family vacations..."

– paulfromatlanta

"Tybee Island AKA Savannah Beach"

'The Tybee Island mid-air collision was an incident on February 5, 1958, in which the United States Air Force lost a 7,600-pound (3,400 kg) Mark 15 nuclear bomb in the waters off Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia, United States. During a practice exercise, an F-86 fighter plane collided with the B-47 bomber carrying the bomb. To protect the aircrew from a possible detonation in the event of a crash, the bomb was jettisoned. Following several unsuccessful searches, the bomb was presumed lost somewhere in Wassaw Sound off the shores of Tybee Island.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Tybee_Island_mid-air_collision

– paulfromatlanta

Stranded Samples

"when the USSR collapsed, multiple nuclear weapons and boxes full of vials of smallpox were lost."

– User Deleted

Nuclear Weapons Gaffe

"Since 1950, there have been 32 'Broken Arrow' incidents, out of which 6 of these warheads were not recovered or accounted for. It remains unknown how many such incidents the Soviet Union had."

"Sleep well tonight, my friends."

– Raetekusu

These fascinating historical facts might be unfamiliar to most people.

Catchy Beat

"The dancing plague of 1518, or dance epidemic of 1518, was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (modern-day France), in the Holy Roman Empire from July 1518 to September 1518. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people took to dancing for weeks."

– ponch1620

Kids In Battle

"during the paraguayan war, paraguay sent 3500 poorly armed children between 9 to 15 yo, wounded soldiers and old men to face brazilian army (20 thousand men), because most of paraguayan combatants were killed. the date of this battle is now children's day in Paraguay."

– anylifeonmars_

The Next Step Could Be Your Last

"Near Mt St Helens, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and before the volcano erupted in 1980, there were areas where you were not allowed off the footpaths. This was because Douglas Firs, which can reach 200ft, were buried in ash in prior eruptions, then rotted away. So you could step on a relatively thin layer of old ash, break through, and fall any number of feet into what amounted to a crevasse or a well."

– quikdogs

The following examples depicted some of the most disturbing ways people have perished.

Watery Grave

"A lot of sailors survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but were trapped in their sunken ships. There was no way to rescue them. People had to listen helplessly to the men banging on the inside of the hulls for days until they gradually went quiet."

– heatherbyism

"Humanity's Greatest Horrors"

"I went to the Killing Fields and was depressed beyond belief but also became intensely aware of the significance of being at the site of one of humanity's greatest horrors."

– zencontentdude

Ominously Beautiful Locale

"This reminds me very much of the suicide cliffs in Saipan. Wild story. Basically during World War Two, Saipan was occupied by the Japanese. When word got out that the United States army was coming to the island the Japanese soldiers began telling everyone that Americans will come eat them."

"The people of Saipan and Japanese living there started to throw themselves off these cliffs with their children and families. I forget the exact number but it was a massive amount of people."

"Here is a link"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Cliff

"While I was working in Saipan it was a crazy place to be. There is a wall with a ton of names on it as a memorial to those who died. Incredibly beautiful scenery with just a horrible past."

– thingsthatgomoo

Buried Alive

"in the warsaw ghettos they would pile up body’s of people that might have not even been dead. someone who collapsed could have been tossed to the side and be covered with other bodies, slowly crushing them and suffocating them. until they did actually die."

– Wise_Stock

The thread was full of some of the most frightening events in history that still haunts many people today.

These appalling and horrific events reinforce the significance of why we should learn from our past so as to never experience what previous generations have suffered.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshots from Priscilla Houliston's TikTok video
@the1870studio/Tiktok

Woman Who Bought An Old Church For Under $40k To Live In Explains How She Did It

It's becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to find a home for those who do not already have one or who are in dire need of an upgrade.

TikToker Priscilla Houliston is here to teach us another way: seeking out old churches and other obscure properties that can be re-zoned as a residential home property.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Pentagon Just Banned Press Photographers Over 'Unflattering' Photos Of Pete Hegseth—And The Internet Got To Work

The internet reacted exactly as you might expect after the Pentagon announced it would ban some press photographers from briefings about the Iran war due to their "unflattering" photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Here's a silly one, just because.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @italiangirl1130's TikTok video
@italiangirl1130/TikTok

Italian Exchange Student's Reaction To American Host Mom Taking Him To Olive Garden Is An Instant Classic

A joy that not nearly enough people get to have during high school is hosting an international student who comes to visit for either one semester or perhaps even an entire year to experience the world and the educational system from another country.

Tiktoker Rhonda, who goes by @italiangirl1130 on the platform, currently has the pleasure of hosting Alessandro, and her family has already filmed a variety of antics on the platform, trying to give the teen the best American experience they can.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @ali.fragster, @pluto_theservicedog, and @thatflippingagent's TikTok videos
@ali.fragster/TikTok; @pluto_theservicedog/TikTok: @thatflippingagent/TikTok

Woman's Video Shooing Kid At Disneyland Away From Her Service Dog Sparks Heated Debate

A massive debate has taken over TikTok about who needs to be protected, children or service dogs or both, and it all started with a video taken at Disneyland.

TikToker @pluto_theservicedog frequently posts videos of her travels with her service dog, Pluto, and she also creates informative videos about how the general public should interact with service dogs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hudson Williams (left) and François Arnaud (right)
Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images; Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

'Heated Rivalry' Stars Call Out The Show's Toxic Fans And Their 'Hateful Love' With Blunt Statement

Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and François Arnaud took to social media to call out hateful comments from some of the show’s fans.

Both Williams, who plays Shane Hollander in the series, and Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter, have recently been the targets of a wave of hostile online commentary. Their message addressed viewers who were trying to pit the actors and other cast members against one another.

Keep ReadingShow less