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
Make us preferred on Google

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

Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

New Photos Of Trump On Air Force One Seemingly Reveal His Alarming Plans For The Kennedy Center

Viral photos of President Donald Trump have sparked alarm after they were captured by a Getty photographer, showing President Donald Trump looking at what appeared to be a posterboard presentation about the future of the Kennedy Center.

Only a small portion of the poster board could be seen, but the legible text suggested a connection to the Kennedy Center and included the word “DEMOLISH." The images were captured by Getty Images photographer Brendan Smialowski.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hannah Revels
@hannahhrevels/TikTok

Woman Recounts 'Craziest' Experience At Restaurant While Reality TV Show Was Filming There—And Yikes

There's a saying about being a "jack of all trades" that's popular for a reason: basically, you cannot be the best at everything, and if you try to be the master of juggling too many plates, you're likely to drop some of them.

TikToker Hannah Revels went out for a double date, including her husband and a couple of friends, to a restaurant that she did not disclose. It's supposed to be a nicer restaurant that was recently renovated, and it's also located in Charleston, South Carolina, so celebrity sightings are fairly common.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Mike Johnson; Zohran Mamdani

Mike Johnson Called Out For His Blatant Hypocrisy After Accusing Mamdani And AOC Of 'Laughing' At 9/11 Victims

During a press conference on Tuesday, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson regurgitated a previously disproven claim that New York progressive Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani were laughing while the names of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were read during the 25th anniversary commemoration in NYC.

The story first made the rounds of MAGA influencers on the day of the memorial ceremonies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @phlynnmartin's TikTok
@phlynnmartin/TikTok

Guy Sparks Debate After Calling Out 'Nightmare' Date Who Racked Up $330 Bill At Frozen Yogurt Shop In Viral TikTok

TikToker Phlynn Martin may not be crying over spilled milk, but he might be ready to cry over money spent on frozen yogurt.

After going on a first date with "a friend," Martin sat in his car and shared the story of going to the popular Melbourne-based frozen yogurt chain, Yo Chi. He looked increasingly shocked and perplexed over what he clearly perceived as offense after offense to proper dating etiquette.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @sailors.mama's TikTok
@sailors.mama/TikTok

TikToker Shares The Outfits She Wore To School Her Senior Year To Hide Her Teen Pregnancy—And Viewers Are Stunned

Most people would agree that high school is tough, from going through puberty and figuring out who you are, to trying to decide what to do for a career and where you might like to go for trade school or college, and maybe experiencing your first love.

Also, going through teen pregnancy during that time takes the high school experience to a whole other level.

Keep ReadingShow less