Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Historical Facts That Sound Unbelievable When You Read About Them Now

Reddit user bartertownbeer asked: 'What historical event is almost unbelievable when you read about it?'

History class might not have been our favorite subject in high school, but when we're willing to sit down and take a closer look at past events, it's interesting what you can find.

Some of what's listed beyond the history books, it's easier to imagine that it never happened at all.


Already taking notes, Redditor bartertownbeer asked:

"What historical event is almost unbelievable when you read about it?"


A Humorous Surrender

"America's capture of Guam in the Spanish-American war was pure comedy."

"The USS Charleston, one of the first steel-hulled cruisers ever built by the US, arrived at Guam and fired a warning shot over the Spanish fort."

"The Spanish garrison had not yet gotten word that there was a war on. They mistakenly thought the Charleston had fired a salute, a very respectful gesture. The Spanish wanted to return the salute, but the fort's gunpowder was depleted."

"So the Spanish sent a small delegation to the Charleston, expressing their apologies for being unable to return the salute, for a lack of gunpowder. Captain Henry Glass was grateful for this information, and cheerfully informed the Spanish that he would now accept their surrender."

"The surrender was formalized the following day, with no bloodshed."

- kms2547

A Lucky And Unlucky Man

"Croatian music teacher Frane Selak cheated death an astonishing seven times. He survived a train crash, a plane crash, a bus crash, two car explosions, and a car plunging off a cliff."

"After this unbelievable streak, he even won the lottery, solidifying his reputation as the world's luckiest unlucky man."

- badmother

Increased Oxygen Levels

"Ghengis Khan has been attributed to 40 million deaths. So many that farms reverted to forests in such a large amount, there was a slight global increase in oxygen levels."

"This can be detected in glacial ice of sufficient age and helps in dating. Not Internet dating (just clearing that one up). You can find pollen in the ice and then extrapolate the timeline."

- clockwork_cookie

Holy Molasses!

"The Great Molasses Flood."

"On January 15, 1919, a 50-foot tall molasses tank in Boston's North End burst, releasing two-point-three million gallons of molasses in a 25-foot wave."

"The wave, traveling at 35 miles per hour, destroyed buildings, damaged cars, and trapped horses. The flood killed 21 people, ranging in age from 10 to 78, and injured around 150 more."

"Many victims suffocated in the syrup."

"The rescue effort lasted four days, with responders struggling in quicksand-like conditions."

- mpking828

A World Of Opportunities

"The Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. There were so many technological advances presented at the same time, it must have been incredible to have been there."

- Tangboy50000

The Unsinkable Ship

"The story of the Titanic is still unbelievable to me. Not just the sinking, but how confident people were that the ship was 'unsinkable,' but the sheer scale of the disaster, with so many lifeboats not even being filled to capacity, and the class divisions that played out during the evacuation, it's like something out of a tragic novel."

"The fact that it happened over 100 years ago, but it still feels so relevant and surreal, shows how some events just stay with you. It’s hard to wrap your head around how such an advanced piece of technology at the time could have met such a brutal fate."

- Twilight_Nymph

The Horrors Of The Holocaust

"The Holocaust. The amount of death alone. Not including the soldiers and civilians who died during the Second World War. Blows my mind and it's almost unfathomable."

- siredrinks

The Christmas Truce

"The Christmas truce. It was this weird glimmer of light In a dark time."

- GallicPontiff

"And the brass made damn certain it didn't happen again."

"It was the candle of a bygone time flickering one last time. War was never nice, but after this, it became systemic destruction of human life on an industrial scale. No more room for things like humanity, understanding, forgiveness, or mercy."

- Ko-jo-te

The Battle Of The Emus

"The Great Emu War of 1932. Yes, Australia declared war on emus and lost. I can't make this up."

- BerryShadows

"Pretty much what happened was some farmers were complaining about emu's being overpopulated. The military sent out a few guys with guns, ran out of ammo and went home. That's about it."

"Emu: Three down."

"Australia: Thousands of rounds of ammunition and the pride of a nation."

- NinjaBreadManOO

Unexpected Consequences

"Before I got a full time teaching job, I had to substitute. I went to seven different schools in a high-income area, and not a single one taught them about this. This was three years ago in the USA."

"Every single one spent two days on the holocaust, two days on Japanese internment camps, and one day on WW2 itself. That was the WW2 unit."

"Students definitely walked away with no understanding of why anyone would go to war with Japan."

- Caraway_Lad

On A Roll

"Mutiny on the Bounty."

- Usual-Requirement-468

"Part of that story is the fact that Capt Bligh and some loyal men were put in an open boat, and successfully navigated over 3,600 miles (it is 3,400 miles from Ca to NY) losing only one man. He may have been an ahole but that is an unbelievable trip."

- Headoutdaplane

Standing Together

"The Revolutionary War!"

"Going beyond the general idea of farmers turned military men gathering together to beat one of the greatest forces in human history; when you read the details it seems like we are living in some bizarro world where the US actually won."

"So many battles were lucky, the soldiers endured such hardship during the winter and hot summers, no pay, no real barracks or consistent food, all to risk your life against a seemingly unstoppable opponent. The Colonial army got so lucky so many times against all odds to pull of one of the greatest victories in human history."

- jedi_trey

Out Of the Sky

"The number of planes that were shot down during World War II is higher than the total number of functioning planes currently on the earth in 2025."

- EndOftheGreat

Holding Space For Them

"When Japanese farmers were interned during WW2, there are cases of their neighbors buying their lands for super cheap to keep the land in order until their neighbors returned. There were, of course, people who seized the moment to gain land for themselves, but there were also good people who recognized that what happened to their neighbors was unjust."

"Similarly during the great depression, farmers hanging nooses from barns at auctions as a threat to bankers and anyone who tried to spend large amounts of money on the foreclosed property. The communities often worked together to buy back the property for the folks who lost it."

- Eeriedear

One Small Step For Man

"For me, it's the moon landing. Many people don't realize how far away it is. If the earth were the size of a tennis ball the moon would be about the size of a marble and located a little over two meters away."

"And this is vast blackness of space."

"It's one of the most amazing things we have done, in my opinion."

- Febulous


There's no question why these events are the ones that come to mind for these Redditors.

Sometimes, life is simply too fascinating to have been created from our own minds. Sometimes, it's just that unbelievable.

More from Trending

Elon Musk; Donald Trump
Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Musk Offers Thinly-Veiled Threat After Trump Tells Reporters He's Mulling Over Deporting Him

Billionaire Elon Musk offered a thinly-veiled threat to President Donald Trump after Trump told reporters he is mulling over deporting him amid their feud over the president's One Big Beautiful Bill, which Musk opposes because the package's $3 trillion price tag is diametrically opposed to his prior efforts to slash federal spending.

The bill, Republicans say, will pay for itself in large part due to cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs that Vice President JD Vance has described as "immaterial." But Musk earlier said he will work to unseat any Republicans who've supported "the biggest debt increase in history."

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Murkowski
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Lisa Murkowski Slammed After Criticizing Massive Budget Bill She Just Voted For

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was slammed after she claimed that President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill is "not there yet" despite casting the deciding vote to narrowly pass it before sending it back to the House.

In a marathon voting session, the Senate narrowly passed the legislation in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman listening to her boyfriend play guitar
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Things People Initially Found Attractive About Their Partner That Now Annoy Them

Being in a relationship can be wonderful, but it's not without its ups and downs.

In order for it to work, we have to allow it to grow and change over time rather than being locked forever into what it was when we first started dating our person.

Keep ReadingShow less
JD Vance
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

JD Vance Gets Perfectly Shamed After Claiming Medicaid Cuts In Budget Bill Are 'Immaterial'

Critics slammed Vice President JD Vance after he claimed that the "minutiae of the Medicaid policy" in President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," are "immaterial" to the millions of Americans who would lose their healthcare coverage if it were to become law.

According to The Washington Post, the bill "includes the biggest reduction of funding for the federal safety net since at least the 1990s, targeting more than $1 trillion in social spending." WaPo noted that the $3 trillion package "partially pays for its large price tag by slashing spending on Medicaid and food stamps SNAP), which congressional Republicans maintain are rife with fraud."

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Ian McKellen
Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images

Ian McKellen Moved To Tears After Massive Glastonbury Crowd Starts Chanting His Name

Acting icon Sir Ian McKellen was moved to tears after joining the Scissor Sisters on stage at this year's Glastonbury Music Festival and standing before a crowd that showed their love by chanting his name.

The openly gay actor—best known to legions of fans around the world for his performances as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Magneto in the live-action X-Men films—made a surprise appearance on the Woodsies stage for Saturday’s headline set.

Keep ReadingShow less