Historical Facts That Sound Unbelievable When You Read About Them Now

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.