33 Of History's Most Unbelievable Screwups
History's Biggest Failures
"Failure isn't fatal, but failure to change might be" —John Wooden
We’ve done some dumb things over the years. For example, the Austrian army once suffered a terrible defeat due to their own ludicrous incompetence. After decimating their assumed enemy during Battle of Karánsebes, surviving soldiers made a devastating—and humiliating—discovery.
From the horrific Challenger tragedy to embarrassing mishaps on the battlefield, here are some of the biggest fails in history.
1. The Devastating Challenger Mistake
When the Challenger shuttle blew up in 1986, only 73 seconds after its launch, all seven astronauts aboard were tragically incinerated, and the American public became traumatized by the televised tragedy. What went wrong? The O-ring seal in the joint of its right solid rocket booster failed at liftoff due the low temperatures. The O-ring was known to fail at low temperatures, but the managers of the launch ignored the warnings of the engineers about the low temperatures.
2. The Release Of The Deadly Bees
The Africanized bee that has spread across the American continents isn’t a naturally occurring bee, and was actually cross-bred in Brazil during the 1950s.
These highly aggressive and territorial bees escaped from quarantine and have since continued their way North into the United States, first showing up in North America 1985.
3. Sitting Ducks
One of the most important English victories during the Hundred Years War with France was the Battle of Agincourt, when King Henry V led his army into France and came up head to head with a larger army. However, the commander of the French army really screwed up his advantage. He went at the English army in a very muddy field, so the heavily-armored French became sitting ducks for the famed English archers, who picked off the slipping and sliding French with ease.
4. Russian Winter Is Not For The Weak
Sometimes the obvious ones are obvious for a reason. But the ego of individuals in power can often grow too big to control. Such is the case of attempting to invade Russia in the winter. Charles XII, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler all pushed their luck too far and made the calamitous misstep of bringing their army into Russia during the winter. Never a good idea. Unless you're a Mongol.
