18 Unbelievable Historical Events That Actually Happened
![18 Unbelievable Historical Events That Actually Happened](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/9/3/807093_320x180.jpg)
Everyone knows that history is a bunch of boring facts and figures, right? Well, think again! History is packed full of insane events that will make you thankful you weren't alive back then. From bizarre fashion trends to wacky political schemes, history is chock-full of eye-opening moments.
We all know that history is full of wacky and downright crazy events, but sometimes it's hard to visualize just how bonkers they really were. From a pope who was almost assassinated by a man dressed as a giant bird to George Washington's sidekick who fought in an epic duel against a bear, these moments will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. So if you're feeling in the mood for some good old-fashioned craziness, read on and prepare to be amazed. So put on your thinking cap and check out these bonkers historical events that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. You won't believe some of the things that have happened throughout history!
![Thanksgiving CRACKED.co .COM Thanksgiving ! celebrate as we it today was established in 1941, coincidentally only one year after America's favorite turkey supplier first trademarked the name Butterball. It's true that a meal took place in 1621, but like most meals, it was pretty much a one-off thing. There were a few local celebrations held on varying dates, but people were generally too poor or busy running revolutions to bother with another holiday.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/2/801732.jpg)
Source: 20 Facts That Change How You Picture Historical Events
![The Titanic sinking GRACKED.COM After the Titanic sank, Congress forced ships to carry enough lifeboats for everyone. They meant well, but overloading ships created a whole new danger. On July 24, 1915, the Eastland operating out of Chicago set sail for Michigan City. The journey ended within seconds when the ship pitched its 2,573 occupants into the Chicago River, killing 844. It had been weighed down by lifeboats, after as mandated the Titanic sinking.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/3/801733.jpg)
Source: 20 Facts That Change How You Picture Historical Events
![The American Revolution CRACKED.com All mainstream accounts of the American Revolution dramatically downplay France's contributions. The truth is, the 13 colonies would never have earned their independence without French intervention. The whole American Revolution Was essentially a proxy war between Britain and France. To the French, America was nothing but another theater in their grand feud against Britain.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/0/801730.jpg)
Source: 20 Facts That Change How You Picture Historical Events
![Women's Suffrage VOTTO CRACKED.co The women's suffrage movement wasn't just housewives in frocks picketing Many within the movement were militant and committed acts of actual terrorism. In 1912 Dublin, four suffragettes tried to burn down the Theater Royal during a performance where Prime Minister Herbert Asquith was in attendance. The prime minister had just barely dodged a hatchet thrown at him by a suffragette earlier that same day.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/9/801729.jpg)
Source: 20 Facts That Change How You Picture Historical Events
![Lewis And Clark CRACKED.COM Lewis, Clark, and their adventuring party tried to have sex with every local woman they encountered, with respectable rate of a success. To their great fortune, plenty of Native communities believed that sex was a great way of absorbing other cultures. All of this fun had its downsides, however. Within months, most of the expedition had been diagnosed with venereal diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/4/801734.jpg)
Source: 20 Facts That Change How You Picture Historical Events
![The Dark Ages Pow Mercia England East Wends Welsh Frisis Saxonia SLAVON Will Hundenwic Poles Wessex Cologne Thurnais Auy is Chapelle Mainz Serbs Soissons Czechi Rouen Austria Riems Verdun Britannia Bohemia Paris Neustria Chalons Metz Origins Strusburg Vienna Tours Alemannia FRANKISH EMPIRE 8avaria Poitiers Autan. Rinetia Carinthia Chalons Aquitania Chrobatia FIRST Lyons Milan Bordeaux the Vienne Venice Quiedo Pavia / Veround Servia Face Vasconia Ravenna ngdom Toulouse Sex Asturias Florence Pamplone/ Gothia Marsilles Ancond GRACKEDO You've probably heard the Dark Ages were a time of intellectual stagnancy during which nothing progressed, and the Renaissance rescued us all. In reality, there were](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/1/801731.jpg)
Source: 20 Facts That Change How You Picture Historical Events
![The deadly 09-11-01 anthrax You CAN NOT STOP us. We HAVE THIS letters that You ANTHRAX DIE NOW. ARE You AFRAIO? killed 5 people DEATH To AMERICA. DEATH TO ISRAEL. in 2001 were ALLAH IS GREAT. assumed to be 09-11-01 the second THIS is NEXT Now TAKE PENACILIN phase of the DEATH To AMERICA 9/11 terrorist DLATH To ISRAEL ALLAH is GREAT attacks. WHAT THE NEWS NEVER COVERED: Despite his attempt to link the anthrax letters to al-Qaida, the perpetrator was likely a mentally-unstable government schlub. Investigators found ample evidence pointing to Dr. Bruce Ivins, one of the scientists who](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/7/801727.jpg)
Source: 22 Historical Stories That Left Out The Best Details
![In 2004, Merck was forced to pull Vioxx off the market and pay a huge settlement for heart-related side effects. The news media wrung its hands over the evils of Big Pharma. 25 mo Moxx VIOXX Tablets) (Rotecoxib Station, MERCK&CO.,HC WHAT THEY LEFT OUT Vioxx was incredibly effective for pain- SO much so that patients hoarded their supplies when they learned of the recall- and only slightly more dangerous than aspirin. CRACKED.COM ::/www.nytimes merck-agrees-to-pay-950-million-in-vioxx-case.html? r=0](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/8/801728.jpg)
Source: 22 Historical Stories That Left Out The Best Details
![When the FBI finally captured Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, they found his manifesto against technology and figured they had their motive. WHAT THE NEWS LEFT OUT Kaczynski really wanted gender reassignment surgery. After a bungled appointment with a psychiatrist, Kaczynski says he asked himself, why not really kill the psychiatrist and anyone else whom I hate? CRACKED.COM ttp://www.paulcooijmans.com/psychology/unabombreport.html](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/6/801726.jpg)
Source: 22 Historical Stories That Left Out The Best Details
![Remember all the news stories about Toyotas racing out of control? Toyota does. They recalled over 9 million cars between 2009 and 2011. WHAT THEY LEFT OUT The Department of Transportation found that there wasn't a damned thing wrong with the cars. The so-called video proof turned out to be nonsense. The final verdict was the cases of acceleration had been caused by pedal misapplication- drivers mixing up the accelerator and the brake pedal. CRACKED.COM http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/DOT-16-11](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/5/801725.jpg)
Source: 22 Historical Stories That Left Out The Best Details
![Murricane Katrina improved children's health in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina stirred up the sediment in Lake Pontchartrain to such a degree that when it overflowed, the sediment carried along helped bury the d-contaminated soil of New Orleans, resulting in reduced amounts of lead in children's blood. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/1/801721.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![GDROW A two-inch drop caused the Apollo 13 crisis. All oxygen tank was dropped, but inspections turned up only inconsequential damage, so it was approved for use on Apollo 13. However, combined with a perfect storm of design flaws and other errors, this led to an electrical spark while performing a routine procedure during the mission, and BLAM! Houston, we've had a problem.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/4/801724.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![The first submarine dates way back to the 1620s and was made by Cornelius van Drebbel. The Called the Drebbel I, it was basically an enclosed CRACKED.COM rowboat and was proprelled just like one.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/1/8/801718.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![Vaseline originated as a byproduct of the oil drilling Masoline process. In 1859, British chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough visited a small town in Pennsylvania where petroleum had been discovered. He noticed Vaseline's skin-healing properties after seeing how oilers USED it to heal cuts and burns. CRACK](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/2/801722.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![76 years later, we know what set fire to the Hindenburg: static electricity. After performing experiments with scale models, and reviewing archive footage and eyewitness accounts, researchers concluded that an electrical storm charged the Hindenburg with static. That charge eventually ignited an existing gas leak. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/3/801723.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![THE Beatles OFFICIALLY ENDED ON DISNEY PROPERTY. IN 1974, ON VACATION AT DISNEY'S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT, JOHN LENNON SIGNED THE CONTRACT THAT DISSOLVED THE GROUP. Disnep's Polynerian Village Resort CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/2/0/801720.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![The repeal of the prohibition of alcohol in 1933 led to the emergence of the modern CRACA drug cartels. Crime syndicates needed a replacement for their source of income, and drug trafficking was the best alternative available.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/1/9/801719.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel
![During WWII, brothers Rudolf and Adolf Adi Dassler manufactured boots for the German soldiers, as well anti-tank as weapons. (51) Panzerschreck Adolf plotted against his brother When Rudolf to get him captured recovered his of as a prisoner war, freedom, he also in order to develop started his business of own a new his called: sport clothing own company called: adidas PUMA CRACKEDG](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/1/7/801717.jpg)
Source: These 47 Facts Will Make You A Walking History Channel