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Throughout history, sometimes even the smallest actions have turned into pivotal moments. From innovations that led to changes to groundbreaking events that sparked movements and reshaped the entire world. But while some ideas were applauded and celebrated by society at the time, others were greeted with raised eyebrows and suspicious looks.

Many wonderful people were simply ahead of their time and got teased and ridiculed for it in every possible way. User AllofaSuddenStory decided to learn more about these historical figures and posted this question on Ask Reddit: "Who is someone that was mocked at the moment, but then proven right years later?"

Hundreds of history lovers shared their knowledge about people who thought of remarkable things yet didn’t get the recognition they deserved. Whether their suggestions were put together long before our time or in the recent past, we handpicked some of the most interesting responses to remind you not to jump to conclusions too quickly. Continue scrolling, upvote your favorite ones, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments!

#1

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later The doctor in China, Li Wenliang, who was arrested for trying to stop the spread of Covid from the start.

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#2

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Stella Liebeck, the lady who got burned with McDonald's hot coffee. The media mocked her and accused her of a frivolous lawsuit but it was an ongoing problem that McDonald's served dangerously hot coffees that had injured many others.The coffee was hot enough to cause 3rd degree burns to her pelvic region and she was hospitalized for 8 days while she had to get skin grafts, and continued medical care for 2 years related to the burns. She originally just wanted her medical bills covered but McDonald's tried giving her an insultingly low amount, so then she was forced to open a lawsuit. The courts rightfully sided with her and forced McDonald's to regulate the temperature on their hot beverages.

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franziska-birk avatar
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Krásnoočko Zelené
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean the story that got widely popularized was basically "stupid Karen wants millions because she didn't know coffee is hot" (courtesy of a powerful corporation controlling the narrative and making the story worthy of mockery). If it happened today and was shared like this on Bored Panda y'all would mock her too. Who knows how many Karen stories on this page are one-sided or twisted by the narrator in a similar way.

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Marco Hub-Dub
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She was an older person at the time and the potential for infection of the burns was life-threatening. Not to mention painful. Her life revolved around medical treatment & pain management in a time she should have been enjoying her “golden” years. She only asked for $20k. Her medical bills. The reason the media portrayed it as frivolous was largely due to who was advertising on the networks. Legislatures who were lobbied by McDs pushed for tort reform to limit “frivolous” lawsuits used this as an example. Not only did McDs insult her by not taking an ounce of responsibility, they used her injury as a platform to prevent future lawsuits that could be redefined as frivolous and used the power of their dollar to sway not only the politicians and media, but the public in general. It became their campaign to limit consumer protection.

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StarmanWaitingInTheSky
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People still, sadly, mock her and keep saying how it's her fault. Not just McD's but places like Tim Hortons always have their hot water at boiling point and placed in flimsy cardstock cups. It's totally a safety hazard ignored.

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Elizabeth Nelson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We learned about this in a law class. McDonald's actually knew the coffee was too hot. According to company documents, the company found that serving overheated coffee allowed them to serve lower quality coffee. They knew the potential for lawsuits was higher but since the cost savings was more than expected legal fees they risked it anyway. The court awarded her such a high amount really to punish McDonald's and to make them and other companies think twice about potentially hurting customers just to save a few bucks.

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glowworm2
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whenever this woman was mentioned, it always seemed like a silly lawsuit at the time. "Woman sues McDonald's because coffee is hot." However, they never mentioned just how HOT the coffee actually was. I feel bad for not initially knowing her whole story.

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ADDee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Arguably, it is because of her famous lawsuit that car makers started to have cup holders in cars fearing to be similarly sued. We owe her a lot!

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Vorknkx
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a general idea that people (read: "those spoiled westerners") would file lawsuits for all sorts of petty reasons and the public automatically assumed this was the case with Stella as well. I know this case was mentioned as something humoristic in my country.

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Vicky Zar
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is really just one country I so far have heard from who "file lawsuits for all sorts of petty reasons". But, I can understand why they do it in some cases. Without proper healthcare this is probably the only way for some to get their medical bills covered. And really, if they get injured by a third party, who could blame them for suing for medical bills?

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Kathryn Baylis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember how fast food places used to serve scalding hot coffee. Same with hot water for tea. Burned my mouth on that watery lava many times back in the day. They would also fill the cups right up to the brim so they’d usually spill over and burn your hand (or whatever part it landed on), plus you had no room to add milk, or cream, or even a f*****g ice cube to cool it down to a drinkable temperature. If you just let it sit and cool down, you had a long wait. So Stella has my admiration and warmest wishes for a happy life, because her lawsuit did us all an enormous favor.

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Element_Girl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so messed up. I spent a month in the burn ward, I know exactly how painful and expensive the treatment and recovery process is.

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Donna Croce
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

McDonalds was having about 3k lawsuits a year over burns. Everyone else took a few thou and shut up. Punative damages are not about rewarding the victim, they are about discouraging dangerous practices by business. They knew this would eventually happen and they knew what it would cost to replace the coffee machines. They made a conscious decision to keep the machines and pay off the few thou. Without this womans actions, people would still be getting scalded.

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Kayla J
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If her wounds were more well seen back then, she would've NEVER been mocked at all.

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Candia Lee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, she would have been mocked. Because some humans would still find the location of her wounds hilarious.

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Lori Everard
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I assumed it was just another "Karen" behind this "stunt." I had no idea. Skin grafts? How horrible. So sorry.

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El Dee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She continues to be mocked, the facts are available and known yet still ignored..

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Spikey boi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Her treating physician said it was one fo the worst burns he ever saw I believe.

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Dawn Bodtke
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people thought she got too much but a local lawyer shared that the amount she was rewarded was equal to one day's sales of coffee at McDs.

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Andreas Deml
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, the poor lady was right. Don't let you be fooled by the guys who say, liquid water couldn't have a higher temperature than 100° C. It has been proved that McDonalds heated the coffee up to the temperature of ionized plasma and that it is regularily used in the most fusion test reactors.

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Briana Landers
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

McDonalds actually had an entire smear campaign against her at the time

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Wang Zhuang
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember the Seinfeld episode that seemed to spoof this idea, with Kramer and Jackie Chiles suing a company after Kramer got burned drinking it. The case was spoiled when Kramer healed his burns with balm.

stephaniel14 avatar
Tofu
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

McDonald's was notorious for having insanely hot coffee, hotter than the competition.

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Id row
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The picture of her burns is something I can never unsee. What she went through was horrific.

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No you can't have my name
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wasn't there evidence that the burns ended up resulting in her death just a few years later? (Pls don't downvote me into oblivion if I'm wrong, just like politely correct me once and then go upvote that one)

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Beachbum
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So sad the way she mocked, I blame this on the media for not providing the full story, just saying an older lady got burnt by hot coffee, isn't even a portion of the story....

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Shane S
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The documentary really opened my eyes. It’s an example of how things can be taken out of context.

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D. Pitbull
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate the fact that she was mocked PURELY because no one bothered to report all these details that make it serious. We've all seen what a lack of pertinent details does. There are Joke/parody lists like "Describe this movie in one sentence" which are technically true, but can make the most serious movie sound trite. The widespread message given for this case was "Woman got burned by coffee, sues McDonalds and wins" - not even "Woman received THIRD DEGREE BURNS and HOSPITALIZED by coffee, sues company and wins" - and the fact that the insultingly 'simple' version was widespread encouraged others to file a whole bunch lawsuits that really WERE and ARE petty, meaningless and self-entitled.

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Cheryl Denton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People are still mocking her. Toby Keith has a song called "Only in America" that has a line "spill a cup of coffee / win a million dollars..."

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Stephan Henkel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To this day McD managed to turn this story around to make people believe, this was about: people being too stupid to drink hot Coffee

sbarber999 avatar
John Harrison
Community Member
12 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just read through this comment thread, and there are STILL people who think Stella was at fault. They're STILL just looking at the fact that she did something clumsy, and then they turn off their brains and point the accusing finger at Stella. This is exactly what happened decades ago, but back then we were manipulated by large corporations and irresponsible media. The people on this comment thread JUST READ HOW STELLA CLEEEEARLY WAS NOT AT FAULT, and they still want to blame her. This is why we can't have nice things.

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Sanna Söderström
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even today some mock this whole story. The truth is still being fabricated and twisted!

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Grace Note
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What happened to her was awful. I saw the photos a while back and they were absolutely shocking. The way she was mocked was disgusting.

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elfin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The media stinks. They lie to make a 'better' story.

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Brenda Pereira
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I admit that I thought she was just some crackpot, but when I read an article on her and what she went through, She deserved every single penny she got, and more.

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Paloma Vita
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was one of the people who thought this was a frivolous lawsuit at first because of how it was portrayed in the media. It was years later that I learned all the facts and I felt so bad for her and for how she was treated. Bless her.

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Salty Wild Hair
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The court decided that McDonalds was 50% at fault and she was 50% at fault. Then came the pain and suffering where she made out better than they did. She didn't receive 10's of millions, she lived with alternate biological plumbing for the rest of her life (the actual case has photos of her nether regions and wow), and she spent the rest of life in pain. May she rest in peace. This is one of those cases where we started to see people run their mouths about things they didnt even bother to go look up. Or as I like to call it...the media.

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steve acra
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't think she was nuts, just stupid. She held a flimsy cup of coffee between her knees and tried to add cream to it. Idiot.

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John Harrison
Community Member
12 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Textbook example of someone with a strong opinion about a topic they know nothing about.

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thememyselfandi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She could never walk properly, or sit comfortably ever again. She had to get home care for the rest of her life. Poor woman.

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Jenný Samúelsdóttir Herlufsen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you can handle it, Google the wounds she suffered. Then, if you are sceptical of how horrible it is, you will likely change your mind. That poor woman deserved every single penny McD had to pay

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Metallicd3ath
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The story I heard, much much later, was that the reason the lawsuit was even a big thing was that after she got burned, she went into the mcds to request first aid, and none of the employees were willing/able to assist her. I don't know how true that part is, but it's honestly the worst part imo if at all true.

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TheEndIsNigh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was a horrific example of the power of big business using the media to spread negative information. It was played up like she was just some "stupid lady" who spilled hot coffee on herself and filed a frivolous lawsuit with many stories and all the late night talk show host making jokes. The media whipped everyone into a frenzy and this poor lady was mocked mercilessly. It was barely mentioned that she was horribly burned and ended up being hospitalized. It was also never mentioned that her original lawsuit was only for her medical bills, but McDonald's thought they successfully ruined her reputation enough that they never thought she would win a trial, and offered her a pittance. As if she should be grateful she was getting anything at all. The whole thing was disgusting.

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Laura Kat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been a civil trial lawyer in the US for over 16 years. Frivolous lawsuits/claims do not make it all the way to a jury verdict. There are many mechanisms in place to ensure that. Also, the idea of a "runaway jury" (awarding way more money than the evidence/law allows) is rare, and even if it somehow happens, those verdicts get reduced or retried.

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robin aldrich
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm embarrassed to admit I mocked her too at first, I didn't realize it was that hot. however I don't put hot or cold things between my legs and wonder why it hurts... Maybe her car didn't have cup holders? I should have waited to hear the whole story, so I do feel bad about that because the initial reports did did kind of make her seem like a doofus. So sorry, Stella.

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Trevor Nicholson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People still mock her but like, it's true. They still make the water way too hot. It's actually because they expect you to take it to go and drink it later, so it's stupid hot. I always have to sit there for 15 minutes before I can even carry the cup.

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H Moore
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Better would have been free medical treatment like in NZ and ACC which pays for carers and aids while you heal etc.....

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Kiem Gallagher
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who would ever think a lawsuit frivolous when there are CONSIDERABLE injuries involved!? Insane!

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Phillip Hart
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a kid my mom took me to the doctor and in addition to whatever meds he prescribed he also told my mom I should drink a hot beverage every hour or so. Swung by McD's on the way to the pharmacy to get me a hot chocolate, first tiny sip blistered my tongue so I was blowing on it waiting for it to be drinkable. Went to pharmacy, waited on meds, finally got meds, mom asks if I'm ready for another hot chocolate. She gets pissed the first one is still full, tries to make me drink it, I tell her it is too hot. She relents when she takes a sip to prove it isn't that hot and burns her tongue an hour after the thing was purchased. TL;DR: I always believed the coffee lady.

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KT
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poor woman. Shocking how bad these companies will treat their victims

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Asher Tye
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember this. Sadly when I first heard I too thought it was just a frivolous lawsuit. Glad she did get justice.

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MPS
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's why you should always get the children's food!

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Drea Benoit
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Her injuries were so far beyond a little burn from hot coffee, like the media claimed. But she received millions in punitive damages. The court wanted to make an example out of McDonalds for their negligence. This also wasn’t the first time someone was severely burned by their coffee, but nobody had the means to go after the very wealthy company. They knew it was a problem and didn’t care.

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Jonnie Hogan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They literally were purposefully selling the coffee that hot to lower their bottom line k owing what risks it presented.

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Bret Lambert
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one is darwinism, I don't care if it was too hot. You know you are ordering a hot beverage, so don't spill it on your crotch. When does self responsibility come into play?

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John Harrison
Community Member
12 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The coffee was dangerously hot, so hot as to cause third degree burns. If it were the right temperature, it would have just been an accident. There would have been no lawsuit and you wouldn't even have been hearing about it. So to put this all another way, the lady's clumsiness was the cause of what would have been a silly accident. The RESTAURANT's actions were the cause of physical injury. So while you're asking about "Where does self responsibility come into play," maybe ask, "Where does corporate responsibility come into play, to provide people with products that won't give them THIRD DEGREE BURNS if they're clumsy?" And also maybe ask, "Where does MY responsibility come into play, to get the facts before I form a passionate opinion about the subject?"

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Kim Shannon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I watched the documentary on this and it completely changed my mind about it being a frivolous lawsuit.

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Alana Voeks
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My parents were two boomers who mocked her without ever reading anything into it. I thought it was odd that the courts would give her the case if it was just a spill. Go figure that someone around 10 years old can think more critically than people 5x that age.

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SweetsEve
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh please. You are just as given to being influenced by the news and their version of cultural norms, you prove it by using terms like boomer. The story when it was on the news was stated to be a woman burned by coffee sued and won tens of millions of dollars because the coffee was hot. The connotation of the reporters of the time was, how silly and crazy is that? These ideas were passed down by lobbyist. The singular message was that this is getting out of hand, and no a single news reporter was reporting this differently. The larger lesson here is that the news is influenced and is not the whole story. Your grandchildren will also think you missed the mark on common sense things, because time tends reveals the truth.

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Dellon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember hearing about this when younger. Used as an example of someone using a technicality for easy cash. Only learned the reality of it a few years ago. There's a special place in hell for those at McDonalds who spun that story

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Ernesto
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1 year ago

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Beth S
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1 year ago

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David A Paterson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

McDonalds got many millions of dollars of good free publicity for that. Enough free publicity to open McCafes all around the world. She didn't even get her medical expenses back, because McDonalds appealed, got her to admit partial guilt, and settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

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Soosh_tr
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in 2016 i burnt my tongue so bad at a tim hortons i could have sued. their coffee was close to boiling. it made me cry and i lost part of my tasting buds for a couple of years. should have sued.

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PanCott
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's just crazy to me. It's like suing Stanley for selling dangerously sharp knives...

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Nikki Sevven
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My only issue with her is that she placed a flimsy disposable cup of a beverage that is typically served hot BETWEEN HER LEGS WHILE DRIVING. Obviously, the temperature of the coffee was a huge issue, but she did something phenomenally stupid too.

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Ogidi Girl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was not her that was mocked. It was the outrageous settlement that caused the derision.

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Mahogani Rayn
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1 year ago

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No matter what anyone says , coffee and tea are HOT. End of story!!

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Sarah Fitzpatrick
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The coffee was served dangerously hot, so hot that it melted her pants to her legs and groin. What do you think that would do to your mouth and throat?

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Marianne
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1 year ago

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When I heard about that case, I didn't know that coffee wasn't supposed to be served boiling hot. I'm a tea drinker, and if I buy a tea to go, I expect it to be boiling hot. This is why I also thought it was ridiculous.

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cugel
Community Member
1 year ago

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Moral of the story.. spill hot coffee on yourself, your fault; spill really hot coffee on yourself, somebody else's fault.

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Viktor
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1 year ago

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I know the backstory but I still think that it’s your own fault if you spill a hot beverage onto yourself. If the coffee had been 10 degrees colder, it would still have lead to 2nd degree burns and hospital treatment. As long as it wasn’t an employee spilling the coffee, McD shouldn’t have been liable. But apparently the court saw it differently…

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To find out why historical figures were sometimes dismissed for their ideas, we reached out to historian Bethany Moore who runs the blog History And Moore. She told Bored Panda that those who found themselves mocked and ridiculed were simply misunderstood by others. "This would mostly happen to scientists who were trying to get their ideas out to a wider audience, that necessarily didn’t have the right education to understand or the inclination to even listen," she added.

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As an example, Moore mentioned a man called Ignaz Semmelweis. "He was an obstetrician (a doctor who specializes in childbirth) in the 1840s in Vienna and he noticed that fewer women were dying when they were inspected by a doctor who had washed their hands between examining patients." However, since he did not grasp why this was the case, others were reluctant to listen to him.

"He eventually ended up being lured to an asylum," the historian continued. "Tragically, after Semmelweis was removed from the hospital, more women started dying because they were not being examined by doctors who washed their hands. Handwashing didn’t become commonplace in medicine for at least another 30 years after Semmelweis first made the connection."

#3

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Ignác Semmelweis

First doctor to champion hand washing as a means to prevent spreading infection. Everyone made fun of him.

[deleted] , wikimedia Report

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MarmotArchivist
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He worked in a city hospital for a time, that had many poor women who couldn't afford any care. His contemporary doctors would go from an autopsy of a rotting corpse* to delivering babys without washing their hands, infecting and killing tousands of women. Semmelweiss put up a bassin to wash hands saving many lives. After his dismissal death skyrocketed again.

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#4

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Henry Freeman, a lifeboatman in Whitby. He tried to get the other lifeboatmen to wear cork lifejackets, but no-one would but him.

During a great storm, the lifeboat was launched several times to help struggling vessels and sailors. On their sixth launch, disaster struck and the lifeboat capsized.

Only Henry survived thanks to his cork life jacket. They became compulsory for lifeboatmen shortly after that.

alizare , en.wikipedia.org Report

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Tofu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And it looks comfortable for swimming! Where can I buy one?

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#5

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Johnny Rotten

Banned from the BBC for ousting Jimmy Savile as being a horrendous pedophile.

Some 500 cases of abuse. Had his own set of keys to a psychiatric hospital where he would frequently abuse vulnerable children.

Danuta_ , wikimedia Report

Moore suggested that the study of our past is not only about learning different dates and names. "Yes, those are an important part of the study of history, but there is so much more to the subject. The study of history teaches us the good and the bad of humanity; the developments by ancient civilizations that have led to our society being the way it is today; and gives us a better understanding of the world, to name but a few reasons."

"History, and the study of it, is one of the building blocks of a rounded education, teaching us to be more than just one person and to recognize the influence we have on the world."

#6

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Joseph Lister

First proposed that germs caused post-operative infections, and recommended that surgical instruments be sterilized between operations.

People thought he was nuts.

Positive-Source8205 , wikipedia Report

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Francis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

also Ignaz Semmelweis. Wikipedia "Described as the "saviour of mothers", Semmelweis discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as "childbed fever") could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. Puerperal fever was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal. Semmelweis proposed the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital's First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors' wards had three times the mortality of midwives' wards." The doctors didn't washed their hands after they performed an autopsy... this almost ruined his career

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#7

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Barbara McClintock, she postulated the existence of transposons (certain types of genes) in DNA BEFORE anybody even knew what the actual structure of DNA is like, she was widely mocked by the scientific community at the time. Transposons were later confirmed to exist and she was awarded the Nobel.

ThousandSunnySenpai , getarchive Report

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Caro Caro
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least she was awarded the Nobel. Some brilliant people in science were given a bunch of flowers and a half hearted "sorry".

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#8

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Dr Bennet Omalu who found that American football players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy/ brain concussions which were slowly affecting their neurological and psychological functions. He was strongly opposed at first but then proved right. His biographic movie is named ' Concussion'.

sweettooth_92 , getarchive Report

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SoozeeQ
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excellent movie. Will Smith stars in it, but don't let that sway you one way or the other.

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After all, this fascinating subject is an endless source of adventure. Just think about the grand battles, significant events, and world-shaking inventions. And it’s especially interesting to learn about intriguing historical figures who were simply regular folk without an obvious connection to greatness, Moore said.

"Ordinary, everyday people like William Shakespeare who helped the English language develop into the rich tapestry it is today. People like Ada Lovelace, who is considered the first computer programmer for her work with Charles Babbage. People like Rosa Parks, who stood up to a system rigged against her. Ordinary people have become well known for a variety of reasons, and it is not unfeasible to think that any of us could have the same influences in years to come."

#9

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Greg Lemond. In 2001 he said Lance Armstrong was probably doping. He was threatened he took a huge image hit and his business opportunities suffered.

He never let up on lance despite the media campaigns, threats, damage to his reputation and business, and the recrimination of his peers in the cycling community. Until surprise surprise in 2012 it came out that lance Armstrong was doping. Who could have foreseen that? If only someone had told us.

Oh wait. Greg Lemond did. A decade ago.

Cheeseyex , wikimedia Report

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aaaggg hhh
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lance Armstrong had loads of corporate backers, and they didn't want some upstart upsetting their precious cash flow.

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#10

Jimmy Carter. He recognized the need for The US to become energy independent and put measures into place that would have gotten us there by now. Of course, the first thing Ronnie RayGun did was undo every f*cking one of them. Many of our problems over the last 45 years have stemmed from The Middle East and either directly or indirectly involved oil. I’m obviously simplifying things here, but in the big picture, he was spot on. Even his critics at the time have recently admitted that he was on the correct path. It’s also pretty apparent that Carter was a good man, as evidenced by how he has carried himself over half a lifetime post-presidency.

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#11

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Lindy Chamberlain. A dingo really did eat her baby.

TinyGreenTurtles , wikipedia Report

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Jo Johannsen
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poor woman. The loss of her child was horrendous, but almost pales in comparison to what she was put through afterwards.

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#12

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later John Snow in 1854 tried to tell everyone about cholera, and how it was being caused by the water supply, no one believed him until he took illegal action and saved many lives

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One of the many things that makes history truly engaging is the people, the historian argued. "Studying [them] makes history far more tangible and enriching than just reeling off a collection of dates and events that happened."

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"I think in the world we live in today, history continues to show how important it is as a subject and must continue to encourage those around us to study the subject. The philosopher George Santayana said in 1905 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' And that is certainly happening at the moment, with large and powerful countries choosing to forget the true version of the past and use their own version to justify their actions," Moore noted.

"Yes, history is the study of that which is in the past, and some would argue that the past should be left there. But I disagree. I think history and the study of it will continue to have an importance on us as people, and it is not something we should ever abandon," she concluded.

#13

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Richard Stallman. Warned us back in the 80s that if we allow corporations to rule the internet that nobody will have privacy or freedom on the web, among many other things.

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Tofu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just playing devil's advocate... if corporations didn't "rule" the internet, then who would? I think we were doomed to have no privacy, regardless of who "rules" the internet. 😔

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#14

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Barbara Lee was the only congresswoman to vote against going to war in Afghanistan after September 11. Not going to say she was right, but at the time I remember even as a kid thinking she was crazy, and heard alot of the derisive talk much more common today, directed at her. (Not a patriot, traitor, blahblah) 20 Years later, the world seems alot less black and white, and her decision seems ferociously rational against a tide of fear and rage.

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#15

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered Penicillin, spent almost 10 years trying to convince the medical bodies of his time that it was worth investing time and resources to experiment with it, but was basically told to pound sand despite the respect he had prior to the discovery.

Lot of good it did me, I was lucky enough to be born allergic. Happy for the rest of you at least.

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Tofu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even if you're allergic to penicillin, you are still reaping the benefits of its discovery because it led to the future creation of many types of antibiotics. It's a win for all of us!

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#16

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Courtney Love on Weinstein.

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AnnaBanananna
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Weinstein is an absolutely disgusting human. And his money and “influence” protected him for so long… disgusting

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#17

George Bush, in 2005 he read a book about the Spanish Flu and insisted that the United States should be prepared for a pandemic. He said "If we wait for a pandemic to appear it will be too late to prepare. And one day many lives could be needlessly lost because we failed to act today."

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Tofu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And then tRump gouged the Pandemic-Preparedness Systems in place.

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#18

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Johnny Depp when he tried to tell people about how Amber was abusing him.

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King Kashue
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least this person didn't go to the "Amber abused him so he must be innocent himself" conclusion. This doesn't have to be a one good the other bad situation - they can both be abusive AHs. And judging by the testimony so far, it really does seem like that's the case (I mean, their therapist flat out said they were both abusing each other).

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#19

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Al Gore.

I mean, ffs, even South Park apologized to him. And it wasnt even sarcastic.

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#20

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Sherry Rowland. Discovered the effect of CFCs on ozone depletetion and received an immense level of blow back from industry. Not only that, but invited talks and collabs were rescinded within the scientific community. Poor guy was ostracized. 20 years later after his (and Molina’s) discovery, he’s finally recognized with a Nobel prize.

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Kathryn Baylis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Industry doesn’t want to have to spend money to retool, and potentially lose their good thing. So they use profits to suppress information that proves them wrong, and discredit anyone who dares question them.

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#21

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later My classmate in nursing school. He made a big fuss about a “coronavirus” just noticed in China. He asked about if clinicals or classes would be changed because of it. We thought he was absolutely paranoid and insane. We laughed.

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Francis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my flatmate was hysterical in january 2020 and i was quite layed back. well in april 2020 we were in lockdown and he was like "i told y'all" :D didn't helped him or me. we both got corona this year...

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#22

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Monica Lewinsky. That poor woman was dragged through the mud and seeing everyone reassess what was done to her has been bittersweet.

ETA: Bittersweet bc more people seem to understand she was a victim (sweet), but she was really young, and decades of her life were spent being a public punching bag (bitter)

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Milady Blue
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like that she has developed a sense of humor about the whole mess - she was the winner of some sort of online competition, "What is the worst career advice you ever received?" and her response, "A White House internship would look AMAZING on your resume."

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#23

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Barry Marshall. Proved that stomach ulcers were a bacterial infection (and not stress) by ingesting (edit) with Helicobacter pylori and then curing himself with an antibiotic.

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Tofu
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some stomach ulcers are an H. Pylori infection, yes. There are other reasons for stomach ulcers too though. For example, I have stomach ulcers as a result of radiation damage from cancer treatment a couple years ago. I WISH I *just* had an H. Pylori infection lol

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#24

Corey feldmen was ridiculed for talking about the abuse he suffered in Hollywood and it wasn’t even a shock, it was obvious that kinda sh*t was going down.

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James016
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He named names back then. IIRC police found the tape where he did so as part of Michael Jackson's trial archived files

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#25

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later John Rae. Very skilled arctic explorer who unlike most of the rest of Europeans at the time wasn’t above learning from the Inuit. He was largely successful because of his willingness to learn from them and use their clothing and diet and techniques.

Anyway, about ten years after the Franklin Expedition was lost John Rae was out looking for clues what happened because the British Admiralty had a standing reward of £10,000 for anyone who had credible information about the expeditions fate. He found some physical remnants of the expedition and had met with Inuit who’d seen some of the last surviving members of the expedition. They related to him how they’d been taken by disease, lack of food, and how some of them finally succumbed to cannibalism.

Rae took this information back to England, where society was absolutely outraged how he dared to spin such drivel. Surely no sophisticated gentlemen of the hero’s character that would be in Sir John Franklin’s expedition would act so savagely!

John Rae never got the award. Years later someone else did who told of a story that was correct also to some degree, but less than Rae had been.

In modern times bone fragments have been found with telltale cut marks, thereby proving John Rae and the Inuit right.

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Who Panda 420
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw this apparently as It said the British aristocrats could not believe that someone they respected so much could possibly resort to cannibalism to try to save their own lives so the story was widely trashed as a fake. Crap to not believe the Inuits when that's their home and they'd obviously know better.

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#27

Brendan Fraser, that sweet sweet man.

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#28

I would say Monika Lewinsky. I watched her TED talk and thought about it in the world we have today and honestly, can't believe how bullied she was and how much of a joke her name still is

She was in her early 20s and Clinton was in his early 50s.

I can see myself in my 20s easily falling into the trap of thinking "wow I must be so incredible, the president notices me" when in reality, that's just creepy AF

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Tofu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can we add this submission to the one toward the top of the post?

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#29

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Alfred Wegener hypothesed plate tectonics in the 1920’s, but this wasn’t an accepted notion until the 50’s.

He was a meteorologist, and copped a lot of flak from the geological community at the time.

SaraBunks , wikipedia Report

#30

Bernie Sanders. That dude complains a lot and he may not be right every time but it sure seems like most of the time.

Ralph Nader wasn't taken seriously about automobile safety. Now we have seatbelts and laws mandating them.

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Marco Hub-Dub
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that we’re fed a narrative that oversight and regulation only exist in polarized extremes & are an affront to liberty & freedom is one of the largest disservices ever. Nader was seen as an extremist, liberal cook simply for his work on establishing consumer protections. Imagine if it were “buyer beware” policy when it came to all our goods and services.

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#31

Marshall Ferdinand Folk when speaking of the Treaty of Versailles. "This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years."

Prescience personified.

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#32

Duff Roblin, the Premier of Manitoba. After the 1950 flood, Roblin's government initiated the Red River Floodway project. The floodway diverts part of the river around the city. At the time he was mocked and a lot of people thought it was a waste of money, because "a flood like that will never happen again."

It's been estimated that it's saved $40 billion CAD in flood damages since it was completed in 1968. I was there for the '97 flood. The floodway saved my home and my in-laws' home.

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StarmanWaitingInTheSky
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OH Damn! LOL You beat me to it. I didn't think anyone was going to mention "Duffy's Ditch". Yes, there was a great flood but I heard it would have flooded the downtown and much of the communities if it wasn't for the floodway. Me and my folks were volunteering with filling sandbags and we even sandbagged at a property. There's coloured bands on one of the support beams of one of the bridges showing the peak water levels comparing the 1950's flood and the '97 flood, as well as tiles on the beams of the rotunda at The Forks. It's quite interesting and scary.

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#33

Janet Jackson

The whole nipplegate thing made her out to be something she wasn't whilst Timberlake faced no backlash

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AnnaBanananna
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not exactly related, but why are men forgiven when exposed to be cheaters but the other woman involved cops all the blame & hate? (Khloe Kardashian forgave Tristan and the whole extended family blamed Jordan and never spoke to her again)

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#34

The English physician, William Harvey

(A.D.1578–1657), discovered the

circulation of blood. The current

opinion in those days was that blood

oscillates in the vessels of the body.

For his views, Harvey was ridiculed

and was called “circulator”. He lost

most of his patients. However, before

he died, Harvey’s idea about

circulation was generally accepted as

a biological fact.

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#35

When I was in elementary school, we learned about the different areas of taste on the tongue: salty, bitter, sweet, and sour. In front of the class, I asked then "why do I taste the sweet all over my tongue when I eat candy?" She dismissed my question and the other kids said I was dumb. Who's dumb now?

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Lucas
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same. Argued that I couldn't see the difference at all when doing these tests.

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#36

Jack Layton -Early on in the Afghanistan war when the Taliban had been largely beaten and splintered into several small groups, many of them leaderless and wanting a way out, Jack suggested negotiating with these groups to end the war. The Conservative government of Canada labeled him Taliban Jack, and he was widely ridiculed. Had they negotiated back in 2005/2006 there would have been a lot less lives lost, and an opportunity to create a lasting change in Afghanistan.

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#37

50 Historical Figures People Thought Were Nuts At The Time But Were Proven To Be Right Years Later Chris Crocker.

We all know the Leave Brittney Alone video. We all quoted it at the same and made fun of Chris.

But they turned out to be completely correct. Britney was being pushed too hard by the media, and the aggressive fans and invasive paparazzi were (in part) to blame for her break down. We know now that she was controlled by her family for years, and we really shouldnt have mocked someone trying to draw attention to it. I think part of the mockery came because the breakdown is "funny", but also because society did - and still does - think that celebrities deserve whatever happens to them, so the paparazzi and the fans aren't responsible for how their actions hurt celebrities.

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Andy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one wasn't so much the point of the message, but they way it was done. At the time it was well known that Britney was being hounded by the paparazzi, and the pressure the constant attention on celebrities was having (for example, watch the episode south park did about her). The mockery came from crying and screaming about a celebrity online

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#38

Lady Gaga. She was bullied and there were Facebook groups dedicated to ridiculing her and telling her she'd never be famous. Guess they were wrong.

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#39

Karen Carpenter, the singer. Everyone back when they were popular (myself included) mocked and sneered at how uncool The Carpenters were. But time told us she had one of the best singing voices ever. It’s a timeless voice of incredible beauty.

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#40

The “Alvarez hypothesis” two guys who 30 years before anyone had indisputable proof of it hypothesesed the dinosaurs died because of an asteroid. Well they were f*cking right on with that one.

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Kimi Tomminello
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They very recently found the impact site that proves the theory. *EDIT* Not a body dump as I thought but a geographical anomaly.

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#41

Marie Curie

Discovered polonium and radium and was laughed at for suggesting that radiation could be used to view the human body in ways we couldn't see.

It's because of her that we have x-rays. It's also because of her that we learned that unchecked radiation could also cause cancer.

111

Barry Marshall

Helped discover h. Pylori bacteria and the link between it and ulcers. He and his research partner Robin Warren were knocked by the medical community for their beliefs in those link.

Marshall drank a cocktail containing h.pylori, willingly gave himself bacterial induced gastritis, then used antibiotics to cure himself just to prove he was right.

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Jyri Hakola
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*sigh* Marie Curie was avarded with Nobel prize of physics only 5 years after she found Polonium and Radium. And no. It was not due her that we have X-rays. First X-ray photo thru human tissues were taken by Wilhem Röntgen at 1895. Marie Skodolwskaja-Curie newertheless contributed a lot on developing mobile X-ray units but due the urgent need of field hospitals of WW-I no one definetly laughed..

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#42

Richard jewel he’s why we should all know to not listen to talking heads on tv.

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Marco Hub-Dub
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The way he was treated was deplorable. It was pure cynicism on the part of law enforcement that he was even a suspect.

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#43

Gregor Mendel. In the 1860s, he came up with the Principles of Segregation and Independent Assortment, saying that genetic factors are expressed via segregating alleles and different genes.

For about a good 40-ish years, everyone thought he was crazy and didn't receive much credibility from his peers. However, in the early 1900s, people began to build off of his knowledge and work. Now, he's known as the father of genetics.

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David A Paterson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mendel wasn't ridiculed. He was a complete unknown. This happens often in science, where a publication from 20 or more years before is discovered when the effect they described suddenly becomes well known.

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#44

Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis . In 1847 he discovered that doctors washing their hands before delivery led to fewer deaths in women. He hypothesized germ theory, but was ridiculed and mocked by the academic establishment. He ended up having a nervous breakdown and later died in a mental institution. Probably from injuries sustained from beatings he received from the guards. (RIP)

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SoozeeQ
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So sad. Think of what else he could have discovered, if he'd accepted instead of ridiculed.

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#45

Jose Canseco, when he claimed in his book that steroid use was rampant in Major League Baseball.

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Jerry Conaway
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds simply had great personal trainers, ate lots of chicken, and spent all of their non-baseball playing time working out at the gym. No PED's here.

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#46

Prince Charles. Banged on about the environment/organic foods and everyone took the piss mercilessly. To me, he was right about architecture too, but that’s subjective

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Scagsy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Certainly agree about architecture. Buildings made of stone and even brick have survived for centuries and are aesthetically pleasing. Today, they actually put a shelf life on buildings. Like, it will last twenty years or so. And they are SO ugly. All this metal and glass is horrendous.

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#47

J Harlen Bretz. He spent his life's work proving that the channeled scablands were formed by an absolutely biblical level flood. No one took him seriously because by that point geologists weren't really too keen on the biblical events type geology and were more in favor of gradual change hypothesis for how things came to be.

As soon as satellite photography became a thing his hypothesis was pretty quickly accepted because it's really obvious from above that its massive flood tracts. Funny enough even the famous explorers Lewis and Clark realized it was caused by floods and even wrote about it because they recognized the rippling hills and flood deposits like you'd see in a river just hundreds of times bigger.

If your interested google Missoula floods.

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Vorknkx
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This still doesn't prove a global flood, as described in the Bible. It would be physically impossible.

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#48

Chelsey ”Sully” Sullenberger - the pilot of US Airways flight 1549 that landed his plane in the Hudson river.

Damn, he was mangled before finally being aquitted of the charges and told he did a great job and the made all the right decisions.

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Kayla J
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a feeling this person watched the movie Sully and nothing else because their recollection is so ridiculously off. Landing a plane into the Hudson without breaking it apart was seen as an impressive feat and Sully was well known in the aviation community already having been a part of several highly focused NTSB investigations so he knew how the process would go. When people found out he was the pilot, they agreed he's the one they'd want in that situation and were not shocked by his calm demeanor or ability. There was of course an NTSB investigation but there always is, they were curious if he could have gotten to another airport (LaGuardia was in reach, but didn't take into several factors and they agreed ditching was the best hope and saved countless), and was not some sort of police interrogation with bright lights. Tom Hanks noted that Sully wasn't a fan of how the movie portrayed the NTSB making sure real names were not used. Another example to give you how celebrated he was? The Hudson landing happened on January 15 and the dude was at the Presidential inauguration for Obama on January 20, hardly being lambasted.

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#49

Arsene Wenger. In 2002 he said his team could go a whole season unbeaten. He was roundly mocked, as it had occurred once in the 100+ year history of English football.

Two years later, they did it.

SometimesMonkeysDie Report

#50

megan fox being shouted down and criticised for how she spoke about the way she was treated on the transformers set.

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nononononm
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Megan Fox apologized later because she said it wasn't as bad as she made it seem and she was way out of line and should have handled the situation better and if she had she could have solved her issue and kept her job?

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