30 Moments In History That Got Ghosted By Humanity

Elon Musk didn't found PayPal or Tesla and has made no significant intellectual contribution to any field of programming or engineering.

I know it's recent history but still, not enough people want to talk about it.

There was a huge fight about African Americans using the public pool in Mr. Roger's actual neighborhood so he made a episode on his show where he and a African American guest were sharing a kiddy pool and talking about being nice to people even if they look or sound different. He taught a whole generation that racism isn't fair or right.

That doing laundry was hard, dull work. Very little glamour, not hugely interesting, it was smelly and the women that did it were often unfairly depicted as whores because it was some of the best money they could make.

Thank god for washing machines now.
I have a distinct memory of when I was younger, I was really interested in great inventions and inventors and such.

I asked my grandmother what she thought was the most important invention of her life, of the twentieth century, expecting her to answer something like the airplane, or the car, or the moonlanding or the television.

She said it was the washing machine, which I thought was really stupid as a child. The television is so much cooler than a stupid household item like a washing machine!

Now that I'm an adult I realize the washing machine saved hours and hours of labour for 50% of the population. My grandmother was a farmer. She had 11 children.

Probably the washing machine has done more for the emancipation of women than universal suffrage and the last 25 years of feminist writing combined.

During the Irish Potato Famine in 1847, the Choctaw Nation in the United States, despite their own struggles, raised money to send aid to the starving Irish. Although the amount was small by today's standards, this act of solidarity was profoundly impactful. In response, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many Irish people returned the favor by donating money to help the Navajo Nation in the U.S., who were struggling with the virus. A statue in County Cork, Ireland, commemorates the Choctaw's generosity, symbolizing the lasting bond of empathy between the two communities.

The ancient Greeks, inventors of democracy, would elect their officials to one year terms. Each officials' finances were audited at the beginning and end of their term. If they were found guilty of corruption, they could face severe punishments, including fines or exile, though e*******n was not a common outcome for most officials.

Richard Nixon conspired with Saigon to win the 1968 presidential election. He interfered with the Johnson administration’s attempt at a peace treaty. This was literal treason and I feel that very few people know about it. The NYT wrote a piece about it in 2017.

The Candy Bomber. After World War II, when Berlin was divided, the US and UK airlifted supplies into West Berlin to counter the Soviet blockade. One pilot, Gail Halvorsen, started dropping candy to children, tying small parachutes to the sweets. To let them know it was his plane, he would "wiggle" the wings before the drop. This act of kindness grew into "Operation Little Vittles," inspiring other pilots to join in. The campaign became a symbol of American goodwill and helped shift public perception of aid efforts in post-war Europe.

The 'Spanish Flu' actually likely got its start in Kansas, USA.

It's only called the Spanish Flu because most countries involved in WWI had a near-universal propaganda machine that only allowed good news to be published. Spain, which was neutral during the war, had one of the only 'free presses' in the world. They then were the only ones reporting on the massive deaths caused by the flu, leading the rest of the world to believe that they were the source or the most affected. In fact, the death rate was near-universal and destroyed some entire cities/communities in the US and Canada, specifically those of Inuit and First Nations communities.

The US secretly injecting people (typically poor / minorities, including children and pregnant women) with plutonium and other radioactive materials, and then studying them for decades. When they finally admitted it, the report was released at the same time of the OJ verdict to bury the story.

Humans developed agriculture around 12000 years ago. By storing grain, huge numbers of rodents flourished. Cats showed up to eat the rodents, and humans learned that if they took care of the cats, the cats would control the rodents. Therefore, it was the invention of agriculture that led to the domestication of the house cat.

Norway Knighted a Penguin. His plaque officially states he's the Colonel-in-Chief of their King's Guard.

The Great Stink of London in 1858.

One summer the heat dried up the River Thames (where all the human waste went) and an unbearable smell pervaded throughout the entire city. All Parliament representatives were eventually coerced out of their homes outside of London to convene and solve the issue. Much to the citizens’ glee, Parliament was held in their building on the bank of the River Thames, resulting in one of the fastest Parliament decisions ever made to reform the London sewer system.

In 2006, while the Ivory Coast was in the midst of a civil war, the opposing sides agreed to a ceasefire so that they could all watch the World Cup. The break in fighting paved the way for a peace agreement a year later.

Woodrow Wilson was mentally and emotionally incapacitated by a massive stroke in October 1919, and his wife and doctors essentially ran the country until Harding took office in 1921. Some historians refer to Edith Wilson as "the first female president."

The 2nd Congo War. This was the deadliest conflict since World War 2 with over 5 million people killed. Most people have never heard of it despite it ending less than 20 years ago.

On February 11, 1985, the Soviet space station Salyut 7 lost contact with mission control, leaving it adrift and unpowered. A daring rescue mission was launched, led by cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh. After docking with the station, they discovered all systems were shut down and the interior was freezing cold. Wearing fur-lined winter clothing, they restored power and repaired the station, successfully bringing it back online. This remains one of the most remarkable space rescues in history.

Cleopatra wasn’t just a political mastermind—she was also a linguistic prodigy, speaking nine languages, including Egyptian, making her the first ruler of her Greek family to do so. But here’s the truly overlooked bit of history: when Julius Caesar was trapped in Alexandria, Cleopatra didn’t just wait around for help. In a bold move, she had herself smuggled into his presence wrapped in a carpet (or some versions say a sack). Her servant, fluent in Latin, got them past the Roman guards, and when the carpet was unrolled, Cleopatra emerged, cleverly catching Caesar by surprise. This dramatic entrance wasn’t just about a queen’s charm; it was a calculated risk that helped secure her future—and it worked. Despite not having bathed in days, she managed to win over Caesar with her sharp intellect and undeniable presence. It’s a moment that shows just how far Cleopatra was willing to go to maintain power and influence in a male-dominated world.

Many people know about the Suffragettes who won the vote for some UK women in 1918. However, many people don’t realize that before 1918, not all men had the right to vote either. While voting had been gradually expanded over the previous 80 years, it was still restricted by property ownership and wealth. The 1918 Representation of the People Act granted the vote to all men over 21, as well as women over 30 who met property qualifications. This was a significant step toward universal suffrage in the UK, though full equal voting rights for men and women were only achieved in 1928.

While educated people, including ancient Greeks, knew the Earth was round by at least the 5th century BCE, the idea of a flat Earth was never widely held in medieval Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages, most scholars and educated figures understood that the Earth was spherical. The notion that medieval Europeans believed in a flat Earth is a misconception largely created in the 19th century.

During Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s, approximately 30,000 people were forcibly disappeared by the government. These individuals, mostly political dissidents, were taken from their homes, tortured, and often thrown out of planes into the Atlantic Ocean after being drugged. This horrific practice was part of what became known as the "Dirty War".
Among the victims were pregnant women, who were allowed to give birth before being killed. Their babies were forcibly taken and given to military families for adoption, with the truth of their origins kept hidden. For decades, these children were unaware of their true identities, and many are still learning the truth today.
The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a group of mothers whose children were among the disappeared, began holding regular protests in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires to demand justice and answers. Their efforts played a key role in exposing the atrocities of the dictatorship, and they still continue to meet, advocating for human rights and for the return of lost identities.

The escape from Antarctica by the members of the Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. The stuff they went through was unbelievable. Their boat, the Endurance was crushed by ice floes. They were stranded on the floes for over a year in temperatures well below freezing. They then took to three boats around 22 feet in length across the antarctic ocean looking for land. There were about 10 men in each boat. They missed reaching land by just a few miles at times. Two thirds of them got stranded on Elephant Island surrounded by ice while one of the boats went out in search of rescue. That boat made it through the Drake Passage, one of the deadliest places in the ocean. All but three of them got stranded with little food and water while the three men who left became the first people the cross South Georgia on foot. They found civilization. Rescued the men who came through the Drake Passage. Waited months until they could rescue those on Elephant Island. Every single person who came on the initial voyage survived with the worst lasting consequence being a single foot amputation.

That Tibet under the Dalai Lamas was a pretty brutal theocracy with a medieval criminal code. They still punished theft by chopping off hands. Also in the 1930s, they made two attempts to expand south into Chinese territory, though granted Great Britain was financially involved. Note none of this excuses the Chinese invasion, but there is a tendency to see Tibet through rose coloured glasses these days.

In 1847, Robert Liston performed an amputation in 25 seconds, operating so quickly that he accidentally amputated his assistant's fingers as well. Both patient and assistant later died of sepsis, and a spectator reportedly died of shock, resulting in the only known surgical procedure with a 300% mortality rate.

Rosa Parks wasn't the first: Ida B. Wells, a pioneering African American journalist and civil rights activist. In 1884, Wells was traveling by train when she was ordered to give up her seat in the first-class ladies' car and move to the smoking car, which was already crowded. When she refused, the conductor and two men forcibly removed her from the car. Wells took legal action against the railroad company and initially won her case in the local circuit court, receiving a $500 award. However, the railroad company appealed, and in 1887, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the lower court's ruling, concluding that her persistence was not in good faith to obtain a comfortable seat for the short ride. Wells was ordered to pay court costs. This incident was a catalyst for Wells' lifelong commitment to civil rights and social justice. She became a prominent journalist, co-owning and writing for the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper, where she reported on racial s*********n and inequality. Throughout her career, Wells documented and fought against the lynching of African Americans, becoming one of the most influential leaders in the early civil rights movement. Ida B. Wells' courageous stand against racial discrimination on public transportation predated Rosa Parks' more widely known protest by several decades, highlighting the long history of resistance to s*********n in the United States.

Fidel Castro loved dairy products so much that he built a massive ice cream parlor, Coppelia, which still operates in Havana. He also oversaw an ambitious breeding program to create a heat-resistant, high-yield dairy cow. One such cow, Ubre Blanca ("White Udder"), became famous for breaking global milk production records and was treated as a national symbol of Cuba's agricultural progress.

There was a Japanese soldier named Hiro Onoda who never realized ww2 was over until 1974. He was sent to a small island in the Philippines to spy on the American forces. He evaded capture and remained in the jungle to carry out his mission for the next 30 years. His former superior had to come out of retirement to convince him the war was over.

The Bengal Famine of 1943, which resulted in the deaths of around 2-3 million people, is often linked to Churchill’s government due to wartime policies that worsened the crisis. While there’s no definitive proof that Churchill intentionally caused the famine, his administration’s actions—such as diverting food supplies and failing to send adequate aid—are widely criticized for exacerbating the disaster. The tragedy was largely overshadowed by the global events of WWII, and its impact on India and Churchill’s role in it has been the subject of ongoing debate among historians.

The katana, the famous sword of the Japanese Samurai, was never an important military weapon. Samurai went into battle armed with bows or polearms, swords were just backup weapons. The katana didn't become prominent until the Edo period, when the country was unified under one ruler and warfare between Samurai had ceased. The katana was primarily a status symbol, valued because only members of the Samurai class were allowed to carry them.

In the early 1900s, the Tennessee Children’s Home Society was an illegal orphanage that kidnapped babies from poor households and sold them.

On Christmas Day in 1914, during World War I, soldiers on both sides of the Western Front, particularly in Belgium and France, spontaneously declared a ceasefire. They celebrated Christmas together by singing carols, exchanging small gifts, and even playing football in no-man’s land. Many soldiers, writing in their diaries, were surprised at how friendly the enemy was and even expressed hopes to meet again after the war. However, once the military leaders found out about these informal celebrations, they banned any future interactions between the two sides. Though there were some attempts to reconnect in following years during holidays like Easter and Christmas, soldiers who tried were often punished or even killed.

In 2006, a gamma ray burst was detected from a distant galaxy, but it did not strip away Earth's atmosphere or pose a threat to life. If a stronger, more direct GRB had hit Earth, it could have caused significant damage, including potentially harming the ozone layer, which shields us from harmful radiation.

Picasso would have big dinner parties in restaurants and draw on the check so it wouldn't be cashed. I know someone that has one of these checks. It's just a doodle but it's worth more than cashing it.

Churchill's mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite from Brooklyn. In the late 19th century, England's nobility was very cash-poor, and many aristocrats married wealthy American women to save their estates. Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill, and while rumors persist that she was already pregnant with Winston before their marriage, there is no definitive proof. She had numerous affairs and was married twice more in her life.

In 1899, the U.S. invaded the Philippines, claiming it was America’s "Manifest Destiny" to civilize and Christianize the islands. The ensuing Filipino-American War was brutal, with atrocities like General Jacob Smith’s order to k**l everyone over 10 in a village, leading to his court-martial. The conflict even influenced U.S. military gear, prompting the switch to the .45 caliber pistol for its stopping power. After fighting together against Japan in WWII, the U.S. granted the Philippines independence on July 4, 1946. Later, the Philippines moved its Independence Day to June 12 (from Spain in 1898), rebranding July 4 as Philippine-American Friendship Day. This overlooked history reveals the dark side of U.S. expansion and the resilience of the Filipino people.

Napoleon was not actually short; he was around 5'7", which was average for his time. The misconception came from British propaganda and a misinterpretation of French measurement units, which made him seem smaller than he actually was.

A Chinese emperor once ran in circles around a pillar to escape an assassin. He survived.

The year 536 was deemed the worst year to be alive. Volcanic eruptions caused prolonged dark sky for up to 18 months. This then caused a mini ice age, crop failures and plague over the next 10 years killing millions.

The story of Dom Pedro I of Portugal and Dona Inês de Castro is one of Portugal's most famous tragic love stories. Inês was a noblewoman and mistress to Pedro, but his father, King Afonso IV, disapproved of their relationship and had her executed in 1355. When Pedro later became king, he declared that they had been secretly married and ordered her body exhumed, forcing the court to swear allegiance to her as queen by kissing her hand. While he did not put her corpse on the throne, he did ensure she was buried in an elaborate tomb, and her remains were placed opposite his so they could "face each other" in eternity.

Louis the 19th was King of France for 20 minutes.

In 1971, a teenage girl named Juliane Koepcke was on a plane that was struck by lightning and disintegrated in the air. She plummeted 3,000 meters strapped to her seat, and landed in the Amazon rainforest.

Her mom had been on the flight with her, and Juliane searched in vain for her mom, but Juliane was the sole survivor of the crash. She survived 11 days alone, treating her maggot-infested wounds with fuel and using tracking techniqies her father had taught her, before she found a boat that she used to make her way back to civilization.

What an absolute legend.

The last time Liechtenstein went to war was the Austro-Prussian war. The fact that sounds like fiction is that they were forced to send 80 soldiers... and came back with 81. They made a friend in the form of an Austrian liaison officer.

The Rif region of Morocco has one of the highest cancer rates in the country. Studies suggest this is linked to the Spanish military’s use of mustard gas and other chemical weapons against Berber fighters during the Rif War (1921–1926). Despite Spain having signed the Geneva Protocol in 1925, which banned chemical weapons, no formal apology has ever been issued for their use in Morocco.

While Vlad the Impaler is often remembered for his brutality, he used psychological warfare to intimidate his enemies, particularly the Ottoman Empire. One of his most famous military actions was the Night Attack at Târgoviște in 1462, where he and a small group of men disguised themselves as Ottoman soldiers to infiltrate the enemy camp. The goal was to assassinate Sultan Mehmed II, but when that failed, Vlad spread chaos by pretending to be an Ottoman officer and issuing false orders in fluent Turkish. This tactic contributed to the demoralization of the Ottoman forces, forcing them to retreat.

Coca Cola still uses coca leaves in their formula but just for the flavor. They are the only US company that is legally allowed to import coca leaves. The processed leaves are then sold to a pharmaceutical company.

European settlers introduced rabbits to Australia in 1859, when Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits on his estate in Victoria for hunting. With no natural predators and a favorable environment, their population exploded, leading to one of the worst ecological disasters in Australian history. Today, millions of rabbits continue to cause extensive damage to the ecosystem

Jack a Baboon who was employed to change rail signals.

“After initial skepticism, the railway decided to officially employ Jack once his job competency was verified. The baboon was paid twenty cents a day, and a half-bottle of beer each week. It is widely reported that in his nine years of employment with the railroad, Jack never made a mistake.”

Humanity was likely nearly wiped out about 900,000 years ago when our ancestors were reduced to about 1280 breeding individuals and stayed around that many for 117,000 years.

An actually true fact about Liechtenstein is that Switzerland accidentally "invaded" Liechtenstein during a Swiss army exercise when some soldiers got lost and accidentally walked into Liechtenstein. On two separate occasions. So Switzerland has accidentally invaded Liechtenstein, twice.

Canada and Denmark were involved in a friendly territorial dispute over Hans Island since the 1930s. The uninhabited island lies between Greenland (a Danish territory) and Canada. For decades, officials from both countries playfully replaced each other’s flags and left bottles of schnapps or Canadian whisky with welcoming notes. In 2022, the two nations peacefully resolved the dispute by splitting the island.

In the 1890s, thanks to the popularity of Latin music, especially the Tango, parlor guitars became fashionable in Victorian England and the US. Then over time as those guitars were sold off, they found their way into poorer communities. Because of a glut of these abandoned guitars, they were often used instead of more expensive banjos in rhythm sections and solo performances of early jazz and blues. So the influence of the guitar in popular music today is due at least in part to the Tango.

The Netherlands sends Canada 20,000 tulips every year for liberating them during WW2. The Netherlands also has a cemetery dedicated to Canadian fallen troops.

Thomas Jefferson created his own version of the Bible by hand that removed the whole first testament and any and all mentions and references to miracles and the supernatural. It’s called a Jefferson Bible and you can still get them.

Back in the 19th century, small opposition newspapers in the Netherlands were called "Lilliputters" (= "midgets") because of their small size, which was a way to avoid having to pay for the newspaper stamp. The best example of this are the papers published by the fanatical republican Eillert Meeter, who received imprisonment for lèse-majeste, before being invited to meet king William II in person, who offered him an allowance if he ceased publicising. Meeter later went back to publishing anyway, but admitted in his writings that he found the king a kind and friendly person - he was just opposed to having a king.

Astronomer here! Galileo did not actually invent the telescope- that honor goes to a Dutchman, Hans Lippershey, who applied for a patent in 1608 (and two other Dutchmen also may have been involved, depending on who you ask). Galileo instead heard of the Dutch invention and built his own in 1609, improving on its design. He was also the first person to think about looking up with the telescope, or at least being the first scientist who did so and could thus comprehend what he was seeing.

Unsinkable Sam is the nickname of a cat who survived the sinking of three different ships during World War II. Originally known as Oscar, the cat was aboard the German battleship Bismarck, which was sunk in 1941. He was rescued, only to survive the sinking of the HMS Cossack and the HMS Ark Royal. After these miraculous survivals, Sam became a symbol of luck and was retired from naval service, earning the nickname "Unsinkable Sam."

In 1956 a man named Tommy Fitzpatrick stole a small plane from New Jersey for a bet and then landed it perfectly on the narrow street in front of the bar he had been drinking at in Manhattan. Two years later, he did it again after someone didn't believe he had done it the first time.

Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers who believed that the "light of God" shined in everyone regardless of ethnicity or religion. They were known for treating the indigenous people relatively well and welcomed the first synagogue in North America in Philadelphia.

Humans weren’t familiar with the concept of extinction until the fur trade wiped out most of the sea otters in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. They just thought the animals went to an undiscovered corner of the world.

Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates, and when he found out how much they were ransoming him for, he was offended at how low the amount was and told them to raise it.

Meanwhile he spent his captivity annoying the s**t out of his captors, holding poetry readings and generally being a pompous d**k.

Oh, and he also joked that he'd eventually hunt them all down and crucify them.

The ransom was paid, Caesar was released, then he hunted them down and crucified them.

Violet Jessop survived the sinking of both the Titanic (1912) and the Britannic (1916). She was also aboard the Olympic in 1911 when it collided with the HMS Hawke, but the Olympic did not sink. Jessop, a stewardess and nurse, became known as "Miss Unsinkable" for her incredible survival record.