Human history has seen many tragic events that should never be forgotten. But it has also seen countless hilarious events that often should be forgotten. I’ve compiled ten of the most funny events in history – events that are often hard to believe actually happened. But they did. From strange deaths to battles between humans and animals, here are the ten most funny events in history.
The Most Avoidable Traffic Collision Ever
In 1895 there were just two cars in the state of Ohio. These two cars… who had the entire state to themselves… crashed into each other. It’s unbelievable. Interestingly Ohio also saw what many consider the first car crash, when someone drove over a big tree root and hit a hitching post. Luckily cars were so slow back then that no one died in either crash.
A Giant Rabbit Attacks The American President
In 1979 the president of America, Jimmy Carter, was attacked by a giant rabbit. After going fishing alone in a swamp he returned with a tale of absolute terror. While in the boat a large swamp rabbit swam directly towards him as if it wanted to kill him. Carter had to scare it away by waving an ore at the bunny. The media soon dubbed the event a “killer rabbit attack” and everyone was talking about how a rodent tried to kill the president. It’s widely considered the most memorable event of Jimmy Carter’s presidency – which must suck for him. Other presidents are remembered for boosting the economy or standing up to Soviet dictators. He’s remembered for nearly getting JFK’d by a bunny rabbit.
Rabbits Attack Napoleon
Jimmy Carter was not the first world leader to be attacked by rabbits; Napoleon had the same problem centuries before. But unlike Carter, Napoleon lost his battle against rabbits. After Napoleon defeated Russia he decided to celebrate with a massive rabbit hunt. Hundreds of rabbits were gathered for Napoleon and his generals to hunt. Some accounts suggest there may have been over a thousand rabbits. The countless bunnies were caged in a large field. But when they were released they did not run away from the hunters, as was expected. They instead ran straight towards the men. Napoleon found himself swarmed by an army of rabbits. They pounced on and bit him until he was forced to run away. The most powerful man in Europe was defeated by rabbits.
Man Attends His Own Funeral
In the 17 hundreds one man attended his own funeral. He was Timothy Dexter, a man who became wealthy by stroke of pure luck. A ridiculous man, he made a name for himself selling stray cats and whale bones. He insisted on being called a lord despite not being one – and at one point he faked his own death for no apparent reason. Dexter secretly attended his own funeral and later caned his wife for not crying enough. In his final years he had 40 statues of famous world leaders built at his home – and of himself, with an inscription proclaiming himself to be the western world’s greatest living philosopher.
Building A Fort For The Enemy
Copyright Mfwills / (CC BY-SA 3.0)
America once accidentally built a fort inside another country’s territory. It was just after the war of 1812. To prepare for any future war with Canada, a new fort was to be built in a lake on the New York-Canadian border. It was a massive fort capable of stopping any British warship. The only problem is they accidentally built it half a mile over the Canadian border. So essentially… to prepare for war with Canada, they built a Canadian fort. It came to be known as fort blunder.
Best Death Ever
Henry of Champagne has my favourite death of any medieval king. He was the ruler of Jerusalem and therefore one of the world’s most important men. But one day he tripped over a dwarf and fell out the window. The dwarf tried to save him but also fell out of it, landing on the king. Neither survived. It’s unclear whether Henry died from the fall or from the dwarf landing on him.
1904 Olympic Marathon
The 1904 Olympic men’s marathon was amazing. The marathon route was brutal, going through the city of St Louis and over high hills. Less than half of contestants finished the marathon and many who did were blatant cheaters. One athlete took a type of rat poison called strychnine, hoping it would make him faster. But taking a highly toxic poison didn’t enhance his performance. It just made him too sick to finish the race. But his two trainers grabbed him and pushed him across the finish line, which the judges didn’t seem to mind as he was awarded gold.
He was not first to cross the finish line – that was Fred Lors, who was disqualified for cheating. Nine miles into the race he hitched a ride on a passing car. Ten miles later he got out and ran to the finish line. Before long his cheating was exposed. It was also the first Olympic event to feature two black Africans, although one of them was chased off course by a pack of wild dogs. He finished ninth. Another contestant was a Cuban postman who almost missed the marathon as he had to hitch hike to St Louis after losing all his money in New Orleans. It was the strangest marathon ever and surely among the most funny events in history.
The Great Emu War
How could I make a list of the most funny events in history without including this. In 1932 Australia went to war with Emus. Emu are native to Australia. These ridiculous flightless birds are surprisingly hard to kill and they basically do whatever they want. Emu became a problem in Australia’s Campion district, where 20 thousand of them were destroying farmland with their big bird feet. In those days Australia relied heavily on farming. So the government ordered a military operation against the emu.
A small army were sent to gun down the birds with ten thousand rounds of ammunition. And so the first battle began. The men opened fire but the Emu somehow ran out of range before any of them were hit. Here’s the problem. Whenever a mob of Emu sense danger they break into smaller groups and run in different directions. So they just kept escaping when shooting began – and those freaks are fast thanks to their massive legs. But humans had technology. Machine guns were mounted on trucks to chase down escaping Emu people. But still the emu were too fast for the trucks.
After multiple battles and thousands of rounds of ammunition, more than 19 thousand emu remained and Australia decided to just give up. Emu had defeated man in the greatest, most glorious victory of all time. It was a major embarrassment for the government, who ordered the operation partly as a PR move. They even sent a camera crew to record the whole thing. It wasn’t their finest moment.
The Biggest Hangover in History
1917 saw the most Russian thing possible. It was during the revolution. The Tsar’s winter palace had just been stormed by Bolsheviks. This meant they were now free to establish the Soviet Union. But that would have to wait. They first had some celebrating to do. Inside the palace was the world’s biggest wine cellar, holding almost 100 million dollars worth of alcohol. So Bolshevik soldiers just began drinking it. Word spread and civilians also began raiding the cellar. There was enough wine that Russia’s capital was full of drunk people for several weeks. It was a 4 week long drunken chaos that only ended when the cellars were empty. This event is known as the biggest hangover in history.
Liechtenstein’s Military History
This isn’t one single event but I can’t not include it. It’s the entire military history of the nation of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is a tiny state in between Switzerland and Austria, so small most people don’t know it exists. It doesn’t have a military and it’s last military action was in 1866. 1866 saw a war between Prussia and Austria. Of the 80 men Liechtenstein sent out to fight, 81 returned. Apparently they brought back “An Italian friends”. They abolished their military soon after. But in 2007 Switzerland accidentally invaded Liechtenstein. It began when a military unit got lost and crossed the border without realizing. And so that concludes our list of funny events in history. You’ll find the video accompanying this article directly below. Be sure to subscribe the our YouTube channel for more content in that form.