10 Times the U.S. Government Made Unbelievable Decisions
Explore the most outrageous, head-scratching, and downright baffling decisions ever made by the U.S. government.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
There is a lengthy history of choices made by the U.S. government that seem like fiction. However, these are actual events supported by historical records and declassified papers, not conspiracy theories. These choices left a lasting impression and many questions, regardless of whether they were motivated by fear, power, or just poor judgment.
1. Project MK-Ultra: The CIA’s Mind-Control Experiments
Erik Fenderson on Wikimedia Commons
In the 1950s and ’60s, the CIA launched a top-secret program to explore mind control, often without consent. They dosed unwitting subjects with LSD and other hallucinogens. Some people suffered permanent psychological damage.
2. Operation Northwoods: A Plan to Stage Attacks on Americans
Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase on Wikimedia Commons
In 1962, the Pentagon drafted plans to commit fake terrorist acts on U.S. soil. The idea? Blame Cuba to justify an invasion. President Kennedy shut it down — but the proposal alone is chilling proof of how far leaders might go to push policy.
3. The Bonus Army Massacre
Mikhail Tyrsyna on Unsplash
During the Great Depression, thousands of WWI veterans camped in D.C., demanding early payment of promised bonuses. Instead of helping them, the government sent in the military — tanks, bayonets, and all.
4. The Decision to Relocate Japanese Americans
Dorothea Lange on Wikimedia Commons
In 1942, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps, most without charges or trials. The move was based on racial fear, not evidence.
5. Operation Plowshare: Nukes for Civil Engineering
Federal Government of the United States on Wikimedia Commons
Believe it or not, the U.S. once tested whether nuclear bombs could help dig canals and mine resources. This series of experiments, dubbed Operation Plowshare, resulted in massive radioactive fallout.
6. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Wikimedia Commons
From 1932 to 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service studied Black men with syphilis, without telling them or offering treatment. Even after penicillin became available, doctors withheld it to observe the disease’s progression.
7. Giving Military-Grade Weapons to Small Police Forces
Stephanie LeBlanc on Unsplash
After 9/11, the U.S. ramped up the 1033 Program, which handed out surplus military gear to local police, even to tiny towns with barely any crime. Think grenade launchers, armored vehicles, and assault rifles.
8. Exploding a Nuclear Bomb in Space
United States Government Defense Nuclear Agency on Wikimedia Commons
In 1962, as part of Operation Fishbowl, the government detonated a hydrogen bomb 250 miles above Earth. The explosion created artificial auroras and disrupted satellites.
9. Trying to Train Cats as Spies
Inge Wallumrød on Pexels
During the Cold War, the CIA launched “Acoustic Kitty,” an effort to turn cats into surveillance tools by surgically implanting microphones and antennas. Minutes into its mission, the first test cat was hit by a taxi.
10. Selling Weapons to Iran to Fund Central American Rebels
Myko Makhlai on Unsplash
The Iran-Contra affair was a tangled mess of covert deals in the 1980s. The U.S. sold arms to Iran (despite an embargo) and funneled the profits to anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.