16 Moments in History That Deserve More Attention
This article highlights 16 unusual and often forgotten moments in history that deserve more attention.
- Daisy Montero
- 5 min read
History is full of surprising events that are rarely mentioned in classrooms. Some are strange, some are tragic, and others are almost unbelievable. This list brings together 16 moments that show just how unexpected the past can be. Each one proves that history is never as simple as it seems.
1. The Dancing Plague of 1518
Pieter Brueghel the Elder on Wikimedia Commons
In Strasbourg, hundreds of townsfolk began dancing uncontrollably in the streets for weeks. The strange event baffled doctors, who believed it was caused by “hot blood” or supernatural forces. Many collapsed from exhaustion, and some even danced themselves to death.
2. The Great Emu War (1932)
子ファース on Wikimedia Commons
Australia once declared war on a flock of flightless birds that kept destroying farmland. Soldiers armed with machine guns tried to fight them, but the emus were too fast and scattered. In the end, the birds won, leaving the military embarrassed.
3. Operation Cat Drop
Stanley Arthur Devon on Wikimedia Commons
In the 1950s, Borneo faced a crisis when pesticides killed off predators, causing rat infestations. To fix it, the Royal Air Force parachuted live cats into villages to chase the rats away. It sounds absurd, but it worked, and the “cat drop” became a legendary story.
4. The Pig War (1859)
Ameli Sanchos on Wikimedia Commons
A dispute between the United States and Britain nearly turned into war because of a pig. One farmer shot the animal, sparking tension over unclear borders on the San Juan Islands. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and the “war” ended without a single human casualty.
5. Operation Paul Bunyan (1976)
Sgt. 1st Class Peter P. Ruplenas on Wikimedia Commons
After two U.S. soldiers were killed in a clash over a tree in the Korean DMZ, America staged an unusual response. Hundreds of troops, tanks, and helicopters gathered just to cut the tree down. The show of force turned a simple pruning job into a major Cold War standoff.
6. Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic (1962)
USAID Africa Bureau on Wikimedia Commons
A group of schoolgirls in Tanzania suddenly broke into uncontrollable laughter that spread across their community. The outbreak lasted for months and affected hundreds of people, causing schools to shut down. To this day, no one knows exactly why it happened.
7. The Great Molasses Flood (1919)
Volzja54501 on Wikimedia Commons
A massive storage tank in Boston burst, releasing a wave of sticky molasses into the streets. Buildings were crushed, and dozens of people lost their lives in the strange disaster. The smell of molasses reportedly lingered in the area for decades.
8. The Cadaver Synod (897 AD)
Unspecified on Wikimedia Commons
One of the strangest trials in history involved a deceased pope. Pope Formosus’ corpse was dug up, dressed in papal robes, and put on trial for supposed crimes. The macabre scene shocked Europe and remains one of the darkest moments in church history.
9. A State That Never Was: Frankland (Late 1700s)
Harper & Bros. publishers on Wikimedia Commons
After the American Revolution, settlers in modern-day Tennessee declared themselves an independent state called Frankland. They formed a government and even tried to join the Union, but Congress refused. Within a few years, the dream of statehood disappeared.
10. The Dark Year (536 AD)
Dark Energy Survey on Wikimedia Commons
In the year 536, volcanic eruptions filled the sky with ash, blocking sunlight across much of the world. Crops failed, famine spread, and people described the sun as dim like the moon. Historians call it one of the hardest years to survive in recorded history.
11. Halley’s Comet on Ancient Coins (87 BC)
NASA/W. Liller on Wikimedia Commons
An Armenian king may have minted coins showing Halley’s Comet during its appearance in 87 BC. This would make it one of the earliest human records of the famous celestial body. The small coin turned out to hold big clues about ancient astronomy.
12. The Magnetic Storm of 1770
http://geomag.usgs.gov/ on Wikimedia Commons
For nine nights, bright red auroras lit up skies across East Asia and beyond. The storm was so powerful that it rivaled some of the strongest solar events of modern times. People at the time had no idea what caused the mysterious glowing skies.
13. Death by Laughter (1556)
Titian on Wikimedia Commons
Italian author Pietro Aretino reportedly laughed so hard at a dinner joke that he suffocated. His death shows that even something as joyful as laughter can be dangerous in rare cases. The story is still retold as one of the oddest ends for a writer.
14. Death by Beard (1567)
MaRo2608 on Wikimedia Commons
Hans Steininger, a mayor in Austria, was proud of his beard that stretched over four feet long. One day, he tripped over it while fleeing a fire and broke his neck. His unusual death became a cautionary tale about vanity and excess.
15. The Battle of Castle Itter (1945) on Wikimedia Commons
Steve J. Morgan (of Portland, Oregon, USA) on Wikimedia Commons
In the final days of World War II, Americans, Germans, and French prisoners fought together to defend a castle. Their unlikely alliance held off an SS attack in a story that feels more like fiction than fact. It remains one of the strangest battles of the war.
16. The Ghost Army of World War II
GilPe on Wikimedia Commons
During WWII, the U.S. created a secret unit of artists, designers, and sound engineers to trick the Germans. They used inflatable tanks, fake radio chatter, and loudspeakers playing battle noises to create the illusion of a massive army. Their creativity saved countless lives and remained classified for decades.