16 Strange Moments in History That Sound Too Ridiculous to Be True
History is packed with outrageous bizarre moments that sound like fiction—but they're all shockingly true.
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
History is not only a series of battles and treaties—it’s also replete with ridiculous, nearly unbelievable events that didn’t make sense. From an all-out war against emus to a dog being elected mayor, these bizarre events show us that reality can be stranger than fiction. Whether they’re funny, frightening, or just plain confusing, these tales remind us that history is far from dull.
1. The Great Emu War (1932)
Image from Medium
Australia went to war against emus—yes, the flightless birds—in 1932. Soldiers armed with machine guns attempted to limit the emu population by destroying crops, but the birds were too quick and robust. The emus emerged victorious after weeks of fighting, and the government conceded.
2. The Exploding Whale (1970)
Image from Reddit
Oregon authorities came up with the brilliant plan of dynamiting a beached whale. When they exploded it, pieces of whale rained down on shocked onlookers and wrecked a car. The scheme was such a failure that it’s one of history’s most monumental follies.
3. Napoleon Once Got Attacked by Rabbits
Image from Wikipedia
Napoleon Bonaparte craved a rabbit hunt, so his soldiers rounded up hundreds of rabbits. Released, the rabbits didn’t scatter. Instead, they attacked him, overwhelming him in a strange furry rebellion. It turns out the rabbits were domesticated and equated humans with food.
4. A Chess Game Once Delayed a War
Image from Wikipedia
In 1809, two British officers in India were so distracted by a game of chess that they waited too long to mobilize their forces. By the time they were done, their opponent had claimed his strategic advantage. The war was lost, all due to a board game.
5. A Roman Emperor Declared War on the Sea
Image from Britannica
Caligula, the infamous Roman emperor, even declared war on Neptune, the sea god. He instructed his troops to stab the ocean and gather seashells as “plunder.” Historians argue to this day if it was madness or some warped exercise of authority.
6. The City That Elected a Dog as Mayor (Multiple Times)
Image from Wikipedia
Residents of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, elected a dog named Goofy as mayor in 1998. They have since kept electing dogs, and each dog has been a cherished figurehead. The practice is still a fun and touching aspect of the town’s political life.
7. The Time a Football Game Sparked a War
Image from Britannica
In 1969, a soccer game between Honduras and El Salvador sparked an all-out war. The two countries were already on edge and following El Salvador’s win, riots and violence boiled over into a four-day war. Thousands were killed, and it was referred to as the “Football War.”
8. A Man Won the Lottery, Then Died at the Press Conference
Image from Research Dive
In 2001, a Croatian man named Frane Selak, who had previously survived a series of close calls to death, won the lottery. Celebrating at a press conference, he fainted and technically “died” from a heart attack—only to come back miraculously to life. Dubbed “the world’s luckiest unlucky man,” he eventually donated most of his winnings.
9. The Dancing Plague of 1518
Image from Wikipedia
In Strasbourg, a woman suddenly started dancing in the streets and couldn’t stop. Within days, hundreds of people joined her, many dancing themselves to exhaustion or even death. The cause remains unknown, but theories include mass hysteria or ergot poisoning (a hallucinogenic mold on bread).
10. The Time London Had a Beer Flood
Image from ERT.GR
In 1814, a huge vat in the Meux Brewery exploded, spilling more than 323,000 gallons of beer into London streets. The beer wave destroyed buildings and killed at least eight. Surprisingly, some survivors were jailed for attempting to consume the “free” beer.
11. The Eiffel Tower Was Almost Scrapped for Junk
Image from Wikipedia
By the early 1900s, most Parisians viewed the Eiffel Tower as an eyesore and wished it were dismantled. It survived only because it was useful as a military radio tower. Nowadays, it is France’s most recognizable landmark due to the advent of radio.
12. A Paperwork Error Declared a Man Dead—Twice
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A Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Saliège, was legally presumed dead as a result of a clerical error. Even after establishing that he was alive, bureaucracy revived his “death” a few years later. He spent decades attempting to recover his identity, much as he did exist.
13. The Soviet Union Once Built a Doomsday Machine—Then Forgot About It
Image from Wikipedia
During the Cold War, the USSR developed the “Dead Hand” system, which would automatically fire nuclear missiles if their leaders were dead. However, for years, officials didn’t know whether it was still functioning or who possessed the codes. It was basically an unaccountable apocalypse button.
14. The Time an Entire Town Disappeared
Image from Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - Fandom
In 1930, a Canadian fur trapper came to an Inuit village named Anjikuni to find it totally deserted. All the people, sled dogs, and even their equipment vanished without leaving a single clue behind. The case remains unsolved, with speculations from mass kidnapping to paranormal activity.
15. A Man Survived Two Atomic Bombs
Image from National Security Archive
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb fell but lived. He went to Nagasaki the following day—just in time for the second bomb. Miraculously, he survived into his 90s and emerged as a vocal anti-nuclear activist.
16. The U.S. Once Accidentally Dropped an Atomic Bomb on Itself
Image from Wikipedia
In 1961, a B-52 bomber accidentally dropped two nuclear bombs over Goldsboro, North Carolina. One nearly detonated, with only a single safety switch holding back the disaster. Had it detonated, it would have been 250 times stronger than the Hiroshima bomb.