Number 5 – Decca Records Failing to Sign the Beatles
In 1962, Dick Rowe, an executive at Decca Records, thought guitar groups were falling
out of favour. On New Year's Day that year, the Beatles, though at that time Pete Best
was their drummer and they called themselves the Silver Beatles, auditioned for Decca Records
producer Tony Meehan. One month later, when Dick Rowe heard their audition tape which
contained 15 tracks on a 12-inch audio tape, he passed on signing the band. This proved
to be a foolish decision on his behalf as the Beatles went on to make $38.5 million
by the end of summer 1967, after signing with EMI.
Number 4 – Napoleon Invading Russia
In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with about 600,000 men and over 50,000 horses. His plan
was to bring the war to a conclusion within twenty days by forcing the Russians to fight
a major battle. Reality was a bit different. Napoleon found that Russia had a very poor
road network. Thus he was forced to advance along a very narrow front which ended up wasting
most of his food resources. As a result, soldiers were weakened by poor diets and fatigue, therefore
making them susceptible to disease. Typhus was rampant among the troops due to infestations
of lice. Additionally, the poor food, combined with bad water, and camping on sites where
tens of thousands bivouacked before (and thus contaminated the water and area with faeces)
made intestinal ailments such as diarrhoea and dysentery common. By the time Napoleon
had reached Moscow, three months later, over 200,000 of his soldiers were dead or hospitalized
due to disease and exhaustion. Russian troops pushed Napoleon and what was left of his troops
back to France.
Number 3 – The Titanic
Titanic is perhaps the most iconic ship in history, its tragic story is known all over
the world. Its maiden voyage ended in tragedy when it struck an iceberg and sank, killing
more than 1,500 passengers and crew. Arguably, the foolish decision made by the captain at
the time, Captain Smith, led to the crashing of the Titanic. Captain Smith ignored seven
iceberg warnings from his crew and other ships prior to the crash. However, is this individual
ultimately to blame? You could say it was the shipbuilder’s fault for the quality
of the iron, or Bruce Ismay’s fault for pressuring the captain to maintain the speed
of the ship as White Star Line wanted to show that they could make a six day crossing. Maybe
it was Thomas Andrew’s fault for not getting the architecture of the ship correctly as
he did not make the watertight compartments as high as they should have been. Or was it
Captain Lord’s fault for ignoring Titanic’s distress messages? We will leave this up to
you to decide!
Number 2 – Hitler Invading Russia
Nazi Germany vs Communist Russia. It was the largest military invasion of World War II
and became the first major land defeat for Hitler. You could definitely say all of Hitler’s
decisions were foolish but what was notable of his invasion of Russia was the fact that
in 1941, he broke the non-aggression pact signed in 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union
when he invaded Russia with an army of more than 3 million men, 7,000 artillery pieces,
3,000 tanks, and 2,500 aircrafts. Operation “Barbarossa” proved to be a fatal mistake
for Nazi Germany. After months of campaigning, the German army was exhausted. Having expected
a rapid Soviet collapse, German planners had failed to equip their troops for winter warfare
which as we all know, you should never invade Russia in the winter! Expecting their military
personnel to live off the land of a conquered Soviet Union at the expense of the indigenous
population, which in German calculations, would starve to death in the millions, German
planners had failed to provide sufficient food and medicines. On December 6, 1941, the
Soviet Union launched a major counterattack against the centre of the front, driving the
Germans back from Moscow in chaos.
Number 1 – Prohibition
In 1917, after the United States entered World War I, President Woodrow Wilson instituted
a temporary wartime prohibition in order to save grain for producing food. That same year,
Congress submitted the 18th Amendment, which banned the manufacture, transportation and
sale of intoxicating liquors, for state ratification. It was promoted by the "dry" crusaders, a
movement led by rural Protestants and social Progressives in the Democratic and Republican
parties, and was coordinated by the Anti-Saloon League, and the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. Prohibition was considered the "noble experiment." It was supposed to lower crime
levels and reduce the amount of money spent on prisons. It was supposed to clean us up
socially, as well as improve our health and hygiene. What resulted instead was an explosion
of alcohol-related crime, and eventually a corrupt law enforcement and political system
willing to take bribes or look the other way. When FDR became the 32nd U.S. President, he
immediately called for an end for Prohibition, and in February 1933 Congress adopted a resolution
proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th.