From a man who accidentally reunited Germany to a woman who refused to leave her seat on
a bus, we count 10 decisions that resulted in shocking consequences.
10 – Guenter Schabowski • After the war in 1989, when East Germany
was separated from the West, citizens were hoping for a reunion, but didn’t expect
it to happen quite like this.
• Politician Guenter Schabowski was in charge of reading some news updates at a very long
and boring press conference.
Without reading his notes, he incorrectly blurted out that East Germans were free to
go to West Germany if they pleased.
One surprised interviewer asked when this was effective, and Schabowski vaguely shuffled
his notes, but shrugged and said immediately.
The people of Germany leapt up and immediately started tearing down the Berlin wall.
• If Schabowski had read his notes properly, Germany might still be divided in two.
9 – 20 Second Moon Landing • Test pilots are notorious for their abilities
to make quick decisions way up in the sky, but Neil Armstrong had to land a space shuttle
on the moon in 20 seconds.
• In 1969, Armstrong and fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin successfully navigated their way
to the surface of the moon for the first time in history.
The mission could have just as easily failed though, Armstrong had only twenty seconds
to decide to attempt a landing or abort back to safety.
• Luckily his years of intensive training allowed him to remain cool and calm as he
expertly reversed that bad boy into a moon crater, changing history.
8 – Rim Fire • The third largest wildfire in California’s
history started with an innocent campfire.
• In 2013, a Californian bow hunter made an unwise decision to start an illegal campfire
in the Stanislaus National Forest which very quickly got out of hand.
By the time it was discovered, the blaze was 40 acres wide.
Four days later, the fire was still wildly out of control, razing over 100,000 acres
of land including over 100 buildings.
Although the fire was officially contained after nine weeks, it took an entire year for
authorities to fully extinguish it.
• It’s estimated that the hunter’s regrettable decision cost America 1.5 billion dollars.
7 – Canine Amputation • A man from Michigan claims his pet terrier
saved his life when the family dog ate his toe.
• Jerry Douthett and his wife went out to a local bar one night and indulged in a beer
or five.
Douthett’s health was in poor condition: his toe was severely infected.
On returning home that night, Douthett decided to go bed where he passed out.
Hours later he woke up screaming to his wife that his toe was missing.
Kiko sat there licking his lips after evidently feasting on the festering digit while Douthett
slept.
• Douthett was diagnosed with diabetes, but at least the infection was removed, along
with the toe.
6 – Key That Could’ve Saved the Titanic • What if the captain of the Titanic had
more time to navigate away from the infamous iceberg, passing it safely by?
• A hasty last minute change to the crew of the titanic meant that a new second officer
took the night-watch on the world’s (then) biggest cruise liner.
The changeover happened so quickly that the new watchman failed to receive keys to a locker
– a locker containing some crucial binoculars.
Due to this simple error, the second officer was forced to rely solely on his eyes to detect
any threatening iceberg obstacles, but was too late.
• It is hotly debated whether or not this simple key could have prevented the titanic
from sinking.
5 – Nuclear Warfare • As if guns and explosives weren’t killing
enough people, the US government decided in 1945 that they wanted to use nuclear bombs.
• President Truman permitted the most devastating decision in the history of all wars: to build
and use nuclear missiles.
The atomic bomb that US forces dropped on Japan instantly killed 80,000 people.
That single A-bomb is reported to have destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives over several
generations.
Today it is estimated that over 16,000 nuclear weapons are active in the world, mostly in
America and Russia.
• Our planet is the only one we know with life on it, hopefully we don’t ruin that
by killing everything on it.
4 – Decca Turns Down The Beatles • In 1962, a record company called ‘Decca
Records’ turned down four guys who would later become the most famous band in the world.
• Before they became a household name, The Beatles were just a group of eager young chaps
from Liverpool, England.
They set out one New Year’s Day hoping to score a record deal, nervously playing their
songs to the company’s talent scout, Dick Rowe.
The band was turned down, and Rowe notoriously told them that guitar groups weren’t popular
anymore.
• The company arguably made the biggest mistake in music history, but later went on
to sign a brand new band called ‘The Rolling Stones’.
3 – Thalidomide • In the 1950’s, a new drug hit the shelf
designed to treat a range of illnesses, but it took almost a decade to see the truly disturbing
side effects.
• Pregnant women were buying Thalidomide to help with their morning sickness, and others
took it to help them sleep.
Suddenly there was an epidemic of babies being born with major internal and external deformities
being born across the world.
When the manufacturer finally withdrew the drug from the market, an estimated 100,000
pregnant women were affected.
• As damaging as it was for newborns, the drug is still used to treat cancer patients
today.
2 – Buddy Holly’s Last Flight • In 1959, talented musician Buddy Holly
ditched his broken tour van for a plane ride that would ultimately end his life.
• At only 22 years old, Holly set out on the road, playing music in every city he could.
The man responsible for songs like ‘American Pie’ didn’t have a lot of cash up his
sleeve and struggled to find the means to repair the van whenever it constantly broke
down.
He and his musician buddies decided to cut their losses and fly themselves to their next
destination.
Shortly after take-off, the plane violently crashed, killing all on board.
• His legendary music still lives on and continues to influence many artists today.
1 – Rosa Parks • A simple act of defiance by a single woman
in 1955 shattered an entire American culture.
• Rosa Parks was sitting on a crowded bus minding her own business, possibly even doing
a Sudoku, when a white person asked her to give up her seat.
It was illegal for a black person to refuse a white person a seat at the time.
Parks decided that this was a preposterous rule and declined.
She was arrested, which prompted a lot of people to stand up for her.
Then a lot more people stood up for her.
• Next minute, she was standing in the Supreme Court where it was officially decided once
and for all that all people deserve to be treated equally, and that racism is ridiculous.