History Gone Off the Rails

Strange historical events.

History Gone Off the Rails
In Strasbourg, People Danced Themselves to Death — And No One Could Make Them Stop
In the summer of 1518, dozens of Strasbourg residents began dancing nonstop for days — and the city’s solution was to... encourage more dancing.
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History Gone Off the Rails
London’s Parliament Almost Fled the City Because the Thames Smelled So Bad
In the summer of 1858, the stench of untreated sewage in the Thames got so bad that MPs considered relocating Parliament.
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History Gone Off the Rails
A War Between Two Empires Started Over a Severed Ear
The War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739) between Britain and Spain was named after a captain who lost his ear in an incident at sea seven years earlier.
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History Gone Off the Rails
A Fire Destroyed Nearly an Entire Medieval City — and Official Records Say Almost No One Died
The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed more than 13,000 homes, yet official records list only a handful of deaths.
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History Gone Off the Rails
For 21 Years, San Francisco Had Its Own "Emperor" — and the City Played Along For Real
In 1859, Joshua Norton declared himself "Emperor of the United States," and local shops and banks actually honored his own currency.
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History Gone Off the Rails
Japan Sent Thousands of Bombs to the US... on Balloons, Across the Pacific
In 1944-45, Japan launched over 9,000 balloon bombs, riding the jet stream to carry them all the way to North America.
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History Gone Off the Rails
Australia Declared War on Emus — and Lost
In 1932, the Australian military deployed machine guns against wild emus destroying crops — and still couldn’t beat them.
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History Gone Off the Rails
Tulip Bulbs Once Cost as Much as a House in Amsterdam
Tulip mania in 17th-century Holland got so extreme that a single tulip bulb was valued higher than a craftsman’s annual salary.
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History Gone Off the Rails
The US Built a Flying Nuclear Reactor Meant to Fly Forever
In the 1960s, Project Pluto tested a supersonic cruise missile powered by a nuclear reactor, capable of circling the globe for weeks.
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History Gone Off the Rails
The CIA Spent Millions Turning a Cat Into a Spy Device
During the Cold War, the CIA surgically implanted microphones and transmitters into live cats to eavesdrop on Soviet diplomats.
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History Gone Off the Rails
The Church Put a Dead Pope on Trial
In 897, Pope Stephen VI had his predecessor’s corpse dug up, dressed in papal robes, and put on trial at the so-called "Cadaver Synod."
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History Gone Off the Rails
France and Britain Declared War on Germany, Then Did Almost Nothing for Eight Months
After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Western Front stayed eerily quiet for months in what became known as the "Phony War."
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History Gone Off the Rails
The British Wanted to Build an Aircraft Carrier Out of Ice and Sawdust
Project Habakkuk envisioned a massive aircraft carrier made of "pykrete" — a mix of ice and sawdust, nearly unsinkable thanks to its slow melting rate.
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History Gone Off the Rails
A Japanese Soldier Fought Alone on a Philippine Island for 29 Years After the War Ended
Hiroo Onoda hid out in the Philippines and waged a one-man guerrilla war until 1974, refusing to believe Japan had surrendered.
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History Gone Off the Rails
Beer Tanks Burst and Flooded a London Neighborhood With a Wave Several Meters High
In 1814, a giant brewery tank burst in London, unleashing a wave of hundreds of thousands of liters of beer that destroyed homes and killed several people.
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History Gone Off the Rails
Throwing Officials Out a Window Kicked Off One of the Bloodiest Wars in European History
The Second Defenestration of Prague in 1618, when Protestant nobles threw Catholic officials out of a castle window, was the spark that ignited the Thirty Years’ War.
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History Gone Off the Rails
One Night Without Power in New York Sparked a City-Wide Wave of Looting
A 1977 New York power outage, lasting about 25 hours, spiraled into mass looting and arson across dozens of neighborhoods.
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History Gone Off the Rails
During the Siege of Paris, Residents Ate the Zoo Animals — Including the Elephants
During the Prussian siege of Paris in 1870-71, hunger got so bad that exotic zoo animals ended up on Parisians’ dinner plates.
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History Gone Off the Rails
During a Siege in Africa, a Town Ran Out of Cash — So It Printed Its Own Currency from Stamps
During the Siege of Mafeking in the Second Boer War, a cut-off British garrison printed its own banknotes and stamps to keep the town’s economy running.
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History Gone Off the Rails
The Only Survivor of an Entire City’s Destruction Was a Man Locked in a Prison Cell
The 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée on Martinique killed nearly everyone in Saint-Pierre — among the few who survived was a prisoner shielded by his cell’s thick walls.
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History Gone Off the Rails
In the Middle Ages, Animals Stood Trial in Court — and Had the Right to a Defense Lawyer
Medieval Europe held formal court trials against animals, including pigs, rats, and insects, complete with full legal procedure and a court-appointed defense attorney.
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History Gone Off the Rails
Right Before the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History, Top Economists Swore Prices Would Never Fall
Days before the 1929 Wall Street crash, respected economists were publicly insisting the market had reached a permanently high, stable plateau.
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History Gone Off the Rails

In Strasbourg, People Danced Themselves to Death — And No One Could Make Them Stop

London’s Parliament Almost Fled the City Because the Thames Smelled So Bad

A War Between Two Empires Started Over a Severed Ear

A Fire Destroyed Nearly an Entire Medieval City — and Official Records Say Almost No One Died

For 21 Years, San Francisco Had Its Own "Emperor" — and the City Played Along For Real

Japan Sent Thousands of Bombs to the US... on Balloons, Across the Pacific

Australia Declared War on Emus — and Lost

Tulip Bulbs Once Cost as Much as a House in Amsterdam

The US Built a Flying Nuclear Reactor Meant to Fly Forever

The CIA Spent Millions Turning a Cat Into a Spy Device

The Church Put a Dead Pope on Trial

France and Britain Declared War on Germany, Then Did Almost Nothing for Eight Months

The British Wanted to Build an Aircraft Carrier Out of Ice and Sawdust

A Japanese Soldier Fought Alone on a Philippine Island for 29 Years After the War Ended

Beer Tanks Burst and Flooded a London Neighborhood With a Wave Several Meters High

Throwing Officials Out a Window Kicked Off One of the Bloodiest Wars in European History

One Night Without Power in New York Sparked a City-Wide Wave of Looting

During the Siege of Paris, Residents Ate the Zoo Animals — Including the Elephants

During a Siege in Africa, a Town Ran Out of Cash — So It Printed Its Own Currency from Stamps

The Only Survivor of an Entire City’s Destruction Was a Man Locked in a Prison Cell

In the Middle Ages, Animals Stood Trial in Court — and Had the Right to a Defense Lawyer

Right Before the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History, Top Economists Swore Prices Would Never Fall

History Gone Off the Rails

In Strasbourg, People Danced Themselves to Death — And No One Could Make Them Stop

London’s Parliament Almost Fled the City Because the Thames Smelled So Bad

A War Between Two Empires Started Over a Severed Ear

A Fire Destroyed Nearly an Entire Medieval City — and Official Records Say Almost No One Died

For 21 Years, San Francisco Had Its Own "Emperor" — and the City Played Along For Real

Japan Sent Thousands of Bombs to the US... on Balloons, Across the Pacific

Australia Declared War on Emus — and Lost

Tulip Bulbs Once Cost as Much as a House in Amsterdam

The US Built a Flying Nuclear Reactor Meant to Fly Forever

The CIA Spent Millions Turning a Cat Into a Spy Device

The Church Put a Dead Pope on Trial

France and Britain Declared War on Germany, Then Did Almost Nothing for Eight Months

The British Wanted to Build an Aircraft Carrier Out of Ice and Sawdust

A Japanese Soldier Fought Alone on a Philippine Island for 29 Years After the War Ended

Beer Tanks Burst and Flooded a London Neighborhood With a Wave Several Meters High

Throwing Officials Out a Window Kicked Off One of the Bloodiest Wars in European History

One Night Without Power in New York Sparked a City-Wide Wave of Looting

During the Siege of Paris, Residents Ate the Zoo Animals — Including the Elephants

During a Siege in Africa, a Town Ran Out of Cash — So It Printed Its Own Currency from Stamps

The Only Survivor of an Entire City’s Destruction Was a Man Locked in a Prison Cell

In the Middle Ages, Animals Stood Trial in Court — and Had the Right to a Defense Lawyer

Right Before the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History, Top Economists Swore Prices Would Never Fall