Strangest Historical Events

3,644 Views | 22 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Rabid Cougar
chimpanzee
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Someone over on the R&P board brought up the Cadaver Synod that I recall just chuckling and shaking my head at when hearing about for the first time.

Quote:

At this trial, called the Cadaver Synod, a dead pope wrenched from the grave was brought into a Rome courtroom, tried in the presence of a successor pope, found guilty, and then, in the words of Horace K. Mann's The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages (1925), "subjected to the most barbarous violence."

Of course, looking at it through the current lens is what makes it funny in a macabre type of way. The Papacy back then had degenerated into a thoroughly corrupt office with tangential ecclesial responsibilities that the named Bishop of Rome may or may not have cared for at all. One guy wasn't even ordained as a deacon a week before he was made Pope. Full disclosure, I'm Catholic, but not a particularly Roman one. Mentioning anything related to the Vatican on the internet typically brings out the same dumb stuff, but that's certainly not my intent here.

I was curious what this board may have run across in a similar vein.
Smokedraw01
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The Great Molasses Flood of Boston.
Corporal Punishment
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The Dyatlov Pass Incident absolutely creeps me out.
ABATTBQ87
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AG
World War II's Strangest Battle: When Americans and Germans Fought Together
Stive
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AG
This thread has all kinds of potential. There has been some weird stuff happen around the world during recorded history.
No Le Hace
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ABATTBQ87
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AG
The Horrific Crocodile Massacre of Ramree Island

Unfortunately for the Japanese troops, the swamps of Ramree were infested by countless, very large saltwater crocodiles, which can grow upwards of 20 feet long and over a ton in weight. The weary and bloodied soldiers thrashing clumsily through the swamps may as well have been a dinner bell ringing. The soldiers were viciously and mercilessly attacked by the reptilian beasts, and survivors reported how swarms of the aggressive animals descended upon them as terrified soldiers fired blindly in all directions in a futile effort to drive off their ravenous aggressors. Some reports from survivors described how the crocodiles would often appear out of nowhere from the murky water to drag screaming and thrashing men to their doom. The mosquito-clouded air was reported to be filled with the sounds of gunfire, snapping jaws, and the horrible gurgling cries of men being ripped to shreds, as the soldiers tried desperately to escape a fate worse than Allied troops.
dallasiteinsa02
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The Battle of Los Angeles

In the months after Pearl Harbor, America was on edge, especially in California. On February 23, 1942, a Japanese submarine had fired on an oilfield near Santa Barbara the next day, Naval intelligence indicated an enemy attack was imminent. So the next day, when radar detected an unidentified aircraft heading toward Los Angeles, the city turned into a battlefield.

After the object appeared onscreen, officials ordered a city-wide blackout. As there was no Moon that night, Los Angeles was plunged into darkness. The city's anti-aircraft batteries were readied for action, and then someone sighted a balloon carrying a red flare. Suddenly, the night sky turned into a terrifying light show. The military fired over 1,400 rounds into the air, and soldiers spotted all kinds of planes traveling at varying speeds and at wildly different altitudes.

But when the smoke cleared, there were no signs of an invasion, and the Navy quickly claimed the incident was due to jitters. The Army wasn't so sure, mentioning the possibility of enemy aircraft. But where had they come from, and where did they go? The Army didn't know. These conflicting reports prompted criticism from the government and major newspapers. Things were especially bad since all that anti-aircraft shrapnel had caused property damage, and a few citizens had died due to heart attacks and traffic accidents.

So what really happened that night? Well, we can probably blame it all on a weather balloon. When one drifted over L.A., the soldiers freaked out. Making things worse, the sky was dark and full of smoke, so shell bursts were probably mistaken for Japanese planes. While some conspiracy theorists think aliens were involved, we can probably point the finger at meteorologists.



Read More: https://www.grunge.com/29108/real-stories-behind-bizarre-events-history/?utm_campaign=clip
aalan94
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AG
Along the theme of the original story, there is the story of the corpse of the Baron de Bastrop. Don't have all the details here, but the short version is he died in Mexico and a few days later, some looters came to dig him up and steal from his grave. As they were pawing the corpse for jewels, some gas inside it caused him to sit bolt upright. The thieves fled in panic.
Apache
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Quote:

Unfortunately for the Japanese troops, the swamps of Ramree were infested by countless, very large saltwater crocodiles, which can grow upwards of 20 feet long and over a ton in weight. The weary and bloodied soldiers thrashing clumsily through the swamps may as well have been a dinner bell ringing. The soldiers were viciously and mercilessly attacked by the reptilian beasts, and survivors reported how swarms of the aggressive animals descended upon them as terrified soldiers fired blindly in all directions in a futile effort to drive off their ravenous aggressors. Some reports from survivors described how the crocodiles would often appear out of nowhere from the murky water to drag screaming and thrashing men to their doom. The mosquito-clouded air was reported to be filled with the sounds of gunfire, snapping jaws, and the horrible gurgling cries of men being ripped to shreds, as the soldiers tried desperately to escape a fate worse than Allied troops.

This is the Japanese version of the American sailors being attacked by sharks after the USS Indianapolis got torpedoed after Hiroshima.
who?mikejones
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Smokedraw01 said:

The Great Molasses Flood of Boston.


I'll see your flood of molasses and raise you beer

https://www.historyandheadlines.com/october-17-1814-how-much-beer-is-too-much-the-london-beer-flood/
chimpanzee
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aalan94 said:

Along the theme of the original story, there is the story of the corpse of the Baron de Bastrop. Don't have all the details here, but the short version is he died in Mexico and a few days later, some looters came to dig him up and steal from his grave. As they were pawing the corpse for jewels, some gas inside it caused him to sit bolt upright. The thieves fled in panic.


Reminds me of the funeral of William the Conqueror.

Everyone was too busy sharpening daggers to carry out a plan quickly, and when they finally got around to it, they just jammed him in a too small crypt and he popped all over those in attendance.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/william-the-conqueror
aggie appraiser
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The murder of William Tyndale by the church for the heinous crime of translating the Bible into English.
PanzerAggie06
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I've been obsessing about this one lately. I have spent way to much time online looking into it and hoping to figure out what the hell actually took place.

There are some crazy theories out there of course. Everything from yetis to UFOs, to crazed wolverines. Basically it seems that some natural occurrence (avalanche, hurricane-force winds) scared them out of their tent and they stupidly ran off into the night with little to no gear. By the time they figured out they had screwed up, it was too late to get back to the relative safety of the tent.
ja86
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hypothermia can cause people to do some really weird things...
PanzerAggie06
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I read an interesting article about an expedition out of Sweden that went to the site and attempted to recreate the events as they played out. It was a pretty interesting read. The guy who led the expedition is some hardcore Swedish adventure type who seems to know his stuff. Anyway, he very methodically outlined a reasonable scenario for what took place which basically took all the "weird" elements of the event and threw them in the trash. He stated that while people suffering from hypothermia can do some weird stuff, such as stripping of clothing because they believe they are overheating, this only occurs about 25% of the time. It would be a real stretch to think all 9 members simultaneously suffered from this phenomenon.
dcAg
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PanzerAggie06,
Are you talking about that deal in Russia?
ja86
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yeah, it would be a stretch for the whole group to become delusional at the same time from hypothermia. What were the conclusions from that article?
PanzerAggie06
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Basically:

1: Slab avalanche or hurricane-force winds scared group from the tent.
2: Group ran to the tree line for protection. They started a fire but soon realized they were in trouble. Two of the campers quickly died.
3: Four campers went deeper into the woods to build a bivouac for protection.
4: Three campers attempted to head back to the tent to retrieve supplies. They did not make it.
5: Four campers at the bivouac site died shortly thereafter.

They determined the wounds found on the four bodies at the bivouac site were caused by three months of snow piling up on the bodies and compressing them into the rocks below. These wounds are a central aspect of the conspiracies that something sinister took place.

One of the bodies of the three that attempted to make it back to the tent also had a skull fracture and other wounds. They determined he probably had climbed a tree at the treeline (where the first two campers had died) to see if it was safe to head back to the tent. The tree where the first two bodies were located had multiple broken limbs as if someone had climbed the tree. He fell and injured himself but managed to stumble a few hundred meters up the slope back towards the tent.

There are other aspects of the story but that's a quick rundown. It seems reasonable in comparison to a Yeti attack, UFO, or Soviet military test gone awry.

Edit: Also, it was determined at the time that several articles of the camper's clothing had a fairly high level of radiation in them. This added clout to the theories that it was some sort of military test that went badly. Well, apparently two of the hikers had worked at a Soviet nuclear weapons facility that had had an accident the previous year which would explain why they might have been contaminated.
Poke_the_Bear
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I worked semi close to that area for 5 years, and my opinion is they were killed by the local tribe. Even in the 2000's the natives did not like you fishing in their places and we had an incident of an individual getting mugged.

I can imagine back then they didnt like these Russians camping in their forest and killed them. No one wants to blame the native Khantis so wild theories evolve.
JABQ04
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Didn't one of the campers have their tongue ripped out/missing?
PanzerAggie06
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Yes. One of the female hikers that died at the bivouac site was missing her tongue and, by some reports, her eyes. However, it wasn' stated at the time whether they wore cut/torn out or were simply missing because of animal predation. This camper was one of four that was not found for 3 or 4 months afterward.

There are several theories that it was the local tribe, Mansi I believe, that was involved in their deaths. It seems to be discounted for several reasons. One, there were no signs of violence in the form of stabs, guns shots, extreme blunt force trauma that one would assume would be present with a murder. Two, the Mansi were known to be quite docile and would go out of their way to avoid contact with Russians. Three, these were eight (one camper was 39) twenty-something college kids or recent college graduates. All party members with fairly bright futures. If the Soviets thought for one second a bunch of natives had brutally murdered them there would have most likely been some very serious reprisals. There's no mention of any type or reprisals.
expresswrittenconsent
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Yeah military accident/coverup seems more likely than local tribes.
Rabid Cougar
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Tornado that saved Washington on August 25, 1814
tornado
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