Historians, much like X (formerly Twitter) users, love to argue. They constantly unearth new evidence, challenge established narratives, and reevaluate the past with fresh perspectives.
So, Reddit user SleepDeprivedCultist asked everyone on the platform to share what they believe are the largely forgotten moments that actually contributed a lot to shaping the world we live in — the so-called "losers" of the discourse, if you will.
Immediately, people started showing off their knowledge, and the thread, paradoxically, turned into yet another fight for the spotlight.
#1
Trump's win this election. This was the most important election in over a hundred years, and almost no one realized it. I feel sorry for this nation's future. We had one chance to stop it, and no one even recognized the danger. It's f*****g stupid, and I really hate mass ignorance. It's so...so harmful. It'll take 50 to 100 years to fix what's happening now and what may happen over the next few years. Nothing will be the same. Everything will be worse than it should have been for very literally every single person alive right now. Your future is now worse, period, forever, until the day you die. Most folks will never comprehend this reality, and that's...disheartening. It means many will never even learn from it and simply assume this is normal. It is not. This is worse, vastly worse. And there's nothing I personally can do about it.
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131points
#2
Stanislav Petrov choosing to ignore an alarm that indicated that the US had fired 5 missiles towards Moscow. He disobeyed military orders and saved the world from nuclear war in 1983.
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109points
The fact that even seemingly important historical details remain in the background can partially be explained by looking at the sources from which people get their information.
A survey conducted by the American Historical Association revealed that the top three choices were documentary film/TV (69%), fictional film/TV (66%), and TV news (62%), many of which prioritize engaging narratives over accuracy.
#3
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a Soviet sub near Cuba was being depth-charged by the U.S. Navy. Cut off from communication and overheating, the captain thought WWIII had started and wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo. Protocol required agreement from three officers. Two said yes. One man—Vasili Arkhipov—said no. He stopped the launch, surfaced the sub, and likely prevented nuclear war. The guy literally saved the world—and most people have never heard of him.
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80points
#4
While studying Staphylococcus bacteria, Dr. Alexander Fleming noticed that a mold contaminating one of his Petri dishes had created a bacteria-free zone around itself. He identified a substance in the mold that he called “penicillin,” which inhibited bacterial growth. Penicillin’s introduction likely prevented perhaps as many as **half a billion deaths**, making it one of the most life-saving medical advances in history.
75points
Researchers also decided to gather data on the public's experiences with the subject at both the high school and college levels.
In high school, more than three-fourths of respondents reported that history courses were more about names, dates, and other facts than about asking broader questions about the past. However, 68 percent still said that their high school experiences made them want to learn more history.
Even for college courses, 44 percent of respondents indicated a continued emphasis on factual material over inquiry, but this was a turnoff for about one-fifth of them.
#5
The broad Street cholera outbreak of 1854. The local doctor was convinced the disease was in the water. He had the handle of the water pump removed. Cases dropped dramatically.
This started 2 things scientific investigation of disease outbreaks and microbiology.
Something like that anyway.
Bezulba
And the map drawn to figure out what well was the problem is still used today as an example of visually presenting data.
This started 2 things scientific investigation of disease outbreaks and microbiology.
Something like that anyway.
Bezulba
And the map drawn to figure out what well was the problem is still used today as an example of visually presenting data.
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61points
#6
The Victoria Hall Disaster in Sunderland, England 1883.
A kids variety show was on at the Victoria Hall in Sunderland and was available to rich and poor. One of the big sellers of the show was that presents would be handed out. Problem is the shows actors were only capable of throwing them into the crowd directly in front of the stage.
The kids up in the higher tier seats realised they were going to miss out so they surged down to the lower level. Other major problem is the door to the lower level was stuck so that only one person could pass through to manage ticket dodgers.
The doors could only be pulled open from the children's side, which caused a massive crush resulting in the deaths of 183 children.
The news of the tragedy spread worldwide and it is the reason why we have very specific laws on emergency exits and doors pushing outwards of buildings instead of inwards to this day.
A kids variety show was on at the Victoria Hall in Sunderland and was available to rich and poor. One of the big sellers of the show was that presents would be handed out. Problem is the shows actors were only capable of throwing them into the crowd directly in front of the stage.
The kids up in the higher tier seats realised they were going to miss out so they surged down to the lower level. Other major problem is the door to the lower level was stuck so that only one person could pass through to manage ticket dodgers.
The doors could only be pulled open from the children's side, which caused a massive crush resulting in the deaths of 183 children.
The news of the tragedy spread worldwide and it is the reason why we have very specific laws on emergency exits and doors pushing outwards of buildings instead of inwards to this day.
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45points
Some much-welcome news is that, according to the aforementioned survey, the public sees clear value in the study of history, even relative to other fields.
Rather than asking whether respondents thought learning history was important—a costless choice—the researchers asked how essential history education is, relative to other fields, such as engineering and business. The results were promising: 84 percent felt history was just as valuable as those more professional areas.
Moreover, the numbers were pretty much constant across age groups, genders, education levels, races and ethnicities, political-party affiliations, and regions of the country. And the popularity of this Reddit thread is proof of that!
#7
When Lucille Ball saved Star Trek. It was set to be canceled after the very first season but she bought the rights and started shooting at DesiLou studios. Star Trek gave us automatic doors and cell phones and the first televised interracial kiss and that franchise is still busting down barriers to this day and inspiring the new science minds of tomorrow. I am a Jedi, like my mother before me, but those Federation nerds got my respect.
44points
#8
There was a day in deep dark history when someone had the idea of turning our spoken words into drawn symbols on, possibly, clay or rock.
We don't know who or when this happened, but it was the day that literacy was born.
We don't know who or when this happened, but it was the day that literacy was born.
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44points
#9
The Bretton Woods Conference. In 1944 some 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations came together at a large hotel in New Hampshire to outlaw practices which are agreed to be harmful to the world prosperity. And so the international banking system was established, IMF was created, all currencies were required to be convertible for trade, and exchange rates were modified so that one nation would not be favored over another. All these actions led to the development of the World Bank.
Downside: The whole world's economy got teetered together forever, whereby one lunatic President's tit for tat tariff war, or to be more precise ego war, can lead to the whole world's economy going down the drain.
Downside: The whole world's economy got teetered together forever, whereby one lunatic President's tit for tat tariff war, or to be more precise ego war, can lead to the whole world's economy going down the drain.
39points
#10
I think a lot about how Hilary Clinton possibly could have won the 2016 election if an investigation into her Emails wasn't opened up again because someone named Weiner couldn't stop sending sick pics.
39points
#11
RFK assassination back in 1968, he might have beaten Nixon and Nixon was a POS.
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38points
#12
Women’s suffrage. The movement helped lay the foundation for the civil rights movement.
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38points
#13
The Chicago Tylenol m*rders, 1982.
Someone was switching the medicine inside the capsules with poison, and putting it back on the shelf for people to purchase and use. 7 deaths. A few copycat instances as well.
This completely changed world culture, package safety, and anti-tampering measures regarding medicine, food and practically any substance you put in or on your body.
Someone was switching the medicine inside the capsules with poison, and putting it back on the shelf for people to purchase and use. 7 deaths. A few copycat instances as well.
This completely changed world culture, package safety, and anti-tampering measures regarding medicine, food and practically any substance you put in or on your body.
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37points
#15
Magna Carta and all the subsequent treaties that recognised human rights...... the amount of ignorant people that don't realise how important those rights and principals are is astonishing. Also the way they are willing to renounce of deny this rights because it gets in the way of their beliefs.....
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36points
#17
The Suez Crisis of 1956. It doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves outside of history nerd circles, but it was basically the moment the UK and France officially lost their status as global superpowers, and the U.S. cemented itself as the dominant Western force.
Quick recap: Egypt’s President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been controlled by British and French interests. In response, the UK, France, and Israel launched a secret military operation to take it back. They figured the U.S. would back them or at least look the other way.
Spoiler: the U.S. did not. Eisenhower was furious—they acted without consulting him, and he saw it as colonial overreach during the Cold War. So he used the full weight of American economic power to shut them down. Threatened to tank the British pound if they didn’t back off.
Why it’s significant: this was the geopolitical gut punch that showed the old European empires their time was up. From that point on, the U.S. and the USSR were the only true superpowers. It also pushed a lot of former colonies further toward independence and gave a big boost to non-aligned movements.
It wasn’t a huge bloody war like WWII or Vietnam, but in terms of long-term impact on global power structures? Absolutely massive. Most people have no idea.
Quick recap: Egypt’s President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been controlled by British and French interests. In response, the UK, France, and Israel launched a secret military operation to take it back. They figured the U.S. would back them or at least look the other way.
Spoiler: the U.S. did not. Eisenhower was furious—they acted without consulting him, and he saw it as colonial overreach during the Cold War. So he used the full weight of American economic power to shut them down. Threatened to tank the British pound if they didn’t back off.
Why it’s significant: this was the geopolitical gut punch that showed the old European empires their time was up. From that point on, the U.S. and the USSR were the only true superpowers. It also pushed a lot of former colonies further toward independence and gave a big boost to non-aligned movements.
It wasn’t a huge bloody war like WWII or Vietnam, but in terms of long-term impact on global power structures? Absolutely massive. Most people have no idea.
33points
#18
I don't know if I'd call it a moment but the year 536 AD. Otherwise known as the worst year in history.
Three volcanic events happened around the same time that caused a volcanic winter. Tempuratures dropped, crops failed, livestock died and people starved to death across a large portion of the world. It had devestating consequences that lasted for years. It was one of the causes of the Plaugue of Justinian and the fall of the Roman Empire. Millions of people were killed across the world, in a time when populations are nowhere near what they are today.
Three volcanic events happened around the same time that caused a volcanic winter. Tempuratures dropped, crops failed, livestock died and people starved to death across a large portion of the world. It had devestating consequences that lasted for years. It was one of the causes of the Plaugue of Justinian and the fall of the Roman Empire. Millions of people were killed across the world, in a time when populations are nowhere near what they are today.
32points
#19
The destruction of the Institute of Sexual Research by the N*zis in Berlin in 1933.
Magnus Hirschfeld (one of the earliest sexologists) was doing pioneering work there, including the first successful gender affirmation surgeries for trans women. When his Institute was sacked by the N*zis, all his books and research were systematically burned. It set transgender healthcare back about a century according to some estimates.
Magnus Hirschfeld (one of the earliest sexologists) was doing pioneering work there, including the first successful gender affirmation surgeries for trans women. When his Institute was sacked by the N*zis, all his books and research were systematically burned. It set transgender healthcare back about a century according to some estimates.
30points
#20
Behind the Bastards made a compelling argument that Oprah's coverage of Satanic Panic may have laid the groundwork for Qanon and Trump's presidency.
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29points