Between endless news about wars and protests, it is easy to feel like life has never been worse. But today’s headlines feel uncomfortably familiar when you look at history’s nastiest, most selfish moments.
For example, invaders capturing land without any provocation. Remind you of someone from today? Or American engineer Thomas Midgley, who knew putting lead in gasoline was a jerk move but did it anyway for money. His inventions caused widespread lead pollution and significant damage to our ozone layer. Today’s billionaires seem to have definitely taken a leaf out of his book.
Recently, internet users started trading stories about the worst and most selfish acts in human history. We gathered the infuriating and occasionally absurd ones — because if we are doomed to repeat the past, we might as well roll our eyes at it together.
#21
The original White Elephant gifting from the King of Siam. This person would give this royal gift to people he found irritating and be entertained by the recipient's failing efforts to upkeep such an animal.
Why don't they just give it away you ask?
Back in the day, receiving a gift and giving it away was perceived as an insult. Go figure. And giving away a gift from a neighboring kingdom is, well, that much BIGGER of an insult. So no dice.
Economies apparently have failed in order to upkeep a royal gift like this. Honestly, d**k move King of Siam.
EDIT:
I'm seeing some comments about giving away the elephant, k*****g it, or letting it d*e so I'm going to clarify something.
If you are given a gift, out of respect you take care of that gift because failing to do so would be taken as an insult from the gifting party. The King of Siam knew this and, for his pleasure, gave his opposing neighbors this annoyance of an animal; an ultimatum. Either fulfill the upkeep of this economy sucking, worthless elephant or I come invade your kingdom and s***ghter you and your people. Being as powerful as he seemed to be, he probably sent delegations to these provinces to ensure the elephant was still around for years to come.
LPT: Keep that elephant alive.
Why don't they just give it away you ask?
Back in the day, receiving a gift and giving it away was perceived as an insult. Go figure. And giving away a gift from a neighboring kingdom is, well, that much BIGGER of an insult. So no dice.
Economies apparently have failed in order to upkeep a royal gift like this. Honestly, d**k move King of Siam.
EDIT:
I'm seeing some comments about giving away the elephant, k*****g it, or letting it d*e so I'm going to clarify something.
If you are given a gift, out of respect you take care of that gift because failing to do so would be taken as an insult from the gifting party. The King of Siam knew this and, for his pleasure, gave his opposing neighbors this annoyance of an animal; an ultimatum. Either fulfill the upkeep of this economy sucking, worthless elephant or I come invade your kingdom and s***ghter you and your people. Being as powerful as he seemed to be, he probably sent delegations to these provinces to ensure the elephant was still around for years to come.
LPT: Keep that elephant alive.
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3points
History is littered with shocking acts of greed, but research shows that cooperation, not conflict, is what actually allowed humans to survive and thrive. We are not genetically programmed for endless cruelty. Instead, our greatest superpower as a species has always been our ability to work together, share resources, and protect one another.
Yet, as these historical stories prove, our capacity for cooperation comes with a dark counterpart. Recognizing these patterns is our best defense against repeating them. These stories also show us just how quickly individual greed can become a collective tragedy when power goes unchecked.
#22
Ray Kroc stealing McDonalds out from under the brothers and not even paying them royalties.
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3points
#23
That lady who stole the unborn baby out the other lady.
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3points
#24
When god told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, and right when Isaac was begging for his life and his dad was about to drive a knife into his chest, god said "PSYCH!!!! I got you good bro, k**l that ram over there instead.".
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3points
#26
The Japanese believed it would have been dishonorable to surprise attack an unexpecting enemy, so they sent a declaration of war to the US 30 minutes before the Pearl Harbor attack. However, the upper military brass delayed that message until 20 minutes after the attack had begun.
D**k move to both sides of the conflict there.
Edit: I meant the Japanese upper brass delayed the message, not the US one. The US was caught completely off guard as they were expecting sabatoge, not a full scale offensive.
D**k move to both sides of the conflict there.
Edit: I meant the Japanese upper brass delayed the message, not the US one. The US was caught completely off guard as they were expecting sabatoge, not a full scale offensive.
3points
#27
Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Basically Mao's return to power after the failure of the Great Leap Forward and an opportunity to purge political rivals. The Cultural Revolution is estimated to have k****d another 20 million, on top of the 30 million from the famine that followed the Great Leap Forward.
3points
#28
I always thought the Fed putting Andrew Jackson on the $20 felt like a big "F**k you" since he hated the idea of a centralized bank.
3points
#29
Brutus pretending to be Cesars best friend and then literally st**bing him in the back.
3points
#30
Phillip of Macedonia threatened the Spartans "If I invade Lakonia, you will be destroyed and never rise again"
The Spartans replied with "If".
The Spartans replied with "If".
3points
#31
The White American conquest over the native populations is probably a strong contender.
A large majority of Native American tribes were quite welcoming of newcomers in need. There's an entire holiday about being thankful for the kindness and the generosity of the Native Americans.
In return, they were gifted with smallpox and other lethal diseases, had every one of their treaties ignored (and were wiped out whenever they tried to complain about it), had their primary prey species deliberately hunted to extinction, had their culture reduced to primitive shamanism and a few totemic symbols, and those that weren't k****d outright were forcibly marched across the continent to poorer land in an even known as the f*****g *Trail of Tears*.
A large majority of Native American tribes were quite welcoming of newcomers in need. There's an entire holiday about being thankful for the kindness and the generosity of the Native Americans.
In return, they were gifted with smallpox and other lethal diseases, had every one of their treaties ignored (and were wiped out whenever they tried to complain about it), had their primary prey species deliberately hunted to extinction, had their culture reduced to primitive shamanism and a few totemic symbols, and those that weren't k****d outright were forcibly marched across the continent to poorer land in an even known as the f*****g *Trail of Tears*.
3points
#32
Andrew Jackson disregarding the Supreme Court and starting the trail of tears.
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3points
#33
Alan Turing was a British mathmatecian who solved the German code language and effectively ended the war. But he was a homosexual, so he got no credit. He was chemically castrated by the British government and k****d himself alone in his apartment.
There are all kinds of stories like this. One time a gay man saved US president Gerald Ford from being shot in the 70s. Literally wrestled the gun away from a woman. His name was Oliver Sipple. If he was striaght, everyone would know his name. He’d have become a super star. He was a freaking former marine. How much more of an American hero can you be? But the media caught wind that he frequented gay bars and outed him. Like many gay men in the ‘70s, Sipple was in the closet. His mother learned about his sexuality in the news and then disowned him. President Ford made sure to not invite him to the white house or publically praise him, instead sending him a 4 sentence letter thanking him.
Luckily there is a happy ending to that one though. Sipple got 15 MILLION dollars from the San Francisco Chrinicle for outing him as gay in a huge legal case.
There are all kinds of stories like this. One time a gay man saved US president Gerald Ford from being shot in the 70s. Literally wrestled the gun away from a woman. His name was Oliver Sipple. If he was striaght, everyone would know his name. He’d have become a super star. He was a freaking former marine. How much more of an American hero can you be? But the media caught wind that he frequented gay bars and outed him. Like many gay men in the ‘70s, Sipple was in the closet. His mother learned about his sexuality in the news and then disowned him. President Ford made sure to not invite him to the white house or publically praise him, instead sending him a 4 sentence letter thanking him.
Luckily there is a happy ending to that one though. Sipple got 15 MILLION dollars from the San Francisco Chrinicle for outing him as gay in a huge legal case.
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3points
#34
Executive Order 9066. When the US put US citizens in camps. Japanese Amercians had homes, business all taken away so they could be shipped off to camps out in the middle of nowhere.
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3points
#36
Having an oversees girlfriend, haven’t been able to meet for 8 months, being desperate to be reunited during corona only to find out to see her getting engaged with another dude
Edit: Thanks all for the support and thanks for the rewards! As you might suspect, I’m absolutely devastated by this but I’ll also get over it in time.
Edit: Thanks all for the support and thanks for the rewards! As you might suspect, I’m absolutely devastated by this but I’ll also get over it in time.
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2points
#37
In terms of deaths, several seemingly simple events triggered WW1. That's 40M deaths that a sandwich sale or an auto mechanic, or even a grandma could have averted. (Many world leaders were related, and several said if their grandmother was still alive she would have put a stop to it before it spread.) WW1 lead to WW2.
China's Great Leap Forward had about 30M direct deaths and another 20M or so indirect deaths.
On smaller scales, history is littered with betrayal and intrigue. Who knows what treasures were lost, and what discoveries and inventions we don't have because of them. Do we not have flying cars and hover boards due to some greedy jerk? Was world peace and global lives of ease lost because somebody made a d**k move? We may never know.
China's Great Leap Forward had about 30M direct deaths and another 20M or so indirect deaths.
On smaller scales, history is littered with betrayal and intrigue. Who knows what treasures were lost, and what discoveries and inventions we don't have because of them. Do we not have flying cars and hover boards due to some greedy jerk? Was world peace and global lives of ease lost because somebody made a d**k move? We may never know.
2points
#38
The repatriation of Eastern European pilots who fought for the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Straight into Stalin's tender grasp.
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2points