Join the Fun!

BrunoVI 3 weeks ago

I've heard rationales for the British behavior but here's all you need to know: The British turned away food aid for the Irish. Why would a blight on a single crop destroy the Irish so badly? Because the Irish relied on the potato because it could survive the British burning their crops.

15points

UKGrandad 3 weeks ago (edited)

The Irish relied on potatoes because they were the only reliable crop given the conditions of the Irish land and weather and the primitive farming methods used. The blight could have been mitigated by growing multiple varieties so that a disease that affected one would not affect others, but they didn't do that. Instead, the potatoes they grew were a mono-culture, so once the disease took hold it infected the entire country's crop.

6points

OrangeStripey Hat 3 weeks ago

The Irish relied on potatoes, specifically the lumper potato, because the Irish population were given small tracts of the most infertile soil to live and try and grow with food to feed their family while paying astronomical rents. This is due to the plantations, when Cromwell removed the land from the Irish by force and have it to loyal Protestants of the time The primitive farming methods were due to the fact these pauper farmers could not afford the tools nor were they allowed access to the to education to learn better methods. The Irish depended on one crop because they could not afford to incorporate other food sources into their diets. As the famine of the 1840s hit, the Irish could no longer sustain themselves, nor could they scrape together though money for rent that the absentee landlords doubled and tripled when the Irish were at their most vulnerable. So while you are technically right with so your points, you seem to have skated over the facts as to why.

3points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

@BrunoVI: the reason the Irish (who were British at the time) grew potatoes is that they were tenants of their mostly Irish (also British too) landowners and had little land of their own. They had to work for the landowners growing cash crops and earning enough to pay their often punitive rents - while using what little land they had of their own to grow the highest-yielding crop available, that being the humble spud. The government did provide some famine relief in 1845, and Robert Peel committed political suicide by forcing through the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 (which didn't actually help, but was meant to). The landowners were mostly Irish, don't forget - and if they burnt anyone's crops, I've not heard about it. Retelling the Great Famine as Irish vs. British is a distortion of history created by anti-British Irish nationalists. The cause was the rich and powerful exploiting the poor and powerless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Tory_government

3points

Steve Sharpe 3 weeks ago

@BrunoVI That's complete and utter bollocks mate. No matter how creative your imagination is or how badly you hope it'll make you sound clever, telling lies on the internet won't retroactively alter history - as powerful as His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, even today we don't have the ability to control the weather nor cause micrometre scale quasi-lifeforms to attack on command, much less 175 years ago.

0points

OrangeStripey Hat 3 weeks ago

Where did he say you did? He pointed out that the British of the time turned away food aid to Ireland, which is true and that crops belonging to the Irish which is also true. They were burned by the gombeen men when they were sent to evict the Irish tenants

-1point

David 3 weeks ago

One correction, it wasnt they shipped out all food, it was that Ireland had to provide England with a certain amount of grain and during the blight, the British refused to suspend that obligation, which removed about 40% of the grain out of ireland, which when combined with the Potato blight, left food amounts at 50% of the minimum Caloric amount needed for the population, which led to deaths and mass migration. They didnt remove all the food, but removed a huge percentage which caused the shortage. Had they suspended the grain shipments, as some members of Parliament suggested, there would have been enough food in Ireland.

9points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

It wasn't the government in charge of the amount of food exports: that was down to the landowners. Previous famines in Ireland had seen the government closing ports to food exports. The government declined to do so in the Great Famine.

1point

UKGrandad 3 weeks ago

Some people need to actually learn about history. The English government wasn't blameless in the famine but there were many other factors involved that would take a book-length treatment to fully explain. Remarkably, such books exist, but it seems that they are beyond the modern attention span, so too many assume the full story from sensationalist headlines.

7points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

Hold on a minute: it wasn't the English government, it was the British government. Ireland was part of the UK at the time - the Irish were British too (no-one likes to hear that, but politically it was true). The dirty tricks used to extinguish the Irish Parliament are worth reading about...

4points

Steve Sharpe 3 weeks ago

@UKGrandad Yeah, it's amazing just how many alleged grownups watch a four second tiktok and become an expert on everything that's happened on the British isles over the last 650,000 years. I suspect it might be related to Ameri.. Mate, I entirely agree with everything you said there, but I am perhaps too heavily invested in the subject - and maybe a bit too "tired and emotional" - to pass further comment. Thank you for all your comments in this thread though👊

2points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

...one important point being that it wasn't the English government, it was the British government. People blame Cromwell for so much but forget it was a Scotsman - King James VI (of Scotland, James I of England) - who ordered the plantation of Ulster with loyal Scottish Calvinist protestants (oh, and some English too, but they weren't religious zealots). It's all very, very complicated.

1point

UKGrandad 3 weeks ago

re. the government: yes, it was the British government but any Irish person will tell you that it was the English, not the British, who completely mismanaged things in Ireland.

1point

OrangeStripey Hat 3 weeks ago

Yes the books by Tim Pat Coogan. His insight into backyardism and Trevelyans method of "laissez-faire" are eye opening. I think you would enjoy them

0points

Almost sunny 3 weeks ago

We can see what the British have done to many countries in the past, shockingly bad.

6points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

Arguably the British colony which received the worst treatment for the longest time was Ireland, but it's incredibly complicated because an awful lot of the bad stuff was done by people who settled in Ireland, thus effectively becoming Irish. But of course, "the wrong sort of Irish" if you're an Irish nationalist who wants to find reasons to hate the Brits. All that bad stuff in Ireland happened because of occupation from Great Britain, but it's really very very complex. Take one example: hardline protestantism was imposed on Ireland by Scotland's KIng James VI in the plantation of Ulster, involving a mass migration of extremist protestants to Ulster from Scotland. Except James VI was also King James I of England, and somehow the English get the blame...

1point

Ms. Mack 3 weeks ago

It's why my family is in the US.

3points

Nils Skirnir 3 weeks ago

The Brits were a piece of work

2points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

We certainly came up with profiting from slave run plantations in the Americas, supplied the demand for the early decades of the transatlatic slave trade, and even wrote the laws which were later adopted as "slave codes" by the states which formed the original slave-owning USA. And despite all that, Ireland is arguably the nation which suffered most from British colonialism. I blame the Normans myself - if they hadn't invaded England, Strongbow never would have been invited to help out in Ireland and the English most likely would have continue bumbling along more or less minding their own business. See? It's always possible to come up with an explanation which blames the French. (Yes yes I know the Normans were Norse)

0points

Lghn Hawk 3 weeks ago

The Choctaw Nation came to the aide of the Irish by sending potatoes

1point

Lorraine R 2 weeks ago

God bless 'em.

0points

Certainly not Dan 3 weeks ago

The well constructed replies to this post showing that the post is hugely over simplified. Less genocide than wilful neglect, institutional bias, avarice, and centuries of social structure in favour of landowners

1point

Adz86 3 weeks ago

About time England and the crown paid out the reparations they owe the world.

1point

Nimitz 3 weeks ago

Before the famine Ireland's population was 8.5 million. Then the British killed 1.5 million people and triggered the diaspora. The population never recovered. It's not even 5.5 million in 2024, almost 200 years later

1point

UKGrandad 3 weeks ago

The 8.5 million was the population of the whole of Ireland, which hadn't then been divided into Northern Ireland and the independent Republic of Ireland. The 5.5 million is for the Republic only; the current equivalent population of the two parts is approximately 7.2 million. The death toll from the famine was around 1 million, not 1.5 million, with another million leaving the country by the end of the famine in 1852 followed by another 1.1 million over the following three years, reducing the population to around 5.4 million. Continued emigration led to further decreases in population to the all-time low of 4.4 million in 1901. Given that the famine period of 1845-1852 saw one of the largest exoduses from a single island in history, drastically reducing the population, the current population represents a remarkable population growth: 4.4 -7.2 million is an increase of 63.6%, which is quite an achievement given that it grew without the benefit of the mass immigration (cont)

5points

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

At the time, the Irish were British. Most landowners in Ireland were Irish - their families had been settled in Ireland for generations. The famine was caused by Irish landowners over-exploiting their poor Irish tenants - but of course, those Irish landowners could in many cases be classed as "British" because they spoke English and their ancestors hadn't been living in Ireland since before Strongbow the Norman turned up. I call it a tale of the rich against the poor, not the British against the Irish.

1point

Steve Sharpe 3 weeks ago

@Nimitz Telling lies to strangers on the internet doesn't make you look big or clever. It also won't retroactively re-write history to fit your horribly prejudiced nationalistic world view either. I hope you find the peace you so obviously need, or a least a picture book that you're able to understand.

0points

Smiley MG 3 weeks ago

Similar was the Bengal Famine created by Churchill. An atrocity designed to harvest for the British army during the WW2

1point

Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago

The 1943 Bengal Famine was an atrocity at least partly caused and certainly worsened by British rule in India, yes. But it certainly wasn't created by Churchill, nor was it designed to feed the British army. It's complicated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943

2points

Jessica Smiler-Johnson 3 weeks ago

The night before my wedding, one of my bridesmaids got too drunk on white wine, took her pants off then regaled is with takes off the Irish famine for over an hour...

-1point

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The Belgians' treatment of the people of the Congo during King Leopold's reign.

If a parent worker didn't meet their quota, it was common practice to cut off the hand or foot of one of their children.

RonNumber , Alexander Bassano Report

Final score:

142points

POST

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 weeks ago

Sickening.

50points

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The Trail of Tears.

Zapkin:

I live in Memphis, and there are signs around that say ‘Path of the Historic Trail of Tears.’ As a kid, I didn’t think much of it, but now I can’t help but think about how those people were going through one of the worst things imaginable, carrying what little they had, with hundreds of miles to go—and now I drive on that path to get to Target. We really don’t do enough educating on the topic here in the states.

HippoSame8477 , Cculber007 Report

Final score:

142points

POST

SCamp 3 weeks ago

Hate to say it but even worse here in Australia regarding recognition of massacres of Indigenous Australians. The education aspect has improved but it’s generally still woefully short of where it should be. As for public monuments like this? Nup. At least the US has that

56points

Altruistic_Seat_6644 , vasse nicolas,antoine / Flickr Report

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The atrocities carried out by the Imperial Army before and during WW2. Truly horrific, inhumane s**t.

Yes, Americans, the Russians, and the British did some ghoulish s**t, but Japan’s Imperial Army did next level cruelty.

The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) were responsible for a multitude of war crimes leading to millions of deaths. War crimes ranged from sexual slavery and massacres to human experimentation, torture, starvation, and forced labor, all either directly committed or condoned by the Japanese military and government.

Evidence of these crimes, including oral testimonies and written records such as diaries and war journals, has been provided by Japanese veterans.

Final score:

121points

POST

SCamp 3 weeks ago

If you want more detail on this and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, look up The Rape of Nanking (or Nanjing) and also Unit 731 operating in Harbin. The Japanese really let themselves down shockingly in China and people should know about it

63points

King_Kea , Jorge Láscar / Flickr Report

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived I'd argue many people don't know about the Holodomor. Hell, I didn't until I started learning about it after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. I'm not a major history buff and I'm on the (literal) opposite side of the planet, which is probably why I didn't know about it, but still... Death toll estimated between 3.5-7 million (some estimates as high as 11) with most settling around the 3.9 million mark. That's the number of Ukrainian people who died in the Holodomor. It was a man-made famine in 1930-1933. Genocide carried out by Stalin on the Ukrainian people.

Final score:

120points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

I am a history buff and that was Stalin's effort to "Russify" the population. He wanted to empty the land so good RUSSIAN people could occupy the newly empty land. His own version of Hitler's Lebensraum. Stalin did it first though. Now Putin is trying that same trick again.

82points

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Unit 731. The majority of what we know about hypothermia comes from the cruelty of Japanese scientist to POWs at this place during WW2.

Poultry_Master123 , 松岡明芳 Report

Final score:

96points

POST

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 3 weeks ago

Worst still, nobody was punished by it. While some Nazi doctors were trialed and executed, chief surgeon Shiro-Ishi was given immunity by the US government. He died of natural causes, respected and in peace, converted to Christianity.

45points

strong_schlong , Kelly Michals / Flickr Report

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Reading about the Sand Creek massacre in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee forever changed my perspective on the American West. The details are absolutely horrific especially what happened to the children.

Final score:

88points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

That's history that needs to be taught in school no matter how uncomfortable it is. The kids need to know about these things to prevent them from happening again.

81points

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The sinking of the SS Princess Alice

The ship sank in September 1878 in the River Thames 4 minutes after colliding with another ship. Around 600-700 passengers are thought to have died and a diver reported seeing masses of bodies jammed together still standing upright in the doorways.

What made this sinking particularly horrible was that the ship sank in an area where 75 million gallons of raw sewage had been released into the river an hour earlier. The water was also polluted by untreated waste coming from nearby chemical factories.

A chemist described the water as being “Two continuous columns of decomposed fermenting sewage, hissing like soda water with baneful gases, so black that the water is stained for miles and discharging a corrupt charnel-house odour”

16 passengers who had been rescued subsequently died within 2 weeks after accidentally ingesting the water. Many of the passengers couldn’t swim and were dragged under by the weight of their heavy woollen clothing.

Bodies that were recovered were covered in slime that was difficult to clean off and the corpses rotted extremely fast due to the polluted river water.

Drowning is awful enough but drowning in a river of raw sewage is a whole other level of horrible….

queyikes , Unknown author Report

Final score:

88points

POST

Zoey Bear 3 weeks ago

Oh my hell.

26points

enter_yourname , David Stanley / Flickr Report

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The Armenian genocide. Turkish military would march Armenians to Syria, and put them in fenced sections of desert with no food, water, or shelter. The only way to get mercy was to try to break out, because they would shoot you and that's quicker.

Final score:

88points

POST

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 weeks ago

I think -- THINK -- I could have made that choice. What we do to each other.

26points

FourWhiteBars , Wally Gobetz / Flickr Report

#10

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Honestly, I recently spent some time learning more details about the September 11th attacks than I had learned from the news as a kid. This might not be uncommon knowledge, and maybe even a “yeah duh” from most people, but I don’t think I had ever realized the amount of human body parts that littered the streets around the towers.

There was a moment when first responders realized the periodic bangs they were hearing were jumpers hitting the ground. Eye witnesses said the bodies would explode into pink mist upon contact, and one fire fighter was even k*lled by a falling body. First responders were begging people to stop jumping, that they were coming to save them… not realizing that they wouldn’t be able to reach them, and that the buildings would soon collapse.

Final score:

81points

POST

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 3 weeks ago

I remember seeing that live on television. Jesus....

57points

#11

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The aftermath of Katrina in and around New Orleans. I was down there twice immediately after the storm and the stench from dead bodies was almost overwhelming.

My sister and BIL bought a house on the other side of lake pontchartrain a few months later and there were STILL bodies floating up on the north shore of the lake.

thetruckboy , U.S. Coast Guard Report

Final score:

70points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

One of my favorite Top Gear episodes featured the crew buying cars in Florida and driving to New Orleans. The premise was buying a car in one place and selling it in another is cheaper than renting a car. Katrina happened while they were filming so the whole original premise was sunk. They donated their cars to a relief group and a lot of money to help as well.

47points

#12

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived New London, TX school explosion.

"The force of the explosion was so great that a two-ton concrete block was thrown clear off the building and crushed a 1936 Chevrolet parked 200 feet away."

Why does the gas company add that odd smell to the natural gas supply???? Holy c**p!!! THIS is why.

GloveBatBall Report

Final score:

70points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

Methyl-Mercaptan. One of the smelliest substances in the world.

22points

Potential-Radio-475 Report

#13

The Death chambers in Germany. I lived in Germany for a few years. You know how we all heard of the nazi's gassing Jews. I took a tour to one of these places. As I got of the bus I was assaulted my whole body tightened up goose bumps appeared my brain was screaming evil walks here. I did not go in. I sat on the bus and cried to myself.

Final score:

70points

POST

JoNo 3 weeks ago

When I visited a concentration camp, there was an old man wearing a suit and leaning on a walking stick, standing near the gas chambers. We were told how he had vowed that, if he lived through it, he would go to there every day in honour of those who didn't make it - his loved ones, his friends, and strangers who endured hell and died. That made me cry, and I still think of his dedication almost 30 years later. He would now be reunited with them.

60points

#14

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The sinking of the Britannic. Though she sunk with significantly fewer casualties than her sister ship Titanic, many of the deaths were due to the fact that the lifeboats were prematurely launched while the ship was still moving, which resulted in some of the lifeboats being sucked into the propellers, instantly obliterating the passengers on them.

Tarkus_Edge , Allan C. Green Report

Final score:

65points

POST

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 weeks ago

I haven't read nearly as much of the Brittanic as the Titanic. Why did one become common knowledge, but not the other? Odd how some things just grab our consciousness.

26points

Creme_Bru-Doggs , Chokniti Khongchum / Pexels Report

#15

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Syphilis.

When it first hit Europe it was nothing like the disease we know now.

It was fast-acting and MADE PEOPLE'S FACES ROT OFF (yes I do believe there are woodcuts of this).

As you might imagine, this was a bad transmission strategy long term for syphilis, so it eventually evolved into the decades-long misery we know today.

Final score:

64points

POST

G A 3 weeks ago

Woodcuts? There's photos. And they are pitiful. Don't look them up. One of a 5 year old boy looking like a demon haunts me years later.

17points

#16

WWII in Croatia. Ustashe commited crimes so gruesome that even the N*zis were shocked.

MiauMiauMoon Report

Final score:

59points

POST

StarCrossedFriday 3 weeks ago

What is it about war that turns some people into collective absolute evil? I saw a documentary where they interviewed soldiers 60 years after WWII, and even they couldn’t quite believe the things they’d done themselves back then.

33points

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

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Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#17

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The Great Stink of 1858 in London. The River Thames was so polluted with untreated human waste and industrial runoff that the city was overwhelmed by a horrific stench during a heatwave. It was so bad that Parliament had to be suspended, and the situation was considered a public health crisis. It wasn’t just gross, it contributed to outbreaks of cholera and other diseases.

LonelyWanderess , Bit Cloud Report

Final score:

59points

POST

G A 3 weeks ago (edited)

Sir Joseph Bazalgette saved London with his sewer system, still used today. He built it not just for then but thought about the future. Nowadays, it's the attitude of "eff it, that'll do" planned obsolescence.

33points

#18

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Before we had anesthetic and abundant pain k*llers, field surgery wells absolutely horrific. Here's a bottle of alcohol, we're going to saw your leg off now.

Also, most people doing the work were far from qualified to do the work, they were just slightly better than the next guy in the platoon. I remember reading a first person account of a Civil War nurse who was tasked with curing pneumonia by removing the fluid from a man's lungs. She was given explicit direction based on "I guess this is how the body works". The process was to heat up the rim of a metal rimmed shot glass, sear his chest, and pop the resulting blister, thus removing the water from his body. This was done twice an hour. He died 3 days into the removal, likely a combination of dehydration and infection.

Atomic_ad , Wellcome Collection Report

Final score:

58points

POST

Alvia Vseobecna 3 weeks ago

horrible

10points

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

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“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#19

Pretty much the entire Vietnam war. Open pits of burning bodies, and people being blown apart and impaled everywhere.

SurpriseOk3747 Report

Final score:

57points

POST

G A 3 weeks ago

Thank f**k the UK stayed out of that particular clusterfuck.

27points

Marxbrosburner , Thirdman / Pexels Report

#20

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Not really history, as both are still relevant, but they are a lot less so these days:

Ebola and rabies. What they do to a person is nightmare fuel.

hamburgersocks:

Rabies k*lls you by making your muscles spasm so hard you break your own back... if the hydrophobia doesn't dehydrate you first.
Still no cure if it's caught too late. Don't get bit, folks.

rricenator:
The stories of Ebola remind me of Poe, The Masque of the Red Death.

Final score:

56points

POST

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

I got bit by a feral cat from an area where rabies was known. They couldn't find the cat. So I had to choose if I wanted to go through the post-exposure rabies shot protocol. I had just come off major surgery and was battling complications from that, so we knew it was going to be rough on my body and mental health. I watched a video on YouTube of a guy dying from rabies. I did the protocol, which took over a month. I was horribly sick and miserable and crazy and my boyfriend left me because he got tired of me being sick, but I am alive. And within the year, they found two feral cats in that area with rabies. It sucks, but get the shots if you've possibly been exposed, folks. I don't think it would be as hard on a healthy person, but UGH.

51points

#21

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived So grizzly and gross is this:

The bubonic plague, often referred to as the Black Death, is one of the most infamous pandemics in history. It ravaged Europe, Asia, and North Africa during the 14th century, peaking between 1347 and 1351. The plague was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was typically spread by fleas that lived on rats. The pandemic k*lled an estimated 75 to 200 million people, wiping out between 30-60% of Europe’s population.

The disease manifested in three forms: bubonic (affecting the lymph nodes), septicemic (infecting the bloodstream), and pneumonic (infecting the lungs). The bubonic form was characterized by painful, swollen lymph nodes (called buboes), fever, and skin turning black due to gangrene, giving rise to the name “Black Death.”

This pandemic had profound social, economic, and cultural effects. Labor shortages following the mass deaths led to significant social upheavals, including changes in feudalism, a rise in wages, and a shift in land ownership patterns. It also triggered a wave of religious movements and scapegoating, with many minorities, especially Jews, being wrongly blamed for the plague.

Smaller outbreaks of the plague have occurred since then, but none reached the same devastating scale as the 14th-century pandemic. Modern medicine, particularly antibiotics, can now treat plague infections effectively if caught early.

Imagine the smell alone.

Isaandog , Paulus Fürst Excud Report

Final score:

55points

POST

David Paterson 3 weeks ago

It's still around. In Madagascar, sub-Saharan Africa, and Arizona. When it develops antibiotic resistance, it'll make Covid look like a nonevent.

31points

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

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French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#22

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The Donner Party. Children choosing who dies to suck the marrow from the bones of their parents.
Randomizing flesh so that parents wouldn't know that they were eating their own children.
It was nuts.

wookiee42:

Yeah, just radomly ran into a mention of the Donner Party the other day and read the wikipedia. I thought it was a wagon train got stuck in the mountains and they eventually were forced to eat each other.
They survived for way longer than I thought and wayyyy more crazy stuff happened

Ziggysan , fishin widow / flickr Report

Final score:

53points

POST

TheNewJenBrady 3 weeks ago

Do not read that Wikipedia page if you want to sleep. I stumbled into it one late night, and it is absolutely devastating and horrific what they went through.

25points

#23

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The American Civil War in general. Old school war tactics meeting modern warfare sprinkled with pre germ theory medicine practices resulted in quite the s**t show.

megatron0539 , pickpik Report

Final score:

49points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

And yes, it WAS about slavery. Take your Lost Cause, State's Rights BS and cry into your racist flag. It was about slavery. It was always about slavery. It will continue to be about slavery until the USA is no longer a country.

88points

#24

Look up the cannabilism during Stalingrad.

westwebwarlord:

Most people don’t talk about cannibalism during sieges. It starts with house pets when food runs out and leads to picking at your dead friends. War is hell.

t90fan Report

Final score:

48points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

I think OP is talking about LENINGRAD not Stalingrad. It was way worse in Leningrad. Stalingrad was over in less than a year. Leningrad went on for three years.

24points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

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Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#25

The sand creek massacre and the following battle. In the massacre, the colonists k*lled women and children, up to ripping unborn babies out of their mothers and tearing ovaries from women to wear proudly on their persons. A horrifying event that should never have occurred.

In the following battle, the natives took revenge by grabbing the colonists by THEIR genitalia and twisting and jerking them around until said member came free from their body. Needless to say, war is gruesome and you should never mess with your enemies families lest you find yourself bleeding out of a delicate place.

Superb_Gap_1044 Report

Final score:

43points

POST

Mike F 3 weeks ago

The very acts that got the native Americans branded "godless savages" were performed on the natives and therefore taught to them.

37points

#26

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived Great Chinese Famine (1959-1961) - With 15 to 45 million people dead - kicked off by Great Leap Forward. Mao ignored technical experts and economic principles and established agricultural collectives, relying on peasants to figure out industrialization. The government tried to cover up conditions, which only made things worse.

sjcjeremy , Unknown author Report

Final score:

41points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 weeks ago

Mao was a complete POS and if I lived in China, I'd be headed to jail just for saying that.

32points

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

#27

Arab slave trade, they had the custom of castrating male slaves, about 60% of boys bled to death during this process. Mostly due to eunichs selling for more.

Like, slavery is bad enough, do you need to castrate them as well?!

Robert_Grave Report

Final score:

40points

POST

G A 3 weeks ago

Made them grow bigger and stronger, more docile and so they wouldn't molest their harem.

14points

NumerousCranberry441 Report

#28

I had always read about how Jack the Ripper mutilated his victims but it wasn't until I saw the photo of one them and realised how f****d up it actually was.

Final score:

38points

POST

G A 3 weeks ago

What was left of Mary Kelly is barely discernable as a human being.

18points

Hopeful_Relative_494 , William Cho / Flickr Report

#29

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived All of Genghis Khan invasions.

From memory, theirs the capturing and then skinning and then using fat as incendiary to launch and burn the enemies forts down.

Another one where they dug a huge hole and put the prisoners of war in this hole, then put a board on top and continued to use it as a bridge/road until they all died.

There are more but listening to Dan Carlin episodes covering it are epic.

Final score:

38points

POST

Mr.Li 3 weeks ago

Please dont hate me for this: Ghengis Khan alllowed his people religious freedom. They were allowed to whorship whatever god/deity the wanted, as long as they pray for the great khans victory. He has also freed a complete land by telling the oppressed muslim subjects they were allowed to practice the islam without fear of punishment. Which leads them to revolt against their oppressors. He succesfully conquered this land within months. The lord of this land, who oppressed the muslims were caught and lynched by them, when he tried to flee that land.

35points

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

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#30

30 Significant Historical Events That Were Grislier Than Perceived The Eastern Front of WW2. It was basically free reign to do any horrific thing they could come up with. I took a WW2 history class. The Holocaust as a whole was unprecedented in its horror. But the "Holocaust by Bullets" and the way they developed mobile gassing units as a precursor to the mass gas chambers was insane.

All the while the occupying forces were r*ping, pillaging, m*rdering, torturing, starving and basically enslaving people. Racially acceptable Women often made arrangements with n*zis to serve as their private girlfriends for food and protection from the other n*zis. Brothels with racially acceptable women were so overrun that the n*zis developed mobile and mass testing centers for syphilis I believe. They required soldiers get tested regularly and promoted it as part of being a good aryan soldier. Of course all the other STDS were there as well. The women were forced in a lot of cases. Keep in mind these guys were piling up bodies like sardines as they're r*ping and torturing. Truly the apocalypse.

rileyescobar1994 , picryl Report

Final score:

37points

POST

Marianne 3 weeks ago

Why is the term "Nazi" censored? It's not a term you're not supposed to use for a person. If we stop using words like this, we will have to stop talking about the Holocaust and when we stop doing that, we will forget about history and we will have to repeat it.

29points

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

Note: this post originally had 48 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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Struggling writer by day. Frustrated jazz drummer by night. Space Cowboy 24/7.

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Struggling writer by day. Frustrated jazz drummer by night. Space Cowboy 24/7.

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What do you think ?

POST

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 weeks ago

Don't read these. I feel so sick now.

8points

Margot Plummer 3 weeks ago

Too late.

0points

Skogsrået 3 weeks ago

The spanish inquisition and the witch huntings all over Europe.

5points

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

The Alexandru Radita case in Calgary, Alberta. Yes, just one boy, but the horror he lived.... His parents were absolute psychopaths. And there were so many chances to save him had someone in the medical, education, or social services sector thought to push for some investigation.

4points

Julia H 3 weeks ago

Unfortunately history keeps repeating itself with k8ds who should be protected but are left with parents who would happily torture and starve them. Take the Turpin kids. Then revictimized (rap3d) in foster care.

4points

Mimi M 3 weeks ago

Just what we come to BP for. NOT.

3points

I need a nap. 3 weeks ago

I read all of them, but I didn’t do any other research. It’s 12:20 for me, and I want to get some sleep. But tomorrow you know I’m visiting the Wikipedia pages of these so I can see what ACTUALLY happened.

3points

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

A lot of these are relatively accurate. Surprisingly so.

0points

Stardust she/her 3 weeks ago

Jallianwala baag tragedy was horrible. Only one exit to leave from and hundreds of people were in that enclosed space when Dyer opened fire and killed many innocent people.

3points

90HD 3 weeks ago

Ruby Ridge was terrible. Feds lied about some random homesteader, entrapped him into commiting a crime, raided his house, shot his dog, son, and unarmed wife holding her baby.

2points

Sapna Sarfare 3 weeks ago

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the Bengal Famine.. horrible Also 26/11 Mumbai attacks.. it still shakes Mumbai

2points

Patrick Linnen 3 weeks ago

Fort Pillow; After the fight, Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest had his troops massacre the Union troops, half of which were African-American. From the wiki page, "Only 58 (around 20%) black soldiers were taken prisoner, whereas 168 (about 60%) white soldiers were taken prisoner. Not all of the prisoners who were shot were black; Major Bradford was apparently among those shot after surrendering."

1point

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 3 weeks ago

Surprised no one mentioned that kid who fancied himself a "bear whisperer".... Till it ate him and his girlfriend... You want something that'll keep you up at night, read the Wikipedia article on HIM. Oi.

1point

G A 3 weeks ago

He wasn't a kid by any means. He was a very naive man who thought he was friends with starving bears who got himself, his girlfriend and the bear responsible killed due to his own stupidity.

5points

LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago

Not a "kid". A grown adult. He was 46 years old.

3points

Nicole Weymann 3 weeks ago

Not exactly a "history moment", but surely gross.

0points

Chloe 3 weeks ago

Timothy Treadwell

0points

Mike F 3 weeks ago

All in all, this was pretty good.

1point

Julia H 3 weeks ago

Agreed. It is painful to examine the past atrocities of people who share a genome. We can't just skip over them because it's uncomfortable.

2points

Paulina 3 weeks ago

And my "favorite" is missing again, as in every history piece ever :( Look up Bengal Famine of 1943 - it's a manmade disaster that took at least 3 MILLION people. In India during WWW2, British rulers decided to take away food from people and send it to their white soldiers. As a result, horrific amount of people died of starvation. And yet, no one talks about it. Ever. I highly recommend BBC podcast called "3 million" - despite being British, it is quite comprehensive account of the disaster.

0points

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

Was that the one where White administrators in India were forbidden to feed the starving ppl out of their own pockets?

0points

mtn.dew.13 3 weeks ago

byford dolphin

0points

Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 3 weeks ago (edited)

Well, that was unrelentingly grim. In fairness, the title was accurate.

0points

Mimi M 3 weeks ago

BP often puts the worst on the headline, so we all have to read it even if we don't want to click on the post. No thanks, BP.

0points

POST

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 weeks ago

Don't read these. I feel so sick now.

8points

Margot Plummer 3 weeks ago

Too late.

0points

Skogsrået 3 weeks ago

The spanish inquisition and the witch huntings all over Europe.

5points

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

4points

Julia H 3 weeks ago

4points

Mimi M 3 weeks ago

Just what we come to BP for. NOT.

3points

I need a nap. 3 weeks ago

3points

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

A lot of these are relatively accurate. Surprisingly so.

0points

Stardust she/her 3 weeks ago

Jallianwala baag tragedy was horrible. Only one exit to leave from and hundreds of people were in that enclosed space when Dyer opened fire and killed many innocent people.

3points

90HD 3 weeks ago

Ruby Ridge was terrible. Feds lied about some random homesteader, entrapped him into commiting a crime, raided his house, shot his dog, son, and unarmed wife holding her baby.

2points

Sapna Sarfare 3 weeks ago

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the Bengal Famine.. horrible Also 26/11 Mumbai attacks.. it still shakes Mumbai

2points

Patrick Linnen 3 weeks ago

1point

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 3 weeks ago

1point

G A 3 weeks ago

He wasn't a kid by any means. He was a very naive man who thought he was friends with starving bears who got himself, his girlfriend and the bear responsible killed due to his own stupidity.

5points

LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago

Not a "kid". A grown adult. He was 46 years old.

3points

Nicole Weymann 3 weeks ago

Not exactly a "history moment", but surely gross.

0points

Chloe 3 weeks ago

Timothy Treadwell

0points

Mike F 3 weeks ago

All in all, this was pretty good.

1point

Julia H 3 weeks ago

Agreed. It is painful to examine the past atrocities of people who share a genome. We can't just skip over them because it's uncomfortable.

2points

Paulina 3 weeks ago

0points

Insomniac 3 weeks ago

Was that the one where White administrators in India were forbidden to feed the starving ppl out of their own pockets?

0points