History tends to leave us with some questions, as well as answers. We turn to history because we like to learn about our past and maybe even learn something about our future. The past tends to reveal patterns and some of those patterns can be used to predict the future, or rather, predict what the people will do, how they might react.
Sometimes, we turn to history for comedic purposes. History has plenty of funny moments that can simply make us laugh if nothing else. Here are the funniest moments from history that can make you grin.
Australians Against Emu
Emu is a flightless bird, native to Australia. They are rather large birds known for their love of grain.
In 1932, many Australian farmers had problems with emu, namely because emu would attack farms to get their wheat and other grain products. George Pearce, then minister of defense for Australia, ordered that World War I veterans attack emu when they get in contact with them. At some point, the soldiers encountered around a thousand emu at once.
Currently, the emu is doing fine, so that conflict can be considered an emu victory.
Timothy Dexter – Eccentricity at its Finest
Timothy Dexter was an American businessman, living in the period of 1747 until 1906. He was a trader who despite most people mocking him, was a very successful businessman. His own mansion was decorated with many statues of famous people, like George Washington, Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson, and of course, himself.
He is known for saying strange things like that his wife had died long ago and that the thing wandering the mansion is her ghost. At one point, he faked his own death and attended his own wake. Upon not seeing his wife cry, he revealed the prank and caned (beat her with a cane) her because she wasn’t mourning.
Fort Blunder
American and Canadian or at the time, British Canadian wars have left their scars. However, Fort Blunder was not one of them. In 1816, on Lake Champlain, or rather, the northernmost point of the American side of the lake. When visited by James Monroe, president of the US, in 1817, it was revealed that the fort was effectively on the Canadian side, territory-wise. It hence became Fort Blunder.
Another fort was built in 1844, which still stands, and is known as Fort Montgomery. The first fort’s stone and materials were salvaged by the people living there, used to build their own houses and sheds.
History is full of joyful moments, or blunders, depending on how you look at it. These have been some of history’s most interesting blunders, things that can make one laugh. There are many more laughable moments in history, just search for them online, if you are ever in need of a laugh.