Sometimes we make bad decisions about who we see or what picture to see – and those skid ? Too late to return them now . But sometimes , we make really bad decision .
For example , Thomas Austin did n’t consider the consequence of introducing rabbits to Australia ; he just require a five - maven meal . AndNASAknew the Challenger had group O - ring problem , but decided to launch the space shuttle anyway . And all 12 of the publishing business firm that rejected J.K. Rowling ’s " Harry Potter and the Sorcerer ’s Stone " ? Since their first printing process in 1997 , theHarry Potterbooks have demote publishing disc ; they are now consider the fastest - selling book ever .
The next time you make a tough decision , retrieve : It plausibly could have been worse – you could have accept the Trojan Horse or seek to intrude on Russia . In no particular lodge , we ’ve gather up 10 of the worst decision ever made . Hold on to your fresh tooth because we ’re starting with those little candies aliens just ca n’t resist . No , not M&Ms .
10: Mars Turning Down the Chance to be in ‘E.T.’
" Is he a pig ? He sure eats like one , " quipped Gertie when she first laid centre on the small brownalien , E.T. , in Steven Spielberg ’s 1982 megahit movie . E.T. may have had a sweet tooth , but those brown , orangish and yellow candy he was snacking on were n’t M&Ms .
It could have been M&Ms , but Mars passed on the chance to use theircandyin " E.T. , the supernumerary - Terrestrial " when Spielberg ask . Instead , Hershey vigorously stepped in with Reese ’s Pieces when chance pink . The good fortune for have sex when to say yes ? sales event of Reese ’s Pieces jump 65 percent in June 1982 , the same calendar month E.T. was released [ generator : Time , Conradt ] .
9: Decca Records Declining to Sign the Beatles
In 1962 , Dick Rowe , an administrator at Decca Records , thoughtguitargroups were falling out of favour . On New Year ’s Day that year , The Beatles – though at that time Pete Best was their drummer and they called themselves the Silver Beatles – auditioned for Decca Records producer Tony Meehan . One month later , when Dick Rowe get a line their hearing tape – 15 track on a 12 - inch audio tape – he passed on signing the band .
As it turns out , Dick Rowe was mistaken . Guitar bands were n’t cold-blooded , they were hot . TheBeatleswent on to sign with EMI , and released their first 8 albums through the Parlophone label . It ’s forecast that the ring earned $ 38.5 million by the end of the summer of 1967 . The Wall Street Journal reckon $ 50 million in record sales in the U.S. alone in 1964 [ source : Beatle Money ] . In 1968 they launched their own record recording label , Apple Records .
8: Thalidomide’s Use as a Morning Sickness Treatment
Thalidomide was introduced in the early 1950s as a safe over - the - heel counter sedative , and went on to be prescribed to fraught woman as amorning sicknesstreatment during the fifties and 1960s across 46 rural area . By 1961 , though , negative effects of the drug were becoming evident – babies were born with knockout deformities . Affected babies were often born with shortened arms or stage and with fin - similar paw and feet ( a condition called phocomelia ) ; some babies were accept with other fault such as malformed eyes , ears , hearts and other organs [ reference : March of Dimes ] . By the time the manufacturer lastly pull the drug , an estimate 100,000 pregnant women had take it , and an estimated 40 percent of baby exposed to the drug conk ( either during the pregnancy or shortly after birth ) [ source : March of Dimes ] .
Thalidomide does have its use , although always with the peril of severe birthing flaw or babe deathrate . It ’s okay for use as a treatment for multiple myeloma , which is a stock and bone marrow cancer , as well as handling for skin lesions associated with leprosy , and research is underway on its potential treatment for other Cancer , HIV - related complication , and autoimmune condition such as lupus and Crohn ’s disease .
7: The Titanic’s Many Bad Choices
More than a century ago , the RMSTitanicset sail on her maiden voyage across the North Atlantic . But just five days into the trip from England to New York City , the lavishness lining jar with an iceberg lettuce off the slide of Newfoundland ; consumed by equipment casualty she dip , killing more than 1,500 passengers and crew .
Multiple mistakes were made that collectively sent the Titanic to its tragic last in April 1912 . First , there were no base hit regularisation in place for a ship as large as the Titanic . It did n’t carry adequate prophylactic equipment . For example , there were only 16 lifeboat , enough for only about one - third to one - half of the passenger on board , and crew extremity were n’t prepare with opera glasses or proper ignition . to boot , the Titanic was untried . Sure , they ’d reviewed the ship ’s equipment , but it was never test driven ; it was unproved . The gang was not fully up to speed on the lining , its equipment ( such as the land - of - the - artistic production Marconi wireless messaging system ) and its parking brake function .
Despite how unprepared the Titanic was operationally , it may have been a simple-minded human erroneous belief that ultimately caused theicebergdisaster . In 2010 it was revealed that the helmsman may have made a steering wrongdoing when diverting the ship around the iceberg , and the bit was n’t counterbalance in time to avoid disaster . The iceberg was spotted just before midnight , and by 2:20 a.m. the Titanic had split and sunk .
6: Filling the Hindenburg With Hydrogen
In the thirties , there was a dream of commercial-grade airships ferrying passengers across the Atlantic in no meter at all , just 60 hours . Commercialairshiptravel was pull in popularity , and the Hindenburg was the largest Graf Zeppelin ever built ( in fact , it was the largest thing ever to fly ) . The airship was three times as long and double the height of a Boeing 747 of today , all wrapped up in a silver gray - painted fabric membrane [ reference : Hall ] . It was just as luxurious as it was enormous – it even had a specially designed lightweight baby grand piano on circuit board , and , paradoxically , a smoking lounge .
In May 1937 , during its endeavour to tail , the luxury lining explode into fire above Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey . In 37 seconds the Hindenburg was destroy by fire ; 36 of the 97 passengers and work party died . What go incorrect ? A few things . First and first off , the Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen , a highly inflammable gasolene , instead of a less - combustible choice such as helium .
There have been dissent theories about what cause the hydrogen to combust . Could the Graf Zeppelin have been impinge on by lightning ? Or was the German Hindenburg –Nazi - funded , with swastikas on its tail – a political object , destroyed by a bomb calorimeter , gun or sabotage ? Or maybe , others thought , the pulverized aluminum in the paint chip in to the explosion ? Today ’s leading possibility paint a picture the combination of leak out H gas , such as from a broken or malfunctioning valve or telegram , and a build - up of static resulting from a thunderstorm may have sparked the ardor when the work party dropped the ship ’s landing place ropes , which may have ground the Graf Zeppelin and discharged the electrostatic .
5: Napoleon Invading Russia
In June 1812 , Napoleon overrun Russia with one of the largest army ever assembled for conflict , and was so confident of his impendent victory he wagered the warfare would n’t last more than 20 Clarence Day [ source : PBS ] . It was n’t Russia Napoleon require , necessarily ( although Napoleon and Czar Alexander I were at odds over trade with England ) ; it wasIndia . But due to lice infestations and subsequent typhus infections , food shortage , freeze temperatures and , finally , Russian troops , the Grande Armee would n’t make it beyond Moscow .
More than 600,000 valet from Napoleon ’s empire marched towardRussia , but just a few more than 100,000 were left fighting by former September 1812 , and in the ending Napoleon was escort by Russian troops back to France [ reference : Knight ] .
4: Hitler Invading Russia
It was a battle of giants , and the largest military intrusion of WWII : Nazi Germany againstCommunistRussia . But the state of war between Germany and Russia would be the first major solid ground defeat for Hitler , and that licking is considered the offset of the decline of Nazi Germany .
In June 1941 Adolf Hitler broke the non - aggression pact sign in 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union when he intrude on Russia with an regular army of more than 3 million men , 7,000 heavy weapon piece , 3,000 storage tank , and 2,500 aircraft [ source : account ] . Joseph Stalin , taken by surprisal , found his armed services overwhelmed by the German barrage . During the first week of the intrusion there were 150,000 casualties among Soviet troops , and by October that year , German troops had taken 3 million Soviet captive of warfare [ source : Rees ] . German flock reached Moscow byDecember 1941 , but the warfare was taking longer than anticipated – clothing , food and medical supply were wear out thin . When Soviet troops struck back hard to keep Moscow from fall , the Nazis failed to take Moscow .
3: Accepting the Trojan Horse
Legend has it that the Trojan War had been going on for a decennium when theGreeks , unable to get through the walls of the city of Troy , decided to charter in a little subterfuge .
The Greeks planned to trick the Trojans into letting them behind those closed in walls . They would leave behind a gift for the Trojans and make to retreat place . On parliamentary law fromOdysseus , they construct a horse , the Trojan Horse , and it was braggy enough to meet a few dozen soldier inside . After they wheeled it to the urban center gates , the Greeks faked their departure , and the Trojans , convinced they ’d just bring home the bacon the war , rolled the natural endowment inside their walls . That night , the hiddensoldiersopened the gates to additional troops , and Troy fell .
Stories of the Trojan War are recite by Homer in " The Iliad " and " The Odyssey , " and by Virgil in " The Aeneid , " but is there true statement to the Trojan Horse ? Evidence suggests … perhaps ? Even historians do n’t fit in on whether this warfare narrative is the true or marvellous tale .
2: Donner Party ‘Shortcut’
In April 1846 , a group of about 90 pioneers in about 20 wagons followed pal Jacob and George Donner westwards from Illinois to California . The California Gold Rush would n’t be for another two years , and the Donner Party , inexperienced in the wild , was maneuver into uncharted territory . They begin their journey on the California Trail , a known wagon - train path west , but decided to try on a shorter , alternate road . Because of freezing temperature and rough , hilly terrain , the shortcut they ’d hop for turn out to be long and mortal .
The Donner Party is still well - known today , although we might not all know the specifics of their journeying . What they ’re well known for , though , is the enquiry of whether they engaged incannibalismfor survival while trapped in the white Sierra Nevada mountains .
1: Prohibition
In the 1920s , if you were " going to see a homo about a dog , " you were n’t wait for a delivery puppy ; you were in the mood for a tipple or two , preferably whiskey . Why so sly ? DuringProhibitionin America , between January1920 when the 18th Amendment was signed until its abrogation in 1933 , it was illegal to manufacture , transport or sell alcohol ( but it was n’t actually illegal to fuddle it ) .
Prohibition was considered the " noble experimentation . " It was say to take down crime level and reduce the amount of money spent on prisons . It was supposed to scavenge us up socially , as well as improve our wellness and hygienics . What resulted alternatively was an explosion of alcohol - relate criminal offence , and eventually a corrupt law enforcement and political system willing to take bribes or look the other mode . Prohibition did n’t stop people from drinking ; it just changed the what and where of the equation . Because they were illegal , foot juice ( slang for cheap wine around the speakeasy ) and jag juice ( for those who like something a little harder ) were unregulated , and tainted alcohol killed an average of 1,000 during every dry year [ source : Lerner ] . Unexpected minus financial core also fall on a country expecting an economic windfall . For exemplar , res publica misplace tax revenue antecedently gained fromliquorsales .
Lots More Information
I had just as much fun digging into each of these tough decisions as I did when I wrote another article , What are the odds?The two have become some of my favorites to both inquiry and write . What are the odds of hit that iceberg ? As it turns out , the odds were passably effective . Also , if you learn nothing else from this article , think back : If you ’re reckon about intrude on Russia ( any time , but specially in or nigh wintertime ) , you might need to brush up on a lot of chronicle before practice to that decision .
