Random Actual History Facts So Dumb They Sound Like Fiction - But Aren’t (15 items)

• (#2) During WWII, Soviet Anti-Tank Dogs Ran Under The Wrong Tanks

  From Redditor u/Archayvic:

  In WWII, the Russians trained dogs to run under tanks with time bombs on their backs - "anti-tank dogs." But, the Russians trained the dogs on Russian tanks, so when they set them free on the battlefield, the dogs turned around and started blowing up the Russian tanks instead of the German tanks.

  Context: This is sadly true! The dogs circled around to the diesel-fueled Soviet tanks because they were more familiar with the scent, whereas the German tanks used gasoline. The dogs were also scared of the gunfire, which made the ones that didn't turn back easy targets for the Germans. According to Russia Beyond, later attempts with anti-tank dogs were more successful, though at the cost of many dogs' lives.
• (#9) Andrew Johnson's Vice Presidential Inauguration Was A Drunken Disaster

  From Redditor u/TheNewGirl76:

  Then American Vice President Andrew Johnson was so drunk at his vice presidential inauguration that he could not swear the new congress in and rambled incoherently during his acceptance speech.

  Context: This comes from the official Senate website of the US government: "Johnson rose unsteadily to harangue the distinguished crowd about his humble origins and his triumph over the rebel aristocracy. In the shocked and silent audience, President Abraham Lincoln showed an expression of 'unutterable sorrow,' while Senator Charles Sumner covered his face with his hands. Former vice president Hamlin tugged vainly at Johnson's coattails, trying to cut short his remarks. After Johnson finally quieted, took the oath of office, and kissed the Bible, he tried to swear in the new senators, but he became so confused that he had to turn the job over to a Senate clerk."
• (#7) The 'Titanic's Binoculars Were Locked In A Safe - That No One Could Open

  From Redditor u/Gumpy57:

  The Titanic look-outs did not have binoculars. It was believed they had accidentally been left in Southhampton, but they were locked in a safe on board.

  Context: As How Stuff Works explains, "The binoculars were stashed in a locker in the crow's nest - where they were most needed - but the key to the locker wasn't on board. That's because a sailor named David Blair, who was reassigned to another ship at the last minute, forgot to leave the key behind when he left. The key was in Blair's pocket." It remains a point of controversy whether or not the binoculars would have helped the Titanic crew spot the iceberg. Fred Fleet, the ship's lookout, claimed they were essential. Other researchers aren't so sure. 
• (#15) The Fall Of The Berlin Wall Was Due To A Bureaucrat Misreading His Notes

  From Redditor u/Farkenoathm8-E:

  How the Berlin Wall fell. In order to calm mounting protests, German Democratic Republic (GDR) officials decided on loosening travel restrictions between East and West, but not opening the border completely.

  Notes of the new rules had been handed to a spokesman who hadn't had time to read them before the press conference. "Private travel outside the country can now be applied for without prerequisites," he said. Surprised journalists clamoured for more details. Shuffling through his notes, he said that as far as he was aware, it was effective immediately. In fact, it had been planned to start the next day, with details on applying for a visa. But the news was all over television - and East Germans flocked to the border in huge numbers.

  As the border became inundated with East Berliners wishing to reunite with family and/or escape the GDR, border guards became overwhelmed and with no orders to either shoot upon the crowd or open the gate, only a handful of guards facing hundreds and thousands of citizens, rather than fire and create a stampede and potentially kill hundreds, the head of the guards decided to give the order "Open the barrier!" What came next was a spontaneous chain reaction with Berliners on both sides arriving at Checkpoint Charlie to celebrate this momentous event and to demolish the wall.

  So, basically, an ill-prepared functionary made a flippant remark and a border guard captain, unable to get orders on how to proceed, led to one of the most defining moments of the late 20th Century in Europe.

  Context: This is basically correct, though according to the BBC, it was Günter Schabowski (the politician who did not have time to read his notes) who could not get clear orders on what to do. He was the one who gave the order to open the barrier.
• (#13) Pirate Captain Benjamin Hornigold Once Raided A Ship Just To Steal The Crew's Hats

  From Redditor u/JohnSmith2217:

  Benjamin Hornigold was a pirate in the late 1600s and early 1700s who once robbed a merchant vessel purely for the crew's hats - because he and his crew got so drunk the night before that they all threw their own hats overboard for no good reason.

  Context: This tale is related in Peter Earle's 2003 book The Pirate Wars. As the Vintage News explains, "After they took the merchants’ hats, Hornigold and his crew allowed them to continue with their journey. Some historians believe that this curious endeavor was nothing more than Hornigold’s and Thatch’s wish to display their power."
• (#3) Europeans Ate A Lot Of Mummies

  From Redditor u/FredrickTheWriter69:

  The reason there [aren't] a lot of mummies around anymore? It's because we ate them.

  Context: Egyptian mummies were a popular ingredient in all sorts of European medicines, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries. As summarized by the University of Durham's Richard Sugg, “The question was not, ‘Should you eat human flesh?’ but, ‘What sort of flesh should you eat?’” The Smithsonian writes, "Thomas Willis, a 17th-century pioneer of brain science, brewed a drink for apoplexy, or bleeding, that mingled powdered human skull and chocolate."

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