Crazy Last Second Decisions That Changed World History
Crazy Last Second Decisions That Changed World History
Sometimes all it takes is a split-second decision that can cause a ripple effect changing the course of the future! Check out some of the craziest last-second decisions that have become defining moments in our history right here!
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Content
0.24 -> Clean underwear, not doing
your homework, taking a nap-
3.84 -> these insane last minute decisions
irrevocably changed the course of mankind.
8.64 -> MLK – I Have A Dream
10.64 -> It's the most famous speech of the
20th century, possibly of all time.
14.56 -> And the most powerful part of it, the one that
everybody remembers, was completely improvised.
25.12 -> One night before the speech, on Tuesday August
27th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and six
37.6 -> other individuals gathered together at the Willard
Hotel to discuss what remarks Dr. King would be
42.08 -> giving the next day at the Lincoln Memorial.
Each member represented a different group,
46.32 -> and each group had its own concerns and troubles
that they wanted represented in King's speech.
50.56 -> The task to summarize and pull together all these
points of views fell to speech writer Clarence B.
55.44 -> Jones, who spent the night outlining
notes for what would become King's speech.
59.44 -> The next morning the speech was
finalized and forwarded to the media.
62.88 -> Later in the day, King took to the podium
and began to read the prepared speech.
66.8 -> You can clearly see King stop and read from
his prepared speech during the first half:
81.28 -> However, as King approached the seventh
paragraph he paused. At that moment,
85.28 -> gospel singer and friend of King, Mahalia
Jackson, shouted out “Tell 'em about the
89.52 -> dream!”. While her voice was never picked
up by the microphones recording the speech,
93.68 -> those around King heard her- including the
great man himself. Pushing his papers out of
97.76 -> the way, King improvised the most
iconic speech ever recorded live.
101.52 -> Dr. King's speech helped save many minority
Americans’ lives, but this next speech literally
106.16 -> saved the life of the man who delivered it-
and changed the course of American history.
110.4 -> Teddy Roosevelt's Speech Makes Him Bulletproof
113.04 -> “I do not care a rap for being shot, not
a rap”. So recounted America's most badass
118.08 -> president as he proceeded to deliver a 53
minute speech after being shot in the chest.
123.44 -> Just before this, Roosevelt entered
his car outside the Gilpatrick Hotel
126.88 -> and stood up to wave to the throng of supporters
around him. Suddenly from only five feet away,
131.44 -> a would-be assassin fired a revolver, the bullet
striking Roosevelt in the right breast. The crowd
136.4 -> instantly fell upon the shooter in a frenzy,
but above the raging din Roosevelt's voice
140.96 -> roared out like a mighty lion, “Don't hurt
him! Bring him here, I want to see him.”
145.44 -> Incredibly, Roosevelt stopped the crowd
from exacting vigilante justice on the
149.04 -> man who had just tried to murder him. Even more
incredibly, as his doctor ordered the driver to
153.2 -> head straight for the hospital, Roosevelt
said instead, “You get me to that speech.”
157.36 -> Roosevelt coughed three times in his hand,
and not seeing blood decided that the bullet
161.52 -> hadn't penetrated his lung. Sticking a hand
inside his jacket, he discovered a dime-sized
166 -> hole from the slug on his chest. Paying it no
mind, Roosevelt headed to his campaign event
171.12 -> where he went on to quip, “I don't know whether
you fully understand that I have just been shot.”
175.44 -> Roosevelt then opened his jacket and showed
the audience his bullet wound, remarking,
179.36 -> “It takes more than that to kill
a bull moose!”. He then promised
182.24 -> to keep his speech short as a consequence,
but delivered a 53 minute tirade anyways.
187.12 -> What saved Roosevelt's life? The last minute
decision to stick his 50 page speech folded
191.6 -> up inside his jacket pocket. Had Roosevelt
chosen another pocket the bullet would have
195.84 -> easily penetrated his glasses case and entered
his body with significantly more force- as it
200.88 -> was the bullet remained lodged in his ribs
in an upward trajectory towards the heart.
205.04 -> The dense speech saved Roosevelt's life, and
changed American history. Having served two
209.36 -> terms as president, Roosevelt ran a third time
as an independent progressive because of how weak
213.92 -> he perceived his Republican successor, William
Howard Taft, to be. As a result of him running,
218.96 -> Woodrow Wilson easily won the election as a
Democrat, and who led America through World
223.36 -> War I and developed the 14 points plan
which set the stage for post-war Europe.
227.76 -> One last minute decision for
clean underwear though would
230.16 -> lead to the most tragic loss in music history.
232.8 -> Clean Laundry Kills 3 Rock Legends
235.44 -> It was called “the day the music
died”. At 1 am on February 3rd, 1959,
240.32 -> a plane crash killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens,
and JP Richardson Jr., a.k.a. 'The Big Bopper'.
246.8 -> The repercussions would shape rock history.
249.12 -> Buddy Holly and his famous tourmates
were on the eleventh straight day of
252.32 -> their Winter Dance Party tour.
The entire crew was exhausted,
255.28 -> having spent every night performing to packed
shows full of teenage kids and college-age crowds.
259.68 -> All that awaited them though was more time spent
on a cramped tour bus, where the famous musicians
264.24 -> struggled to catch some Zs. Even worse,
their clean laundry had officially run out,
268.16 -> and the last thing Holly wanted
was to perform in dirty clothes.
270.96 -> The next stop was Fargo, North Dakota, and
Holly had had enough of the bus. He scraped
275.28 -> together some cash and hired charter pilot Roger
Peterson to fly them to Fargo ahead of the bus.
280 -> That way they could have time to do laundry
and catch up on some much-needed rest.
283.44 -> Originally it was just supposed to be
Buddy and his band, but at the last
286.56 -> minute Richardson came down with a cold. Bass
player Waylon Jennings agreed to give the big
290.48 -> bopper his seat so the singer could have
some time to rest before the next show.
294.08 -> Ritchie Valens wanted to fly instead of ride
the bus, but there was no more room, so instead
298.16 -> he flipped a coin versus guitarist Tommy Allsup,
winning the flip and the seat on the doomed plane.
303.44 -> Despite having worked 17 hours that day, pilot
Roger Peterson had agreed to fly the musicians
307.92 -> regardless, starstruck by Buddy Holly. As he
prepared for takeoff, the wind howled and snow
312.72 -> began to fall, but at 12:30 AM Peterson
was given the green light to take off.
316.8 -> The control tower failed to notify Peterson
of a blizzard descending down upon them.
320.88 -> The plane pulled up into the sky, and
then something happened. Investigators
324.48 -> never discovered the truth of what happened
that fateful evening, but some believe that
327.92 -> Peterson got disoriented by the heavy blizzard
and flew his plane downwards instead of up.
332.72 -> The plane plowed into a cornfield just a
few minutes after takeoff at over 170 mph,
337.84 -> hurling the four passengers out of the
wreckage. None survived- all died on impact.
342.48 -> The fateful decision to charter that plane
changed rock history forever. Holly was at
346.56 -> the very start of his career, and despite languid
sales his records had begun to pick up popularity.
351.52 -> With the possibility of overseas tours, Holly
would have exploded into a rock sensation-
356.08 -> after his death Britain bought Holly's
albums faster than new ones could be printed.
360 -> Holly had set the template for most modern rock
and roll bands: two guitars, one base, and one
364.8 -> drum- and there's no telling what new innovations
Holly may have immortalized for ages to come.
369.44 -> The death of Ritchie Valens was especially tragic
for the Latin community, as he was the first Latin
373.92 -> rock star. He was just 17 years old when he died,
far from the prime of his life. Had he not died,
378.96 -> the Latin community would have had a far
stronger advocate in the music industry,
382.4 -> and the face of modern rock and roll might
look a lot different than it does today.
386.32 -> JP Richardson Jr. had blazed brand new trails
by combining R&B, rock and roll, and country
391.76 -> seamlessly together on the same record. He was
also responsible for creating the first music
396.16 -> video, and had he not died there's no telling
what further musical fusions may have resulted.
400.48 -> Our next last minute change doomed history's
most infamous ship to its watery grave.
405.2 -> Last Minute Officer Change Sinks The Titanic
408.24 -> This is the key that sunk the Titanic:
410.88 -> The key belonged to Second officer David
Blair, who was removed from the Titanic crew
414.8 -> at the last minute. With the Titanic's sister
ship, the RMS Olympic, experiencing layovers,
419.52 -> White Star Line decided that the
Olympic's Chief Officer would take
422.4 -> Blair's position for the voyage. In
the haste of the crew changeover,
425.76 -> Blair forgot to pass the key to the binoculars
in the crow's nest along- though other versions
430.72 -> of the story state that the binoculars were
actually left inside Blair's locked room.
434.32 -> Without binoculars, lookouts Frederic Fleet
and Reginald Lee were forced to rely on their
438.48 -> unaided vision in the pitch black to try and spot
oncoming icebergs. At an inquiry into the sinking,
443.76 -> both lookouts were asked if having the pair
of binoculars available would have allowed
447.28 -> them to see the iceberg from further away.
Fleet remarked that with the binoculars he
451.2 -> would likely have been able to warn the ship
fast enough for it to get out of the way.
454.72 -> Up next, cloud cover and a
navigator's decision ends
457.84 -> up saving tens of thousands of Japanese lives.
460.56 -> Cloudy Weather Saves Thousands
of Lives From Atomic Hellfire
464.08 -> August 9th, 1945. Three days earlier the United
States had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
469.92 -> unleashing untold devastation. Warned of further
atomic attacks, Japan still refused to surrender.
475.28 -> Now a nuclear-laden B29 bomber crosses the
skies over Japan unescorted. The Japanese air
480.64 -> force has been so thoroughly decimated
that no fighters rise up to meet it.
484.56 -> Early in the morning, the B29 had been forced
to abandon its original target of Kokura,
489.04 -> a heavily industrialized city on the northern
tip of Kyushu island. The city is a hub
493.6 -> of military production, but that morning
heavy cloud clover has obscured the target.
498 -> The city's plants had been ordered the day
before to burn coal tar in order to produce
502.32 -> heavy clouds of dark smoke, but the weather
has also conspired to save the Japanese city.
507.28 -> With no clear line of sight to the target, the
bomber heads to its secondary target: Nagasaki.
512.4 -> Nagasaki is also an important trade and
manufacturing city for the Japanese,
515.76 -> but less important for the war effort than Kokura.
Nevertheless, a few hours later the B29 arrives on
521.44 -> station over Nagasaki. The plan is simple- deliver
the bomb at the city's densely populated center.
526.88 -> But there's a problem, heavy clouds
have obscured the city below from sight.
530.4 -> Flying a holding pattern, the bomber finally
spots a patch of clear sky and heads for it.
534.88 -> Two miles from the city's center, the second
nuclear attack in world history is launched.
538.8 -> The bomb detonates far from its densely
industrialized and populated target,
542.8 -> but the devastation is still immense. Tens of
thousands die instantly, tens of thousands more
547.76 -> will quickly follow. However, the last minute
decision to change target sites means that the
551.84 -> bomb inflicted less casualties than predicted,
saving untold thousands from incineration.
557.04 -> Our next last minute decision
reshaped human history.
560.24 -> June 28th, 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir
to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on a public
566.56 -> tour through Sarajevo. He's been warned that
Serbian nationals had hatched a plot to kill him,
571.2 -> but in an act of unmitigated hubris,
decides to go through with the trip anyways.
575.04 -> If that wasn't bad enough, his motorcade's route
has been printed on every public newspaper.
579.52 -> Unsurprisingly, Serbian terrorists
hatched a plan to kill him.
582.8 -> As the Archduke's car takes a turn,
Gavrilo Princip and compatriots throw
586.88 -> a satchel bomb under the duke's car. The
bomb however fails to go off immediately,
590.72 -> and the delayed blast ends up missing the
duke entirely. Instead it seriously wounds
594.72 -> some of the duke's entourage, who
are rushed to the nearest hospital.
597.76 -> The Duke demanded to be taken to see the wounded
men, but the motorcade's drivers spoke Czech and
602.32 -> did not understand the planned change, thus they
kept driving the original route. Angered, the duke
607.52 -> demanded his Czech driver to reroute, but by then
the car had retraced its steps- and straight past
612.72 -> the flabbergasted Princip who couldn't believe
his luck. As the duke demanded the car stop,
617.92 -> Princip made his move and fired twice, killing
the duke and launching Europe into a global war.
622.72 -> How would have history been different if the Duke
hadn't demanded his car stop and turn around?
626.8 -> Well, for starters there wouldn't
have been a Nazi party and a second
629.92 -> world war with Germany as the aggressor.
There would also have been no holocaust,
633.68 -> and no Cold War between the United States
and the Soviet Union. The repercussions from
637.6 -> this point on are simply too great to predict,
but the face of the planet would have looked a
641.52 -> lot different if the duke had allowed his
driver to continue on his planned route-
645.36 -> or if someone had thought to hire
drivers that spoke more than just Czech.
649.04 -> Our next last-minute decision
toppled a Superpower.
652.08 -> One Lazy Official Brings Down The Soviet Union
654.8 -> In the last half of 1989 East Germans
had taken to launching massive protests,
659.04 -> demanding the types of reforms sweeping across the
Soviet Union in their own nation. East Germany's
664 -> Soviet-backed rulers though weren't ready to
give up control, and thus in a bid to placate the
668.48 -> masses drew up plans for new travel regulations.
The new travel regulations appeared to allow free
673.6 -> travel out of East Germany for its people,
but in reality still held the same national
677.36 -> security regulations that kept East Germans
prisoners in their own country for decades.
682.08 -> On the night of November 9th, Guenter Schabowski,
spokesman for the East German Politburo,
686.88 -> was scheduled to hold a press conference
over the proposed travel regulations.
690.56 -> Shortly before his conference, he received a
memo from the Politburo with updates on the
694.16 -> proposed travel regulations and minutes from
the meeting- which included some proposed,
698.4 -> but not accepted ideas for opening up the borders.
700.88 -> Schabowski quickly scanned the document and then
discarded it as he entered the press conference.
705.76 -> His decision to not read the document thoroughly
doomed the Soviet block to disintegration.
710.96 -> Speaking on the proposed regulations for an
hour, finally an Italian journalist asked
714.88 -> about travel regulations. Hastily attempting to
remember what he had read about foreign travel,
719.68 -> Schabowski began to mumble, letting
out half-answers that included
723.12 -> “exit via border crossings” and a
mumbled “possible for every citizen”.
727.2 -> Immediately the room exploded into a frenzy
of activity as reporters hurled question after
731.6 -> question at Schabowski- demanding to know when
the regulations would go into effect. Completely
736.16 -> rattled, Schabowski picked through his papers
before muttering, “immediately, right away.”
740.48 -> The rest is history. Reporters immediately left
to wire off the hot news, and by 10:42 pm that
745.84 -> night West German television had announced
that the border was open for everyone.
749.6 -> Five hours after Schabowski's press conference
crowds began to form up at border crossing points.
754.24 -> At first a few dozen, but soon it was thousands,
and the border guards- with orders from the Soviet
758.88 -> Union to allow nobody to cross- were forced to
allow the East Germans to cross as they willed.
764.08 -> The opening of the borders and the
fall of the Berlin Wall cost the
766.96 -> Soviet Union one of its biggest
bargaining chips against NATO,
769.84 -> and resulted in sweeping revolution across
the Soviet bloc. Eventually, the Soviet Union
774.32 -> would cave to internal and external pressure
and dissolve, its days as a superpower over.
779.28 -> Had Schabowski taken a moment
to properly read his notes,
782.08 -> Europe could very well still be
divided between east and west,
784.96 -> and a confrontation between two nuclear
superpowers still possible at any moment.
789.2 -> Up next, the decision to not interrupt
a nap cost Germany World War II.
794.24 -> Hitler Naps And Loses The Second World War
797.04 -> In 1944 Germany had seized nearly all of Europe.
The Allies no longer had a hold on the continent,
802.48 -> and if the Third Reich was to
be defeated, they would have to
804.88 -> kick in the door to Fortress Europe with the
largest amphibious operation in human history.
809.52 -> Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was placed in charge
of the coastal defenses in western Europe,
813.76 -> and was appalled at how bad they were.
He immediately launched a program of
817.36 -> fortification that stretched from the
Bay of Biscal all the way to Norway.
820.64 -> He also pushed for a redeployment of the Panzer
divisions afforded to the defense forces-
825.04 -> Rommel wished to hold the Panzers close to the
beach, knowing that Allied air power would make
829.2 -> massing tanks for a counterattack impossible
once the Allies secured a beachhead. Other
833.76 -> German generals however felt that the Panzers were
better placed outside of potential invasion areas,
838.4 -> where they could mass together for an
overwhelming counterattack. Only Rommel
842.08 -> appreciated that Allied air power was far
superior to German at this point in the war.
846.72 -> In the end Hitler decided to hold the Panzers back
in a reserve force under his explicit command.
851.44 -> When the allies landed, all of German leadership
was sure it was merely a diversionary attack
856 -> meant to take German attention from the true
landing site at Pas de Calais. Within hours
860.64 -> however it was becoming clear to commanders on
the ground that they were facing a significant
864.64 -> allied invasion- even if it was diversionary,
German forces were finding it impossible to
869.2 -> hold off the invading force. Field commanders
immediately began calling for panzer support,
873.68 -> but under strict orders to not move
without Hitler's direct approval,
877.12 -> the Panzer forces remained in
place miles behind the beachheads.
880.32 -> And back in Germany, Hitler's aides
decided not to wake the Fuhrer
883.84 -> from his slumber to inform him of the invasion.
886.32 -> Granted, nearly all German leadership was still
under the impression that the attack in Normandy
890.56 -> was a distraction even days after the successful
landings. But if Hitler had been awakened,
895.36 -> the Panzer forces could have been rallied quickly
enough to meet the allies on the beaches. In that
899.6 -> case D-Day would have almost certainly failed,
and an even bloodier, future invasion against
904 -> a better prepared Germany would have resulted.
In the end, the Allies may have never cracked
908.08 -> Fortress Europe, and the Soviet Union may have
been overcome by overwhelming German firepower.
912.96 -> Next, a single unread note leads to the
birth of the United States of America.
917.92 -> Unread Note Costs Britain The Revolutionary War
921.04 -> In December of 1776 things were looking
bleak for the American continental army.
925.36 -> The upstart rebels had suffered a string of
crushing defeats at the hands of the British
929.36 -> and their Hessian mercenaries, losing New York
City and granting the British a beachhead in
934.16 -> the colonies. General George Washington's
army, numbering around six thousand strong,
938.32 -> was low on morale, supplies, and
on the verge of spiritual defeat.
941.92 -> One more defeat could crush the
American's will to continue fighting.
945.28 -> With public support rapidly turning
against the rebels, Washington knew
948.72 -> he needed a decisive victory to prove the
colonies had a change at freedom. And he
952.72 -> would achieve it with a gutsy attack on a heavily
fortified target, and the help of an unread note.
958.32 -> Washington's plan was to invade Trenton and
destroy the Hessian garrison there. However,
962.72 -> the garrison was held by 1600 battle-hardened
and well equipped Hessian mercenaries,
967.52 -> and led by experienced German colonel Johann
Rall. Rall had fought in Russia, Bavaria,
972.72 -> the Netherlands, Scotland, and in the French and
Indian war. He was a tough, strategic thinker
977.52 -> hardened by decades of war- but he made the fatal
mistake of misjudging the sheer guts of his enemy.
982.56 -> On the night of December 26th, Washington prepared
his attack on Trenton. His plan was simple,
987.12 -> but frankly somewhat insane- he would ferry
thousands of troops on any boat they could
991.36 -> get their hands on across the nearly frozen
Delaware river in the middle of a blizzard.
995.68 -> Then he would move on Trenton under cover of
night and the bad weather, surrounding the town.
1000.96 -> But a spy in Washington's midst got news to a
loyalist farmer, who dispatched his son to rush
1005.6 -> to Trenton and warn Rall of the impending attack.
Arriving at the wealthy merchant's home Rall had
1010.72 -> made his headquarters, the messenger
rushed to give Rall the note. However,
1014.16 -> Rall and his men were celebrating Christmas,
believing the continental army was all but
1017.92 -> broken after a string of humiliating
defeats. He also believed that the
1021.12 -> bad weather and freezing conditions would
make a crossing of the Delaware impossible.
1025.04 -> Thus most of his men were celebrating and
drinking heavily and unprepared for an invasion.
1029.6 -> Rall took the note and despite insistence on its
importance, stuffed it into a pocket and promptly
1033.84 -> forgot about it as he was challenged to a chess
game. The unread note which outlined Washington's
1038.8 -> plan was rumored to still be in his pocket
when he died of his injuries the next morning.
1042.88 -> Washington took Trenton and defeated the Hessian
forces there, suffering only light casualties and
1048.16 -> securing badly needed equipment for the rebel
army. News of his victory spread like wildfire
1052.88 -> and the flames of revolution rekindled.
America had hope of victory after all,
1057.12 -> and thousands rallied to Washington's banner
to throw off the yoke of British oppression.
1061.44 -> Had Rall read the note his forces would have
inflicted a catastrophic defeat on Washington,
1066.16 -> potentially killing him, James Madison, James
Monroe, John Marshall, Aaron Burr, or Alexander
1071.76 -> Hamilton- all men who would go on to champion the
fight for freedom and shape the nation to come.
1076.48 -> Rall's decision to ignore the note warning
of attack cost Britain the Revolutionary War,
1081.36 -> and guaranteed the rise of
America as a global superpower.
1084.64 -> Now go check out Most Expensive Mistakes In
History, or click this other video instead!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWbjwKfH-7o