Historic 'My Bads' That We're Glad Weren't Our Mistakes

In 1988, the event became known as "The Piper Alpha oil rig explosion was the world's worst oil accident." happened in the North Sea, near Scotland. The Piper Alpha oil rig blew up, killing Sixteen seventy workers died.who were on the structure.

The company running the rig kept it operating while workers did maintenance. What caused the fatal disaster?Human error caused the tragedy.:

A lack of communication during a shift change meant staff missed that they should not use a pipework piece sealed with a temporary cover and no safety valve. Gas leaked out and ignited. Firewalls meant to stop fire on an oil platform could not stop the gas explosion.

Ittook fire crews six weeks to put out the flames.put out the flames.

In the early hours of September 2, 1666, Thomas Farriner's bakery burned down in London. Though he and his daughter checked to verifythat the fire in the oven was out, some sparks must have slipped their notice, caught fire, and spread fast.

In just a few hours, the flames,aided by a strong wind,spread from wood to wood across the city. London burned.

By the time crews put out the fire several days later, over100,000 Londoners lost their homes.

It may have been a "giant leap for mankind," but the moon landing caused NASA problems. The organization actuallydoes not know what happenedto the original, official recording of the event.

Losing the original recording has onlyfueled baseless conspiracy theoriesthat the moon landing never occurred.

As NASA quickly reminds the public, the loss of the original tapes does not mean there is no recording of the moon landing. NASA actually, losing the original tapes does not mean no moon landing recording exists. NASA actuallyconverted the original 10-second-per-frame recordingIn 2008, it was shown that

In 2008, it was revealed thathas survived.When American troops entered Normandy in 1944, photographer Robert Capa documented the assault.

During the D-Day landings in 1944, American troops had photographer Robert Capa documenting the assault.

Capa documented conflict. In the 1930s, Capa and his lover, Gerda Tarophotographed the Spanish Civil War.

commissioned him.andCollier'sCollier'smagazines, Capa followed andphotographed American troop movementsin Europe and Africa.

Capa's D-Day photos offer a rare look at the conflict. London'sImperial War Museum put it, his pictures "are likely the closest images we have to an American soldier's view of the assault in the early hours."

majority were accidentally erased.. As Capa later recalled::

Seven days later, I saw the pictures from "Easy Red." They were the best of the invasion. But the darkroom assistant turned the heat up too high while drying the negatives. The emulsions melted and ran before the London office saw them. Of 106 pictures total, only eight survived. Captions under the blurry photos showed Capa's hands shaking badly.

By the 15th century, the Byzantine Empire had long been in decline.Its final end came in 1453. Ottomans besieged Constantinople, the empire's capital.The city's end came in 1453. Ottomans besieged Constantinople, the empire's capital.

During the fight, Ottoman troops found a big error: Byzantine soldiers failed to secure the Kerkoporta Gate.They hadn't secured the Kerkoporta Gate.Constantinople, which had existed for centuries, was finished. The Ottomans renamed it Istanbul.Writer Bill Fawcett told the story.The Ottomans took full advantage and walked right into the city.

The Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 earned a "turning point" in the American Civil War. Some argue it could have ended the conflict instead.

Constantinople, which existed for centuries, was gone. The Ottomans renamed it Istanbul.

The Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 earned a " in the American Civil War.President Abraham Lincoln expressed frustration that Meade did not chase Lee's troops to end the war. In a letter he never sent, Lincoln scolded Meade for letting the army slip away.Some argue this battle could have ended the conflict instead.

Union Gen. George Meade's troops defended the North against Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. Meade made a mistake.By 1919, Ruth was already a top player. He asked the Red Sox for more money.: He let Lee, the general and commander of all Confederate forces, flee south instead of stopping him at the battle's end.

President Abraham Lincoln expressed anger that Meade did not chase Lee's troops and end the war. In a letter he never sent., Lincoln scolded Meade for letting the army slip away:

Again, my dear general, I don't think you grasp the trouble Lee's escape caused. He was close to you. Closing in on him, along with other wins, would have ended the war. Your chance is gone, and I am deeply upset by that.

December 1919 saw one of baseball's worst trades: Harry Frazee, owner of the Boston Red Sox, sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees.

By 1919, Ruth was one of the best players. He then asked the Red Sox for more money. Frazee refused. Instead, he hoped to profit from Ruth by trading him to the Yankees. Though Frazee lost Ruth, he took about $100,000.

The Yankees gained more from the deal than Frazee did.Babe Ruth led the Yankees to several Word Series wins. The Red Sox supposedly lacked Ruth and suffered the "Curse of the Bambino," struggling to win the World Series until 2004.Babe Ruth led the Yankees to several Word Series wins. The Red Sox supposedly lacked Ruth and suffered the "Curse of the Bambino," struggling to win the World Series until 2004.Curse of the BambinoThe Curse of the Bambino meant the Red Sox struggled to win the World Series until 2004.

The sinking of the RMSTitanicThe Titanic sinking remains a historic event. Many things caused the disaster, but the lack of binoculars for the lookouts—the crew watching for icebergs—stands out as avoidable.

TheTitanicThe Titanic's lack of binoculars might stem from human error. One story says David Blair, an officer, took a key to the crow's nest locker, and that locker might have held binoculars.the locker may have contained binocularsDavid Blair was reassigned.He was reassigned from the Titanicshortly before its maiden voyage.He walked off the ship, forgetting he still had the keysto the locker.Thus, when the Titanic set sail, the lookouts lacked binoculars, and they were unhappy about it.

Sailor Frederick Fleet, one of the two men who saw the iceberg that sank the Titanic, claimed that if only he had binoculars, things might have changed on April 15, 1912.If equipped with binoculars, he argued, he might have seen the iceberg sooner, sounded the alarm earlier, and given officers more time to move the Titanic away from disaster and avoid the ice.It's important to know that some people question parts of this story and how much the binoculars would have helped that April night. Still, it serves as a warning: always keep backups, especially when crossing the icy Atlantic.some people have expressed skepticism over parts of the story and the extent the binoculars would have helped that April night. Nonetheless, it's a warning to always have backups, especially when crossing the icy Atlantic.It's one of the most recognizable structures: Pisa Cathedral's bell tower, known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower does not stand straight; it leans.

Sailor Frederick Fleet, one of two men who spotted the iceberg that sank theDonna Sarkar in Discover said an engineering screw-up likely caused the tower to lean.Since the tower sits on soft ground, the structure began to sink into the earth shortly after construction started in the 12th century.The tower sits on soft ground, so the structure sank into the earth soon after 12th-century construction began.things might have turned out differently on April 15, 1912. He argued that with binoculars, he could have seen the iceberg earlier, raised the alarm sooner, and given officers more time to maneuver the ship.In other words, the bell tower's original builders probably ignored how dense the ground was when setting the foundations.The number pi has been used for centuries. Calculating it was hard before computers existed.

British mathematician William Shanks continued. In the mid-19th century, his pi calculations reached 707 decimals.Shanks's calculation took years. A computer checked his work in 1946 and found he was only accurate to 527 decimals; everything after that was wrong.This story shows how binoculars might have changed things that April night. Always keep backups, especially when crossing the icy Atlantic.

Pisa Cathedral's campanile, or the "bell tower," is a structure in Pisa. It is known as the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" because it leans instead of standing straight.

This leaning probably was not planned.An engineering screw-up" likely caused the tower to lean, Donna Sarkar said in Discover.DiscoverSince the tower rests on soft ground,soft groundthe structure began to sink into the earth.The structure began to sink into the earth.Construction started in the 12th century, and the sinking happened shortly after.

Original engineers probably did not account for the ground's density when they laid the foundations.

People have used pi for centuries. Calculating it proved hard before computers existed.

British mathematician William Shanks kept calculating pi in the mid-19th century.His calculations reached 707 decimals..

Shanks's calculation took years to finish.A computer checked Shanks's work in 1946. It found he was accurate only to 527 decimals.Everything after 527 decimals was wrong.Everything after 527 decimals was wrong.

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. This moment, a major 20th-century event, resulted from a mistake at a news conference.

After WWII, Berlin split into West Berlin, aligned with the West and the United States, and East Berlin, controlled by the Soviet Union. By 1961, A wall stood between the two cities. It acted as a physical barrier and a symbol of division during the Cold War. The two cities acted as a physical barrier and a symbol of division during the Cold War.

But that changed in 1989. During a news conference, East Berlin official Günter Schabowski seemed to In his unpreparedness, he wrongly suggested the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall were open. Soldiers had orders to shoot anyone trying to cross. That announcement made East Berliners storm the wall and demand passage into West Berlin. The wall became obsolete, then it fell.In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, planned a trip to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Bosnia had been part of Austria-Hungary since 1908. Sarajevo was a powder keg. Tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia spilled into Bosnia, where many Bosnian Serbs disliked Habsburg rule.Vox recounted 30 years later.Terrorists with the Black Hands, a Serbian nationalist group, aimed to kill the archduke during his visit. They made an attempt earlier that day. The attempt failed, but several people went to the hospital.

He lacked preparation. He wrongly suggested the Berlin Wall checkpoints—previously guarded by soldiers ordered to shoot anyone crossing—were open. They were not. That announcement gave East Berliners the push to storm the wall and demand passage into West Berlin. The wall became obsolete then, and it soon fell.

In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, planned a trip to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Austria-Hungary controlled Bosnia since 1908. Sarajevo, much like the region, was a powder keg. Tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia spilled into Bosnia, where many Bosnian Serbs hated Habsburg rule.

Despite the danger of visiting Sarajevo during tense times, Ferdinand pushed forward with the trip and a motorcade through the city. Worse, his staff even Franz Ferdinand's impulsive decision to visit the hospital later that day took him past where his assassin, Gavrilo Princip, stood. Chauffeur Leopold Lojka's unfamiliarity with the new route caused him to take a wrong turn. Confused, Lojka stopped just six feet from the gunman.Princip pulled the trigger, ending the archduke's life.

Terrorists with the Black Hands, a Serbian nationalist group, wanted to kill the archduke during his visit. For this, they made an attempt.They tried earlier that day. The attempt failed, but it sent several people to the hospital.

Moved, the archduke chose a last-minute trip to the hospital to pay respects to the attempt's survivors. To meet this request, the archduke's driver, Leopold Lojka, mistakenly drove the car into a side street.That street was right where another Black Hand member waited. Worse, while trying to leave the street, Lojka stopped briefly.He stopped to reorient himself, putting the archduke and his wife Sophie in danger.

Historian Mike Dash recounted in Smithsonian. ,A series of small choices and mistakes sealed the archduke's fate—and the world’s fate.

Franz Ferdinand's impulsive decision later that day to visit them [at the hospital] took him past where his assassin, Gavrilo Princip, stood. Chauffeur Leopold Lojka's unfamiliarity with the new route caused him to take a wrong turn and stop just six feet from the gunman.

Princip pulled the trigger, ending the archduke's life.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie's assassination started a chain of events leading to WWI.