Stanislav Petrov:
“In 1983, Petrov was on duty in a Soviet missile base when early warning systems apparently detected an incoming missile strike from the United States. Protocol dictated that the Soviets order a return strike.
But Petrov didn’t push the button. He reasoned that the number of missiles was too small to warrant a counterattack, thereby disobeying protocol.
If he had ordered a strike, there’s at least a reasonable chance hundreds of millions would have died. The US and the Soviet Union may have even ended up engaged in an all-out nuclear war, leading to billions of deaths and, potentially, the end of civilization. If we’re being conservative, we might quantify his impact by saying he saved a billion lives.”
Forget who, but a Roman emperor (?) was about to fight in a battle, when in a dream the night before he was told to paint the symbol of Christianity on the shields of his soldiers, and they would win. In return he would have to spread Christianity through Rome.
Welp they won and the rest is history.
I fucked that story up a lot but the gist is there
The flooding of Lake Pedder. Gave rise to United Tasmania Group which then became The Greens an Australian policial party. The learnings would go onto to stop the daming of the Franklin River in SW Wilderness World Heritage Area. Beggining in many respects of a new environmental consciousness, one that challenged the status quo.
In a more serious answer, either ancient proto-algae coming up with the mutation for photosynthesis, or that damn proto-fish thing that first decided to leave the oceans for dry land.
A woman lied to her violent ex that her new boyfriend was a police officer to scare him off after he made violent threats towards her.
Raoul Moat then went on a two-day shooting rampage after murdering his ex and started specifically targetting police officers, including shooting an officer in the face so severely that while he lived, he was left permanently blind and ended up committing suicide as a result.
I’d say maybe that one guy spilling tea that started the American Revolution, crazy how a small move like that changed everything! What do you think kicked off something huge ?
Issac Newton watched an apple fall from a tree and wondered why….Then he quietly rewrote the laws of the universe and kickstarted modern science as we know it.
When RNA evolved and became self replicating, leading to the chance creation of DNA structures. We wouldn’t exist had this not happened in some ocean or volcano somewhere.
“Arashi to fleet, detaching to hunt American submarine”
(WW2 Japanese destroyer during Battle of Midway left the fleet to chase a US submarine then had to catch back up, it didn’t realise a US navy bomber flight which was lost was following it and it led them to the entire Japanese carrier fleet and the rest is history)
“My duty is to execute the Emperor’s orders”
(Marshall Grouchy had 1/3 of Napoleons army under his command but refused to disregard his orders to chase the Prussian army and head to Waterloo where the battle was happening leading the the Alliances victory over France)
“Things are a bit sticky, sir”
(Korean War, British troops were in combat and the US General in charge asked for a situation update and got this answer from the British commander, he didn’t understand the meaning of the British humour so assumed the British troops were doing fine and didn’t need help when they were actually being overran and the United Nation Armies lines were collapsing)
Isnt it crazy to think that something as tiny as a single gunshot in Sarajevo could set off a world war? or how one person dropping an apple led Newton to rethink the universe lol? like small ripples, massive waves
Alexander Fleming writing down notes in regards to an anti-bacterium he found in one of his experiments after a weekend away in 1922.
Fleming took his findings forward to his superiors, but conceded nothing could be done with it as this time. As it would take factory-level equipment to make anything of it and they were under a tight budget.
Jump to 1937. A German-Jewish refugee named Ernst Chain is now working under an Australian, Howard Florey, at the Medical Research Council at Oxford. To get better knowledge of Florey, he read a British Medical Journal where some of Florey’s work had been published.
Inside this journal just so happened to be the paper Fleming wrote about the anti-bacterium.
Chain began discussing this with Florey and his colleagues and they thought it might be something to consider. Their funding jumped up considerably due to the outbreak of WW2, giving them the equipment to make something of it and thus Penicillin was born.
Fleming is the one most associated with Penicillin, but it is often forgotten that when the Nobel Prize was given for Penicillin, Fleming, Florey and Chain accepted it together.
An anarchist shot President McKinley giving us T Roosevelt.
America was destined to become a civil oligarchy hell hole a long time ago. Americans kept voting against their own interests even when something like 90% where in poverty (this was during the Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Ford days). See “Men Who Build America” for proof. It’s free on YouTube.
Teddy was only put there as a symbolic gesture by the oligarchs. He was NEVER meant to have actual power; but when he got it, he broke up Standard Oil, supported unions which led to every work benefit you currently have including the 40hr work week and minimum wage, protected our national parks which LONG would’ve been gone…the list goes on. Basically, he gave us the middle class.
I love the irony that a single anarchist managed to stabilize a country that was destined to plunge into anarchy.
Comments
Gavrilo Princip assassinating Franz Ferdinand
Whoever first used a wheel to make things easier to carry, in a roundabout way made the first contribution to vehicles
Henry Tandey spared hitlers life
oppenheimer opening up the manhattan project.
The cow knocking over the lantern in Chicago that started the great Chicago fire.
Great Chicago Fire
Lightning striking wood near Homo Erectus.
The first homonid to control fire
The chauffeur of Franz Ferdinand missing his turnoff.
Giving a failing grade to an art school student.
Abraham’s existence
Stanislav Petrov:
“In 1983, Petrov was on duty in a Soviet missile base when early warning systems apparently detected an incoming missile strike from the United States. Protocol dictated that the Soviets order a return strike.
But Petrov didn’t push the button. He reasoned that the number of missiles was too small to warrant a counterattack, thereby disobeying protocol.
If he had ordered a strike, there’s at least a reasonable chance hundreds of millions would have died. The US and the Soviet Union may have even ended up engaged in an all-out nuclear war, leading to billions of deaths and, potentially, the end of civilization. If we’re being conservative, we might quantify his impact by saying he saved a billion lives.”
On an individual level, a lot of these individuals had a huge impact (doctors making small inventions, etc.). Read on: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/can-one-person-make-a-difference/
The first hominid that decided knuckle walking was overrated
Some guy in Cameroon ate a chimpanzee and now we have AIDS
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Trump tilting his head at that rally.
Art school rejecting Hitler.
Forget who, but a Roman emperor (?) was about to fight in a battle, when in a dream the night before he was told to paint the symbol of Christianity on the shields of his soldiers, and they would win. In return he would have to spread Christianity through Rome.
Welp they won and the rest is history.
I fucked that story up a lot but the gist is there
Rats boarding ships in Europe.
No smaller action than people not being bothered to go and vote
Obama making fun of Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
People believing that someone spoke to god.
Probably something like a butterfly flapping its wings.
That kid falling into the gorilla enclosure
Kindness
A smile to someone in the street can save their life.
Love and kindness infinitely multiplies
The flooding of Lake Pedder. Gave rise to United Tasmania Group which then became The Greens an Australian policial party. The learnings would go onto to stop the daming of the Franklin River in SW Wilderness World Heritage Area. Beggining in many respects of a new environmental consciousness, one that challenged the status quo.
The turn of a head….
Some fish decided that living on the land was better. Now we all have to go to work and pay bills. That fish is the biggest baddie in earth’s history.
Burning of the Library of Alexandria
Hitler’s daddy not pulling out in time
Adding lead to gasoline.
That British soldier letting Hitler go.
In a more serious answer, either ancient proto-algae coming up with the mutation for photosynthesis, or that damn proto-fish thing that first decided to leave the oceans for dry land.
The king of greece gets bitten by a monkey
A woman lied to her violent ex that her new boyfriend was a police officer to scare him off after he made violent threats towards her.
Raoul Moat then went on a two-day shooting rampage after murdering his ex and started specifically targetting police officers, including shooting an officer in the face so severely that while he lived, he was left permanently blind and ended up committing suicide as a result.
The DNC screwing over Bernie, who would’ve won, and it eventually leading to the fall of America
The soviet submarine officer that denied settingʻ of nukes during the Cuban crisis.
Jeri Ryan divorcing her husband to move to LA to play 7 of 9 on Star Trek Voyager is still having global political ramifications to this day.
Telling hitler he sucks at painting
Some researcher noticed mold in his contaminated petri dish (Penicillin).
Alexander Flemings accidental discovery of penicillin.
Imperial Japan bombed pearl harbour?
Alexander Fleming being sloppy about keeping his lab in good order.
cyanide poisonning of Tylenol capsules in Chicago lead to creation of seals on pill tubes
I’d say maybe that one guy spilling tea that started the American Revolution, crazy how a small move like that changed everything! What do you think kicked off something huge ?
Whoever created the axe. There is a reason magic loses to iron.
Issac Newton watched an apple fall from a tree and wondered why….Then he quietly rewrote the laws of the universe and kickstarted modern science as we know it.
Alois Hitler deciding to not waste a pfennig on a condom that night.
When RNA evolved and became self replicating, leading to the chance creation of DNA structures. We wouldn’t exist had this not happened in some ocean or volcano somewhere.
The divorce of Jeri Ryan (Star Trek Voyager) and Jack Ryan (politician) led to Trump becoming President.
the bird
In recent history – Obama joking that Trump would never be president mockingly to his face. Kinda backfired.
My mind goes to duke Ferdinand
“Arashi to fleet, detaching to hunt American submarine”
(WW2 Japanese destroyer during Battle of Midway left the fleet to chase a US submarine then had to catch back up, it didn’t realise a US navy bomber flight which was lost was following it and it led them to the entire Japanese carrier fleet and the rest is history)
“My duty is to execute the Emperor’s orders”
(Marshall Grouchy had 1/3 of Napoleons army under his command but refused to disregard his orders to chase the Prussian army and head to Waterloo where the battle was happening leading the the Alliances victory over France)
“Things are a bit sticky, sir”
(Korean War, British troops were in combat and the US General in charge asked for a situation update and got this answer from the British commander, he didn’t understand the meaning of the British humour so assumed the British troops were doing fine and didn’t need help when they were actually being overran and the United Nation Armies lines were collapsing)
Maybe that one wrong turn.
Splitting the atom.
Hitlers parents conceiving him.
Putting lightning in a rock to make it think.
Isnt it crazy to think that something as tiny as a single gunshot in Sarajevo could set off a world war? or how one person dropping an apple led Newton to rethink the universe lol? like small ripples, massive waves
Alexander Fleming writing down notes in regards to an anti-bacterium he found in one of his experiments after a weekend away in 1922.
Fleming took his findings forward to his superiors, but conceded nothing could be done with it as this time. As it would take factory-level equipment to make anything of it and they were under a tight budget.
Jump to 1937. A German-Jewish refugee named Ernst Chain is now working under an Australian, Howard Florey, at the Medical Research Council at Oxford. To get better knowledge of Florey, he read a British Medical Journal where some of Florey’s work had been published.
Inside this journal just so happened to be the paper Fleming wrote about the anti-bacterium.
Chain began discussing this with Florey and his colleagues and they thought it might be something to consider. Their funding jumped up considerably due to the outbreak of WW2, giving them the equipment to make something of it and thus Penicillin was born.
Fleming is the one most associated with Penicillin, but it is often forgotten that when the Nobel Prize was given for Penicillin, Fleming, Florey and Chain accepted it together.
Accidentally pooper, now everybody likes it
An anarchist shot President McKinley giving us T Roosevelt.
America was destined to become a civil oligarchy hell hole a long time ago. Americans kept voting against their own interests even when something like 90% where in poverty (this was during the Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Ford days). See “Men Who Build America” for proof. It’s free on YouTube.
Teddy was only put there as a symbolic gesture by the oligarchs. He was NEVER meant to have actual power; but when he got it, he broke up Standard Oil, supported unions which led to every work benefit you currently have including the 40hr work week and minimum wage, protected our national parks which LONG would’ve been gone…the list goes on. Basically, he gave us the middle class.
I love the irony that a single anarchist managed to stabilize a country that was destined to plunge into anarchy.
Super spicy take but… Saul (Paul if you’re Roman/Greek) having a stroke/seizure on the way to Damascus.
Stalins five year plan
Rejection from an art college.
Lewis Ranieri creating mortgage-backed securities.