For the most part, history concerns itself with victories and good decisions; there’s a reason for the saying, “History is written by the victor.” But in many cases, the mistakes are just as crucial a part of a story as the right choices are, and sometimes the mistakes are an interesting story all on their own. While nobody particularly likes to live down a mistake, they can serve as important lessons and in some cases can change the entire world. The biggest mistakes in history are fascinating glimpses into situations that could have gone very differently: wars avoided, lives saved, fortunes made, treasures preserved. There’s no going back in time and changing what happened, but it is definitely interesting to look deeper into the missteps that contributed to some of the major events throughout history.
This is an encore of one of our previous lists, as presented by our YouTube host Simon Whistler. Read the full list!