# famous mistakes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672 "2001-04-28T21:20:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/41 "2001-05-07T00:19:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marvel \* > I was watching “History’s Lost and Found” and one segment focused on “Little Miss 1565 [?]” one of several children who were killed when a circus tent she and hundreds of others were in went up in flames (can’t remember which town, but it was in a New England state if that’s any help). Why did the tent burn up and so quickly? Seems in those days, tents were being waterproofed with a solution that inclded gasoline. THOUSANDS of gallons of this stuff. > > Wish I could remember more details for you, but hopefully this is enough to start a web search. > > Patty The show was “Fire Under the Big Top”. Summary: “Rare footage of the 1944 fire under a Ringling Bros. circus tent in Connecticut that killed 168 people.” The waterproofing mixture was gasoline and paraffin! The accounts of “Little Miss 1565” and other children who died were very touching. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by pr_ > How 'bout electricity? In the early days scientists knew electricity flowed from one direction to another. They had a 50/50 shot.And got it wrong. Today we understand electricity flows from negetive to positive.Oops. IIRC, Isaac Asimov wrote in an article that it was Ben Franklin himself who made that wrong guess. Other errors: Hitler conducting a war against Russia during the winter. Ditto Napoleon. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2001, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/42 "2001-05-07T00:22:00Z")
marvel, i believe you are referring to the circus fire in hartford ct. the circus tent was waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline. okay, that takes care of water, now what do we do about fire?!?! stewart o’nan wrote a very good book about the circus fire. as to the op: invading russia just in time for winter. a certain miami dolphin kicker thinking he was a quarterback. selling babe ruth to the yankees. building a glass building where the glass falls down and goes tink. then finding out you are the insurance company for the glass manuf. billy buckner. as for the hotel skywalk… shop drawings are very important documents. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/43 "2001-05-07T04:10:58Z")
**LaurAnge** , strange that I was thinking the exact same thing while going through this thread. Good thing I actually read the replies before posting. Actually, not to say that Columbus landing here wasn’t actually an acident, but let me elaborate. Despite popular opinion nowadays, people back then knew the Earth was round. They even believed it was the size that it actually is (or close to it). The problem was that no one knew about North and South America even existing. They thought it was all open water between here and China. Consequently, Columbus was denied the right to go on his voyage by Isabella because no one was capable of surviving the voyage. Columbus played with the math a bit and convinced them that Earth was half the size it really was. He must have convinced himself in the process because he believed he had nearly circumvented the globe when he came ashore. So yes, it was a mistake, but one that I do believe needed a bit of clarification. Also, vulcanized rubber was created on accident. And don’t get me started on the Crusades… ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/44 "2001-10-23T03:11:13Z")
Just wanted to point out that Beta format video was better than VHS. VHS won the marketing wars, but not because of product superiority. Film students and other poor filmmakers sometimes use Beta because of the high quality and low cost. You won’t catch 'em using VHS. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/45 "2001-10-23T05:23:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Hazel \* > > \*\*I don’t remember enough details, but no doubt someone else will – elevated walkway in a hotel that collapsed when, during a party or celebration, too many people were on it. The amount of weight it needed to hold had not been calculated correctly. \*\* > > A structural engineering classic. The amount of weight was correctly calculated originally by the structural engineers. The achitects made some fancy pants changes to make the area more visually appealing which significantly changed the design. Because of some poor communication between the parties, recalculations were never performed to see if the new design could hold the required weight plus a safety factor. Major, major fuck up. > > Haj \*\* not true!!! it was not built to plan!!! believe it or not, it all stemmed down to a change in the hanger rod arrangement during construction, which doubled the load on the connection. the design was modified without proper safety checks during construction, and the catwalks over Kansas City’s Hyatt Regency atrium fell in 1981, killing 114. see the book: why buildings fall ugh: The achitects made some fancy pants changes (rolls eyes). ---
**Author:** ![Aodoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@Aodoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aodoi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/46 "2001-10-23T16:23:09Z")
> [@](#): > > That would be the Tacoma Bay Narrows Bridge. The “builders” didn’t forget anything, it was the engineers who screwed up. The engineers didn’t forget to factor in the power of the wind. The error had to do with the resonant frequency of the system. When the wind was blowing hard the bridge went into resonant mode and the vibrations didn’t dampen as they would have if the bridge had been designed correctly. Every mechanical engineering student has seen that film at least a hundred times. The engineers didn’t forget… they designed the bridge for a different area under different conditions. The resonant frequency of the bridge wouldn’t have been an issue there. The people who actually built the bridge didn’t realize that the Tacoma Narrows have a constant wind blowing down it and that the bridge wasn’t designed to deal with that. Just figured I’d try to defend the engineers. It wasn’t their fault… it was the people who figured one bridge is as good as another and put it up in a spot where the wind allowed the resonant frequency to be reached (which was pretty damn cool to watch, btw). Typical Dilbert scenario… the PHB made a decision without knowing anything about it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yondan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/278dde/32.png) [@Yondan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yondan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/47 "2001-10-23T16:47:35Z")
For a very controversial definition of “mistake,” how about the concept of “blowback,” as discussed by Chalmers Johnson? Here’s a link: \<[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blowback\_CJohnson/Blowback\_CJohnson.html](http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blowback_CJohnson/Blowback_CJohnson.html)\> Basically, it’s about what happens “when wartime decisions come back to haunt the people who made them.” In one case, it’s about the CIA’s involvement in training Afghani terrorists to resist Russion occupying forces, which has direct connections to the terrible events of September 11th. [flame caveat] I am not endorsing Chalmers’ view, and am still looking at it myself. However, I have to admit that I find his analysis both compelling and disturbing. [/flame caveat] ---
**Author:** ![Oreo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c57346/32.png) [@Oreo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oreo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/48 "2001-10-23T17:32:16Z")
Leaning Tower of Pisa? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/49 "2001-10-23T17:45:25Z")
The Franklin Expedition. Much of the Canadian arctic archipelago and mainland arctic was explored by land and sea expeditions trying to rescue the Franklin Expedition. The Franklin Expedition was frozen in, but rather than waiting it out, they set off south on foot, towing lifeboats loaded with silver dinner services and the like. Needless to say, they didn’t make it, resulting in many years of further resuce expeditions. Why did they make such a silly error? They were mad a hatters, having consumed too much lead due to the lead solder in the food cans. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/50 "2001-10-23T17:45:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kmudd20001 \* > \*\*Columbus running into the new world. > Fleming leaving the dish out of the water allowing mold to grow. > > Clinton not using a rubber. > Jesse Jackson not using a rubber. \*\* Howyadoin, Close, but the bigger mistake was Clinton & Jesse’s **fathers** not using said rubbers… -Rav ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/51 "2001-10-23T18:12:05Z")
Some years ago there was an Air Canada jet that actually ran out of gas in midair because the ground crew read the fuel as being in gallons when it was really in liters. The only thing that saved them was that the pilot flew gliders in his spare time, and just kicked into glider mode when they realized what was happening. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/52 "2001-10-23T18:19:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pr \* > How 'bout electricity? In the early days scientists knew electricity flowed from one direction to another. They had a 50/50 shot.And got it wrong. Today we understand electricity flows from negetive to positive.Oops. It’s the flow of ‘free’ electrons that’s ‘negative’ to ‘positive’, not electricity per se. And ‘negative’ is only considered negative due to another essentially 50/50 choice in electrochemistry. I want to say it was Faraday, but it was probably someone earlier who started that. Today it’s not as important, as semiconductors contain positive as well as negative charge carriers, but yes, it was a bad guess at the time. After the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, there was a struggle with the insurance companies, who originally were only willing to ‘repair’ or restore the bridge as it originally was. This was obviously unacceptable from an engineering standpoint. Governor Arthur Langlie eventually got them to pay even more than what the original bridge cost, but this took many months. By then it was December, 1941, and the new bridge was not finished until 1952. I believe the 50-year-old bridge is soon to be replaced to allow for increased traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Big\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/53 "2001-10-23T19:47:30Z")
Speaking of rubbers, did anyone mention Goodyear’s invention of vulcanized rubber? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/54 "2001-10-24T07:41:11Z")
I’m guessing by now TYG’s either turned in this assignment or failed the course, but I’d like to drop in a plug for _It Seemed Like a Good Idea…_ edited by William R. Forstchen and Bill Fawcett. An entertaining volume of infamous historical mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/55 "2001-10-24T09:50:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payne N. Diaz \* > \*\*Some years ago there was an Air Canada jet that actually ran out of gas in midair because the ground crew read the fuel as being in gallons when it was really in liters. The only thing that saved them was that the pilot flew gliders in his spare time, and just kicked into glider mode when they realized what was happening. \*\* That’s weird, I thought most commercial planes measured the fuel by weight, not volume. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/56 "2001-10-24T11:04:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBill \* > \*\*1972 Olympic Backetball finals (oops, not an accident, that was cheating) > \*\* Can you elaborate on this? Coming from a country that, generally speaking, doesn’t get too excited by Basketball (Britain) Ihave no idea what you are on about. A web search brought up something about free throws, but I am still lost. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/57 "2001-10-24T14:35:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amanset \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by UncleBill \* > > \*\*1972 Olympic Backetball finals (oops, not an accident, that was cheating) > > \*\* > > Can you elaborate on this? \*\* I don’t remember the specifics, but these are the basics: The U.S. Basketball team was leading the Soviet Union when the time ran out in the final quarter. However, after much discussion, the officials decided that a few seconds should be added back on the clock. Play resumed. Again, the time ran out, and again it was decided that time should be put back. I believe this happended a third time. But this time when play resumed, the Soviet Union scored and won the game. The U.S. subsequently refused the Silver Medal. Incindetally, this was the first ever “loss” by the U.S. in Olympic history. Up to that point they were 62-0. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/58 "2001-10-24T21:26:27Z")
I see no one has mentioned Fed Ex’s colossal business blunder, Zap Mail, back in 1986. This service was marketed as a way to send documents as overnight mail, but in reality was simply a fax getting sent from one FedEx office to the next. They grossly miscalculated how many businesses would buy and use their own fax machines, which resulted in a loss of close to $200 million. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/59 "2001-10-24T22:10:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HelloKitty \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by UncleBill \* > > **Life Similar to the Georgetown(?) player named Charlie Brown(?) who passed the ball near midcourt to the opposite team (UNC?) in the last seconds of the NCAA Finals to lose the game.** > > Correct teams, the player’s name is Freddie Brown of Georgetown who mistakenly passed the ball to a TarHeel at the end of the Championship Game. Oh, how I still feel for the guy after all these years!!! I remember John Thompson on the sidelines trying to console the poor kid. When they show replays of it, I just yell at the TV–“NO!! Don’t throw it to him!!!” But he always does… \*\* I believe that (Tarheel or Tar Heel) was James Worthy, who was way out of position. I never heard anyone ask him what he was doing out there - there was no one to guard, what was he doing? He stood there like he expected the pass, too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672/60 "2001-10-24T22:12:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payne N. Diaz \* > \*\*Some years ago there was an Air Canada jet that actually ran out of gas in midair because the ground crew read the fuel as being in gallons when it was really in liters. The only thing that saved them was that the pilot flew gliders in his spare time, and just kicked into glider mode when they realized what was happening. \*\* YIKES! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-mistakes/63672.md?page=4)