Top 10 Times Plot Twists Happened in Real Life
#10: Caesar’s Joking Revenge
Alexander the Great vs. Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar led an interesting life. He conquered Rome and even romanced Cleopatra. But one of the lesser-known chapters of his life was the occasion where he was kidnapped by pirates. The Cilician pirates captured the nobleman when he was 25. Far from being distressed by his capture, Caesar told his captors that they were asking too little for his ransom and proceeded to get along famously with them, treating them like his subordinates and even threatened to crucify them. Naturally, the pirates were thrown completely off by his behavior. However, after Caesar’s ransom was paid over a month later, they learned he wasn’t joking when he raised forces to capture them and then did exactly as he’d promised!
#9: Hemingway’s Paranoia
Ernest Hemingway was a celebrated American author, but he was also a soldier, a war correspondent, and even worked with the F.B.I. Given his time spent in Cuba, the last of these was particularly helpful to the U.S. government. Hemingway was unimpressed with the organization, initially, but his derision turned to fear as time went on. In his later years, Hemingway was convinced that the Bureau was keeping tabs on him; following him around and even bugging his hospital room at the Mayo Clinic. 20 years after his death, the Freedom of Information Act caused the truth to come out – the F.B.I. really was following and monitoring Hemingway, primarily due to his support of Castro’s regime in Cuba.
#8: A Change in Strategy
Top 10 Real Life Plot Twists That Changed History Forever
Miyamoto Musashi was one of the most famous Japanese swordsmen to ever live, remaining undefeated even fighting 61 duels. For the purpose of this entry, though, we’ll be discussing just a few of them. In 1604, Musashi challenged Yoshioka Seijūrō, the master of the Yoshioka school, to a duel. Despite arriving late, as was his habit, Musashi defeated and physically disabled Seijūrō. Seijūrō’s brother challenged Musashi for revenge and was also killed. The heir to the school, Seijūrō’s 12-year old son, challenged him next, but he assembled a group of men armed with swords, bows, and guns to lie in wait for the perpetually late swordsman. However, Musashi had actually arrived early for a change and ambushed the group, managing to kill many of them and escape.
#7: Ambiguous Spy
Chevalier d'Éon was an 18th-century French soldier and spy. D'Éon worked undercover in both Russia and England, aided by an androgynous appearance. There was even a running bet about which gender d'Éon truly was. The mysterious spy eventually identified as female, claiming to have maintained a male appearance so that Louis d'Éon de Beaumont, d'Éon’s father, could inherit from his in-laws. D'Éon was forced to wear only women’s clothing after this declaration. After passing, an autopsy revealed that D'Éon may have been born intersexed, which would account for this fascinating figure’s androgyny.
#6: Anti-Corruption Switch
The Real Reason Why Anti-Gravity Hasn't Been Invented Yet | Unveiled
Chester A. Arthur began his career in politics as a poster boy for the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party. They favored awarding positions to friends and those close to them, rather than based on merit. Naturally, people panicked when the more moderate James Garfield was assassinated, with his assassin proclaiming his support for the Stalwarts and Arthur. However, Arthur shocked everyone by backing reform that mandated government positions go to those most qualified by signing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into law. For once, being a two-faced politician worked out to everyone’s benefit.
#5: Cold War Experiments Created a Monster
Top 10 Times Cold Cases Got SOLVED Decades Later
In the late 1950s, Harvard psychologist Henry Murray conducted experiments on students, possibly as part of the CIA mind control program, Project MKUltra. The experiments were purposely brutal and involved tearing down the beliefs of the subjects and making them question everything they once believed. One of these subjects, used as a control and codenamed “Lawful,” was underage at the time and a prodigy who later went on to earn a degree in mathematics. He later retreated to a remote cabin in Montana, before sending out bombs in the mail to airlines and universities. And, if you haven’t guessed already, it was Ted Kaczynski – the Unabomber.
#4: The Do-Over That Launched a World War
Top 10 Real People Who Actually SAVED the World
In the early 20th century, Austria-Hungary was occupying Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was then part of Serbia. The Serbs were, quite understandably, upset. To that end, a Serbian military society planned to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand when he visited Sarajevo for a state visit. Their first attempt at killing the Archduke by bombing his motorcade ended in failure. One of the assassins planned to kill Ferdinand on his return journey, though, and because the Archduke’s driver turned the wrong way, they ended up right next to the culprit. Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and the First World War was sparked as a result.
#3: Ships in Disguise
The Most Mysterious Unexplained Shipwrecks and Ghost Ships | Unveiled
Armed merchant vessels may be something of an oddity nowadays, but they’ve been fairly common throughout history, given the need to defend oneself on the open water. During wartime, some of these vessels were converted and used in battle. During World War I, the Germans modified one of these merchant cruisers, the Cap Trafalgar, to resemble a British merchant ship, the RMS Carmania, in the hopes of catching the enemy by surprise. Unfortunately for them, the first vessel they ran into was the real RMS Carmania, which engaged it and promptly sank its German doppelganger.
#2: Olga Gets Revenge
Wife of Igor, the ruler of the Kievan Rus during the 8th century, Olga of Kiev assumed the regency of the federation of tribes for her young son after her husband was murdered by the Drevlians, a tribe that he had demanded tribute from. In order to prevent a war, the Drevilans proposed that Olga marry their prince, who had had her husband killed. Far from being the meek widow they expected, Olga proceeded to have their first ambassadors buried alive, the second burned alive, had those that came to her husband’s funeral feast massacred, and burned their capital city down to end her siege on it. Olga went full “Game of Thrones!” Oh, and did we mention that she’s a literal saint?
Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
Spanish Double Agent
Juan Pujol García Created a Fake Fascist Identity & Passed Misinformation to the Nazis
First Female U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson’s Wife, Edith, Assumed His Duties for Over a Year After a Stroke
Man Turned Up at His Own Funeral
Tim Dexter Faked His Death & Then Rampaged When Everyone “Wasn’t Sad Enough”
High-Level Spy Double Agents
Kim Philby Almost Led MI-6 Before He & Others Were Exposed as Soviet Spies
Mobster F.B.I. Connection
Whitey Bulger Informed on His Rivals to Take Over Their Territory
#1: Peace Treaty Leads to More Wars
Peace treaties are generally meant to stop wars, not start them. However, that was exactly what the Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I, did. The Allied Powers insisted on reparations from Germany which devastated their economy, making the country ripe for exploitation by the Nazi party, which gave rise to World War II. They also denied Vietnam its ability to self-govern, sowing the seeds of the Vietnam War. Lastly, the victors carved up the remains of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, leading to conflicts that are still occurring there to this day. Basically, most of the conflicts of the last century happened because of the decisions of an attempt at peace.
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