In the cutthroat world of big business, even the mightiest companies can stumble—and when they do, the results can be spectacularly costly. These aren’t just minor errors; they’re monumental blunders that incinerate billions of dollars, turning what seemed like brilliant strategies into legendary failures.

In this list, we’ll explore ten of the most staggering examples of companies that set cash on fire. These stories aren’t just about financial losses—they’re about the hubris, miscalculations, and unforeseen challenges that can derail even the best-laid plans. As you read, you’ll see how quickly things can go wrong when billions are on the line and how these colossal mistakes are powerful lessons in the unforgiving arena of global business.

Related: 10 Legitimate Business Industries That Seem Like Scams

10 Gateway’s Rapid Expansion

Gateway Inc., once a household name in the personal computer industry, offers a classic example of how rapid growth can spiral into a costly mistake. Founded in 1985, Gateway quickly captured the market’s attention, with sales skyrocketing to over $1.1 billion by 1992 and revenue peaking at $6.29 billion in 1997. But in its race to grow, Gateway stumbled. The company’s aggressive expansion led to sprawling manufacturing facilities and a bloated executive team, all while quality control took a backseat.

As Gateway continued to push for growth, the cracks became impossible to ignore. Shipping delays, poorly assembled products, and frustrated customers began to tarnish its reputation. Adding to its troubles, Gateway’s misguided attempt to break into the consumer electronics market only stretched its resources thinner, leaving the company vulnerable as rivals like Dell and HP capitalized on the booming laptop market.

In a desperate bid to stay afloat, Gateway acquired eMachines in 2004, but by then, the damage was done. The company was sold to Acer in 2007 for a fraction of its former glory. Gateway’s story is a powerful reminder of how unchecked growth and strategic missteps can turn success into a financial disaster.^[1]

9 Xerox’s Squandered Opportunity

Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was a cradle of innovation, developing groundbreaking technologies like the graphical user interface (GUI) and the computer mouse. These inventions had the potential to revolutionize the tech industry and could have positioned Xerox as a leader in personal computing. However, despite having a goldmine of ideas, Xerox failed to turn these innovations into commercial successes, effectively letting billions slip away.

The disconnect between PARC and Xerox’s headquarters in New York—roughly 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) away—played a significant role in this missed opportunity. While the engineers at PARC were pushing the boundaries of technology, Xerox’s leadership was deeply rooted in their core photocopier business. This gap in focus and vision prevented Xerox from seeing how these innovations could be the future of computing.

In the end, companies like Apple capitalized on the technologies Xerox pioneered. Steve Jobs famously recognized the potential of the GUI and incorporated it into the first Macintosh, a move that helped shape the future of personal computing. Xerox’s failure to execute on its own innovations stands as one of the most significant billion-dollar blunders in tech history—a cautionary tale of how even the best ideas can fall flat without the right strategy and vision.^[2]

8 Iridium: From $5 Billion Blunder to Surprising Salvation

Iridium’s tale is one of colossal ambition, monumental failure, and an unexpected second chance. Launched by Motorola in the 1980s, the $5 billion Iridium satellite network was supposed to revolutionize global communications with its 66 low-Earth-orbit satellites. But by the time it debuted in 1998, the technology was already outdated. The phones were bulky, the call rates sky-high, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. Iridium quickly became a textbook example of a billion-dollar blunder, leading to its bankruptcy in 1999.

Just as Iridium was about to be scrapped, aviation executive Dan Colussy saw an opportunity where others saw only failure. With a little help from the Pentagon, which recognized Iridium’s unique value for military use, Colussy bought the entire system for just $25 million. Instead of letting it crash back to Earth, he repositioned Iridium as a niche service for remote and military communications, turning what was nearly a total loss into a strategic win.

Iridium’s revival is a rare case of a billion-dollar mistake being salvaged and repurposed. What started as an enormous financial misstep ended up becoming a valuable tool for specialized markets, proving that even the biggest blunders can sometimes be saved with the right vision and a bit of luck.^[3]

7 Zynga’s $200 Million Misfire

In 2012, Zynga made a splash by acquiring OMGPOP, the creators of the hit game Draw Something, for $200 million. At the time, Draw Something was the talk of the town, and Zynga saw it as a perfect addition to its gaming portfolio. But the timing couldn’t have been worse. By the time the deal closed, the game’s popularity was already declining, turning what seemed like a brilliant move into a costly misfire.

The acquisition quickly ran into trouble. Cultural clashes between Zynga and OMGPOP created internal friction, and what should have been a smooth integration became a struggle. Less than a year after the acquisition, Zynga shut down OMGPOP, laying off most of the staff and closing the New York office. While Zynga retained some assets and intellectual property, the deal ultimately failed to deliver the expected returns.

Zynga’s experience with OMGPOP is a cautionary tale of how even well-intentioned acquisitions can go wrong if the timing and execution are off. The $200 million gamble didn’t pay off, highlighting the risks involved in chasing the next big thing in the fast-moving tech world.^[4]

6 Microsoft’s $1 Billion Kin Catastrophe

In 2010, Microsoft launched the Kin One and Kin Two, two phones that were supposed to redefine social media for teens. Billed as “the next generation of social phones,” the Kin was meant to capture a new market segment. But just six weeks after hitting the shelves, Microsoft pulled the plug, marking one of the biggest and quickest flops in cell phone history. The Kin ended up costing Microsoft nearly $1 billion, making it a textbook case of setting cash on fire.

The Kin’s downfall was a mix of bad timing, internal power struggles, and strategic missteps. Originally part of “Project Pink,” the Kin phones were supposed to run on a unique operating system. However, after internal conflicts, Microsoft forced a version of the Windows Phone OS onto the devices, leading to delays and a final product that didn’t impress. Add to that a confusing pricing model and lackluster features, and it’s no wonder the Kin failed to find its audience.

Microsoft’s Kin debacle wasn’t just a financial disaster—it also led to the departure of key executives and tarnished the company’s reputation in the mobile market. It’s a stark reminder that even a tech giant can burn through a billion dollars in the blink of an eye if the execution isn’t right.^[5]

5 Groupon’s $6 Billion Blown Deal

In 2010, Groupon had the chance to make tech history by accepting a $6 billion offer from Google. But in a move that left many stunned, founder Andrew Mason turned it down, convinced that Groupon had even greater potential on its own. At the time, the daily deals site was riding high, and Mason’s decision seemed like a bold bet on the future. However, what looked like confidence soon turned into one of the biggest billion-dollar blunders in tech.

As competitors crowded into the daily deals space and the initial excitement around Groupon faded, the company struggled to maintain its momentum. The market was saturated with similar services, and Groupon’s growth began to stall. Meanwhile, the $6 billion offer from Google became a what-if scenario that haunted the company as its stock value plummeted and its early promise dwindled.

Rejecting Google’s offer, which could have been a financial windfall, ended up costing Groupon dearly. Instead of capitalizing on the moment, the company’s refusal to sell marked the beginning of its decline. It’s a stark reminder that sometimes the biggest mistake isn’t the deal you make—it’s the one you walk away from.^[6]

4 Webvan’s $800 Million Slip Up

In the late 1990s, Webvan set out to revolutionize grocery shopping with its bold vision of home delivery. Backed by a staggering $800 million in capital, the company was determined to bring groceries straight to your door. But instead of becoming the next big thing, Webvan went down in flames, becoming one of the most infamous disasters of the dot-com bubble. This billion-dollar blunder resulted from a perfect storm of poor decisions and misguided ambition.

Webvan’s first mistake was trying to be everything to everyone. They targeted a mass-market audience with premium services, hoping to outprice competitors like Safeway while offering Whole Foods-level quality. But that strategy attracted price-sensitive customers who weren’t willing to pay for the luxury. Next, Webvan sunk millions into building a complex, high-tech infrastructure from scratch—distribution centers, conveyor belts, delivery algorithms—you name it. It all sounded impressive, but it was a money pit that never paid off.

The final nail in the coffin was Webvan’s rapid, reckless expansion. Before they had even figured out how to make it work in their own backyard, they were rolling out in cities across the country, burning through cash faster than they could make it. By 2001, the dream was dead, and Webvan was bankrupt, its assets being sold for pennies on the dollar. Webvan’s story is a classic example of how to set $800 million on fire—one bad decision at a time.^[7]

3 LeEco’s Billion-Dollar Gamble

LeEco, the Chinese tech giant, once set its sights on outshining Netflix, Tesla, and Apple. Under the ambitious leadership of founder Jia Yueting, the company aggressively expanded into streaming services, smartphones, electric cars, and smart TVs. With billions of dollars at its disposal, LeEco appeared poised to dominate the global market. But instead of building a tech empire, it found itself engulfed in financial chaos, burning through billions in what became a textbook case of overreach.

LeEco’s downfall wasn’t just about overambition—it was a perfect storm of poor planning, increased competition, and regulatory hurdles. The company spread itself too thin, investing heavily in various sectors without securing a solid financial foundation. Despite the bold vision, LeEco’s financial house of cards quickly collapsed. By 2017, the company faced massive layoffs, plummeting stock prices, and creditors demanding payment, leaving its grand dreams in ashes.

LeEco’s billion-dollar blunder serves as a stark reminder that even with deep pockets, unchecked ambition without a clear strategy can lead to spectacular failure.^[8]

2 Daimler-Benz’s $36 Billion Misstep with Chrysler

In 1998, Daimler-Benz made headlines by acquiring Chrysler for a staggering $36 billion, aiming to create an automotive giant that could rival the world’s best. But what was supposed to be a match made in corporate heaven quickly unraveled into one of the most notorious billion-dollar blunders. The two companies were as different as oil and water—Daimler-Benz, a symbol of German luxury, and Chrysler, a scrappy American carmaker known for its affordable vehicles. The cultural and operational chasm between the two was too vast to bridge, leading to a merger that never found its footing.

Instead of realizing the anticipated synergies, the merger became a textbook case of corporate incompatibility. Daimler-Benz was reluctant to integrate its premium components with Chrysler’s more budget-conscious offerings, fearing it would tarnish the Mercedes-Benz brand. Meanwhile, Chrysler struggled with its own issues, including rising costs and declining demand, which only deepened the financial woes of the union.

By 2007, the once-celebrated merger had deteriorated so badly that Daimler was forced to offload Chrysler for less than $5 billion, a fraction of the original purchase price. What was intended to be a bold step towards global domination ended up as a costly lesson in the perils of mismatched corporate marriages.^[9]

1 Microsoft’s High-Stakes AI Investment

In a bold move, Microsoft poured $19 billion into artificial intelligence within just three months, with much of that going toward building and leasing data centers. This massive investment highlights the company’s commitment to leading the AI revolution. However, the financial return on this gamble remains uncertain, and the lack of immediate, significant revenue has some investors questioning the strategy.

Microsoft’s leadership has been upfront about the challenges, emphasizing that AI is a long-term play rather than a quick win. While they remain confident in the transformative potential of AI, the sheer scale of the investment has raised concerns about whether the company can maintain investor confidence in the interim. Despite these concerns, Microsoft’s broader AI strategy, which includes various investments and acquisitions, continues to be a central focus for the tech giant.

Only time will tell if Microsoft’s ambitious AI bet will reshape the industry or serve as a reminder of the risks inherent in such large-scale investments.^[10]

Military history is filled with tales of deceptions, feints, surprise attacks, envelopments, double-crosses, and other brilliant maneuvers by brilliant generals. But it’s also filled with stories of overconfident commanders biting off way more than they can chew with foolish invasions, attacks on superior enemies, and ignoring all sorts of red flags that might have spared countless lives. Let’s take a look at some of the most infamous military blunders in history. 

10. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia

Like every successful conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte eventually became too ambitious for his own good. His attempts to force Spain and Russia to cut off trade with Britain both became military disasters for him. But of the two, the invasion of Russia was far worse. 

Napoleon’s Grande Armee marched into Russia with a force of between 650,000-700,000 men, unprecedented in world history at the time. But the Russians wisely opted to retreat rather than face him, employing scorched earth tactics along the way and thus forcing Napoleon’s army to rely on an increasingly shaky supply line. He did win the bloody Battle of Borodino and took empty, burning Moscow shortly afterwards, but the expected Russian surrender never materialized. With winter setting in, Napoleon had no choice but to take his remaining men on a torturous retreat. En route, his already mauled army took further losses from disease, starvation, freezing temperatures, and cossack raids. Well under 100,000 French troops made it out alive. It was a humiliating, mutilating defeat from which Napoleon never fully recovered. It shattered the myth of his invincibility and set the stage for his first abdication in 1814. 

9. Germany declares war on the US 

Nazi Germany was at the peak of its power in 1941. France had been overrun in a stunning six week campaign the year before. Britain was thrown into the sea in the same attack and now unable to challenge the Wehrmacht in continental Europe. And in Russia, the Soviets had taken titanic losses, and German legions were at the doorstep of Moscow. 

Just then, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, dragging the US into the war. Hitler could have laid low. Who knows? Maybe America’s preoccupation with Japan would’ve led to them reducing the desperately needed Lend-Lease supplies keeping Britain and the USSR afloat, to funnel into their own war effort. 

Instead, an overconfident Hitler, fully convinced he would be able to finish off Britain and Russia before America was done with Japan and able to send armies to Europe, decided to declare war on the US. It was a symbolic show of solidarity with Germany’s Axis partner Japan. But it would be a disastrous decision. The “Germany first” policy of the Allies took him by surprise, and German defeats in Russia soon paved the way to the thing Hitler dreaded most: an unwinnable two-front war. 

8. Lee blows it at Gettysburg 

The Confederates at least appeared to be winning the American Civil War in 1863, thanks to victories in Virginia. But in reality, the Emancipation Proclamation slamming the door on the possibility of international recognition for the South, combined with a Union blockade and the impending fall of vital Vicksburg on the Mississippi, had the rebels in desperate straits by that summer. Army of Northern Virginia commander Robert E. Lee decided to take his smaller but highly confident army on its second invasion of the north that June, hoping to win a major victory on Union soil that would scare a war-weary north out of the war. 

This led to the Battle of Gettysburg in early July. Union troops were defeated on the first day, but able to seize and successfully defend high ground on July 2. Knowing he would likely never get another shot at a major northern victory, Lee launched a massive infantry assault called Pickett’s Charge on July 3. It was doomed from the start, and the devastated Southern army never fully recovered. Lee never won a major victory again. Less than two years later, he surrendered his tiny army at Appomattox, all but ending the war. 

7. Custer gets slaughtered at Little Big Horn

George Armstrong Custer was a respected Union cavalry commander during the American Civil War, but he’s not remembered for beating J.E.B. Stuart at Gettysburg. He’s remembered for his ill-fated, and last, performance, at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Custer, a flamboyant and ambitious cavalry officer, underestimated the strength of the Native American forces he faced and made a series of critical errors that led to a devastating defeat for the US Army.

Custer’s first mistake was a lack of proper reconnaissance. Overconfident and desperate for glory, he divided his forces into three separate battalions without adequate information about the size and positioning of the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes he intended to engage. On June 25-26, 1876, Custer’s 7th Cavalry encountered overwhelming resistance. Instead of waiting for reinforcements or adopting a more defensive stance, Custer pressed forward into a situation where his troops were outnumbered, outgunned, and, ultimately, surrounded and destroyed. 

“Custer’s Last Stand” has become one of the biggest cautionary tales in military history. 

6. Rome gets annihilated at Cannae

The story of the 216 BCE’s Battle of Cannae is usually told from the perspective of Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca’s brilliant double envelopment and slaughter of tens of thousands of Roman soldiers, during his Second Punic War invasion of Italy. But it’s worth examining the degree to which the Romans brought the disaster on their own head, too. 

In a nutshell, the Romans got their cavalry wiped out and then, overconfident in their heavy infantry, shrugged it off and marched straight into the Carthaginian lines. Hannibal wanted this – he feigned weakness and ordered his men to slowly withdraw, keeping the Romans preoccupied with splitting his line in half. By the time they realized it was a trap, it was too late. The Carthaginians stopped retreating, snapped their flanks in, and used their cavalry to seal the last remaining escape route. Surrounded, the Romans lost some 70,000 men in one day, an unimaginable death toll. Given Rome’s population at the time, that would be the equivalent of America losing tens of millions of men in one day. 

Watch your flanks, people. And don’t underestimate any enemy, especially those who had already beaten you multiple times before. 

5. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

Japan’s brutal invasion of China didn’t lead to a swift victory. What it did lead to was their army getting bogged down there and their supplies of oil, steel, and rubber being cut off by an American embargo. 

Japan realized it could get its own sources by seizing resource-rich territory throughout Southeast Asia. But that would lead to inevitable war with Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States, who owned that land. But they rolled the dice and invaded all that land anyway. As part of this offensive, they decided to preemptively remove their greatest naval competitor in the Pacific, with a sneak attack on the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

They knew America had overwhelming industrial might, but hoped that by the time America recovered, they would’ve already conquered China and would be so entrenched throughout the Pacific that America would sue for peace, realizing the cost of removing Japan was too high. It was a ludicrous gamble. The Americans were enraged but far from crushed in the attack. They turned the tide at Midway mere months later, and then slapped aside every Japanese attempt to stop them as they smashed their way to the home islands. Oops! 

4. The Battle of Fredericksburg

By December 1862, the American Civil War had raged for a year and a half – far longer than either side had anticipated. And it was only getting bloodier by the day. Part of the overall Union plan was, in addition to seizing the Mississippi River and blockading Southern ports, to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. The Union Army of the Potomac had failed repeatedly at this task, but was determined to get it right. 

Under extreme pressure from president Lincoln, new commander Ambrose Burnside (after whom sideburns were named) decided to cross the Rappohanock River at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and then march south to Richmond. But pontoon boats were slow in arriving, giving General Robert E. Lee a chance to guess his opponent’s intentions and swiftly fortify his positions. His subordinate Stonewall Jackson had some difficulty in his sector, but James Longstreet held the line masterfully at Marye’s Heights, inflicting appalling losses on Union brigades that walked straight into the teeth of a rebel stone wall. It was one of the worst Union defeats of the war, and no major attempts were made to march on Richmond for nearly a year and a half afterwards. 

3. Charge of the Light Brigade 

It’s been immortalized and glorified by Lord Alfred Tennyson’s famous poem of the same name, but the real charge of the light brigade, which took place during 1854’s Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War, was far from glorious. The charge occurred when a miscommunication led the Light Brigade, a British cavalry unit, to charge directly into a well-defended position. 

The confusion that led to the Charge of the Light Brigade began when an order was given by British commanders. Due to unclear communication and misinterpretation, the Light Brigade, under the command of Lord Cardigan, advanced into the “Valley of Death” against a heavily fortified Russian artillery position. The brigade faced fire from both sides as they galloped headlong into a devastating crossfire. It was old school military glory versus the harsh reality of modern military killing machines. The resulting carnage foreshadowed the carnage of the First World War.

2. Gallipoli campaign

Combat in World War I heavily favored the defender, leading to static front lines and lots of dead men who tried to breach them. Seeking a way to break the stalemate, Entente (Allied) leadership sought to attack one of Germany’s perceived weaker partners, the Ottoman Empire. 

Future WW2-era British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, then a high-ranking Naval strategist, concocted a plan to devastate the Ottomans and make contact with their Russian allies by forcing the Dardanelles straits near Istanbul. They would charge into the bay with older wooden warships as the vanguard, hoping these less valuable vessels would do as much damage as they could while absorbing Ottoman fire and nautical mines. After the Ottomans were tired and running low on ammo, newer metal warships would cruise in, finish off the defenders, and deposit infantry to capture the area. 

Unfortunately, it all fell apart. Commanders overly attached to their beloved wooden boats protected them from fire, exposing the rest of the fleet. And the infantry got bogged down on Gallipoli with no way forward for months, facing murderous Ottoman fire until they were evacuated in 1916, having achieved nothing of strategic value. 

1. Invasion of Canada

We could go on and on about how dumb the War of 1812 was. But the invasion of Canada by US forces was arguably the silliest and stupidest chapter in it. In the early stages of the war, the United States sought to annex British-held territory (a longterm policy goal for many Americans politicians) initiated a three-pronged invasion plan targeting Upper Canada (present-day Ontario), Lower Canada (present-day Quebec), and the maritime provinces. 

The Americans faced initial success with victories at Detroit and the capture of Fort Mackinac. But the campaign ultimately faltered as underprepared American forces, stuck with horrible intelligence and worse leadership, encountered logistical challenges, harsh weather conditions, and strong resistance. The Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812 proved a significant setback for the Americans, as their attempts to invade Upper Canada were repelled.

In 1813, both sides engaged in a series of offensives and counter-offensives before the Americans finally called it a day and returned home, solidifying much of the US-Canada border we still have today. Canadians still cheer about it, and it’s hard to blame them. Meanwhile, Americans would rather change the subject.

According to the Pratfall effect, competent people become more likeable after making small mistakes. After all, everyone is prone to the odd blunder now and again. But some errors are so spectacular that they end up becoming the stuff of legend. For example, we all remember the tale of George Bell, the Excite CEO who refused to pay $750,000 for a little-known search engine called Google. And how about NASA’s decision to record over the tapes of the moon landing?

These mistakes remain a part of history and, while deeply embarrassing, are important to learn from. So, without further ado, we take a look at just some of the top 10 blunders that are sure to go down in history.

10 Lab Mistakes That Became Everyday Items

10 Fort Blunder

Fort Montgomery is an unusual piece of history. The United States started building the military fortification in 1844, during a period of heightened tensions with British Canada. Sitting on a small island in Lake Champlain, New York, the structure was originally designed to protect the Northern Frontier from assault. Work on the project was accelerated during the American Civil War, as the Union fretted over British intervention from the north.

But Fort Montgomery rose from the ashes of its ill-fated predecessor. During the War of 1812, the British imposed a naval blockade to stop the U.S. trading with the French. Although a ceasefire was soon announced, the Americans ramped up efforts to protect the northern border, erecting an imposing garrison along the lake. But the engineers made one fundamental mistake: the building was on the wrong side of the border. After surveyors spotted the error, construction was abandoned and the locals used the fort’s limestone blocks to build their own homes. And so the name “Fort Blunder” was born.^[1]

9 Killing the World’s Oldest Tree

A young geologist named Donald Rusk Currey will forever be remembered for killing the world’s oldest living tree. As part of a research study into Little Ice Age events, the grad student sought to chronicle the age of bristlecone pines in White Pine County, Nevada. It was known that Bristlecones lived for many thousands of years and could therefore provide important insight into past climactic events.

So, in 1964, Currey set about collecting tree core samples near the slopes of Wheeler Peak. The inexperienced researcher broke several boring tools while working on one specimen, dubbed the Prometheus Tree. With time running short, Currey asked the U.S. Forest Service to cut down the tree with a chainsaw. Permission was granted. Currey dragged part of the tree trunk back to his motel and began the arduous task of inspecting its rings. After a full week of counting, he made a shock discovery: The tree was over 4,800 years old. Decades later, the University of Arizona’s tree-ring laboratory conducted a more accurate analysis, establishing that Prometheus was actually around 5,100 years old – the oldest living tree on the planet.

The U.S. Forest Service received so much flak from the incident that it begged the tree-ring lab to find a living specimen older than Prometheus. One of the institution’s graduate students spent season after season looking, but ultimately came up empty.^[2]

8 Thanking Martin Luther King’s Killer

In 2002, city officials in Lauderhill, Florida, were gearing up for their annual Martin Luther King Day celebrations. James Earl Jones, best known as the voice of Darth Vader, was invited to attend the event as an honorary guest. The city went the extra mile to celebrate the actor’s esteemed career, ordering a plaque inscribed with the faces of influential black figures. The company responsible for making the gift, Merit Industries, was supposed to add a message thanking Jones for “keeping the dream alive.”

But when the event organizers reviewed the finished product, something caught their attention. The engraved message read: “Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive.” Seeing as James Earl Ray was responsible for Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, the plaque’s sentiments did not go down well.

After intense scrutiny, Merit Industries said it had made a genuine mistake. “We have a lot of people who don’t speak English,” stated the company’s owner, Herbert Miller. “Accidentally, one of the girls, who doesn’t know James Earl Jones from a man on the moon, accidentally typed James Earl Ray.”

James Earl Jones was unfazed by the incident. During an acceptance speech at a local country club, the iconic actor explained how Reverend Jesse Jackson had also once introduced him by the name of Dr. King’s killer. “It’s the same slip of the tongue,” he added.^[3]

7 Slitting Your Own Throat on Stage

In 2008, the German actor Daniel Hoevels delivered an absolutely unforgettable performance of Friedrich Schiller’s “Mary Stuart.” During the closing act of the play, the 30-year-old performed a scene in which his character is supposed to commit suicide with a knife. Hoevels, picking up what he thought was a prop weapon, swiftly ran the blade across his neck. But the performer soon discovered that the knife was very real. Hoevels fell to the floor, blood gushing from a self-inflicted wound to the throat. The audience applauded the grisly spectacle, thinking it was all part of some elaborate special effect. The suspension of disbelief was only broken when Hoevels limped off the stage to seek medical attention.

A doctor who treated Hoevels’ injuries said he was lucky to be alive. “If the actor had put a little more pressure on the knife or even struck an artery, he would probably have bled to death on the stage,” he explained. The Austrian theatre company, Vienna Burgtheater, said it had recently purchased the knife from a local store but had forgotten to blunt it down. Incredibly, Hoevels returned to the stage the following night, his neck wrapped in bandages.^[4]

6 Broadcasting Pornography at a Funeral

Cardiff City Council was forced to apologize when one of its crematoriums accidentally broadcast hardcore pornography during a funeral service. The offensive material was beamed to one of the display screens, following the reverend’s attempts to play a tribute video to the deceased. Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe only realized that something had gone terribly wrong when the TV started making unexpected noises.

The reverend apologised to his flock, which by now had gathered round the display, claiming he had “never seen such filth.” One witness described the audience’s reaction thusly: “It was around four or five minutes before they could turn it off. Everyone could not believe what they were seeing.” [LINK 11] An engineer eventually arrived and put an end to the surprise broadcast.

A council spokesperson said the SMART TV had only recently been installed, speculating that it had accidentally received the adult content via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The council also ruled out the possibility that a rogue employee had succumbed to their baser desires.^[5]

10 Map Mistakes With Momentous Consequences

5 A Phone Bill Exceeding World Debt

In 2012, a French woman opened up her phone bill to discover that she owed over 15 quadrillion dollars (12 quadrillion euros). In numerical form, that’s 15,000,000,000,000,000 dollars. To put that into perspective, the world debt currently stands at 258 trillion dollars (258,000,000,000,000).

The startled customer, Solenne San Jose, called the phone company to clear things up. Sadly, the customer service advisors at Bouygues Telecom didn’t see what all the fuss was about. “One operator told me: ‘It’s automatic, there is nothing I can do,’” explained Mademoiselle Jose. “Another simply informed me that I would be contacted to set up a repayment plan of instalments.” Considering the woman had just lost her job as a teaching assistant, the company’s response seemed a tad unkind.

It turns out the charge, which should have read 117.21 euros, was the result of a simple printing error. After a little back and forth, the bill was eventually overturned and the phone company issued an apology.^[6]

4 Destroying a Museum Piece for a Movie Shoot

The Hateful Eight saw Kurt Russell fill the boots of a weathered bounty hunter named John Ruth. While transporting a known murderer across the snow-topped mountains of Wyoming, a blizzard forces Ruth’s party to hunker down in a nearby lodge. In response to his bounty’s incessant singing, the bounty hunter eventually takes a six-string guitar and smashes it against a wooden beam. “Music time’s over,” Ruth growls. But Unbeknownst to Kurt Russell, the guitar was an irreplaceable 145-year-old museum piece, which the studio was borrowing from the Martin Guitar Museum.

If you watch the clip closely, Russell’s co-star, Jennifer Jason Leigh, breaks character during the scene. She explained the mix-up in a recent interview: “I don’t think Quentin knew that it was the [vintage instrument]… he wanted to play one scene in the movie in real time without a cut, in one long take. Kurt felt terrible; he had no idea. When he found out, his eyes literally welled up.”

According to a member of the production team, the scene was supposed to end just before Kurt smashed the guitar. Shooting would then resume after the instrument, which was valued at $40,000, was replaced with a replica. The owners of the guitar museum said the studio had not adequately explained the incident, simply claiming the item had been destroyed in an accident. In light of the incident, the museum claims it will never again loan its guitars to the movie industry.^[7]

3 Doing a Ratner

In 1991, the chairman of a budget jewelry chain delivered a speech so cataclysmically ill-advised that it killed his company. Gerald Ratner delivered the speech to a conference of his peers at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The British businessman pointed out that his company, Ratners Group, had made a whopping £120 million in profits – an impressive feat given that much of the Western world had been plunged into a recession.

But he then made the mistake of critiquing his own products, describing a 6-piece sherry decanter in less than favorable terms. “People say to me, ‘how can you sell this for such a low price?’ I say to them, ‘because it’s total crap.’” [LINK 18] He continued: “We even sell a pair of earrings for under a pound – gold earrings, as well. And some people say, ‘well, that’s cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks & Spencer’s.’ But I have to say that the sandwich will probably last longer than the earrings.”

The press quickly got wind of the business tycoon’s remarks, criticizing him for mocking working class customers. The bad publicity, combined with the ongoing recession, saw the value of the company plummet by around $750 million and led to hundreds of store closures. Mr. Crapner, as many news outlets have since dubbed him, lost his position as company chairman and Ratners was forced to change its name to Signet Group. The speech is now so famous in business circles that the expression “Doing a Ratner” is often used to describe industry blunders.^[8]

2 Burning Down Hundreds of Acres of Woodland

Johnny Cash has a rather storied past when it comes to criminal wrongdoing. While living in the scenic community of Casitas Springs, California, the iconic singer decided to go on a fishing trip with his nephew, Damon Fielder. According to Fielder, Cash had taken a cocktail of whiskey and drugs during a road trip to the Los Padres National Forest. While there, the two had a falling out over Cash’s drug habits, prompting Fielder to storm off in a fit of rage.

After seeing an enormous plume of smoke on the horizon, the youngster returned to find his uncle on his knees attempting to extinguish a roaring fire. Fielder pleaded with Cash to leave the area for his own safety. When the singer refused, Fielder tried (and failed) to use a tree branch to knock Cash unconscious. The inferno spread quickly, tearing through over 500 acres of woodland and laying waste to a shelter for nesting condors. The woodland became a hive of activity, with hundreds of firefighters, Navy Seabees, and Forestry workers joining forces to combat the disaster.

Only Johnny Cash knew what happened that fateful night. He claimed the fire was started when a damaged wheel bearing from his truck kicked hot oil onto a patch of grass. But Fielder believes the blaze started after Cash tried, in a drug-addled stupor, to make his own impromptu campfire. Cash showed little remorse during his deposition. When asked if he had caused the fire, Cash responded: “No. My truck did, and it’s dead, so you can’t question it.” The federal government sued the Arkansas legend for over $120,000, with Cash eventually settling the case for $82,000.^[9]

1 Making Hitler a State Spy

As part of the armistice of World War I, the Allies imposed stringent conditions on Germany. The beleaguered nation withdrew its troops on all fronts, turned over its massive stockpile of armaments, and accepted Allied forces stationed along the Rhine. On top of this, the Germans were slapped with a $37 billion reparations bill.

A disillusioned Adolf Hitler would go on to work as an intelligence officer (Verbindungsmann) for the German army. He was tasked with infiltrating the German Workers’ Party (DAP) in 1919, as the military’s top brass wanted to keep an eye on the group’s supposedly Marxist leanings. Hitler discovered something entirely different, however. The party peddled anti-Semitic, ultranationalist propaganda and eschewed both communism and capitalism. Hitler was quickly seduced by these ideals, gorging on the party leader’s political pamphlet, “My Political Awakening”. Hitler’s superiors gave him the green light to join the DAP, and the rest is history.

While Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920, he continued engaging in party politics. He quickly assumed complete control over the DAP, changing its name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party), and started delivering speeches to thousands of fanatical supporters. The Nazis seized power in 1933, changing the world forever.^[10]

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