We probably do not think much about fonts. Most of us can’t recognize the majority of them, let alone name them. However, history has proven that fonts are more important than we think they are.

Fonts have sometimes become symbols of progress and political allegiance. They can also be used to expose fraud or delay court judgments. They have caused centuries-old disputes, brought down governments, and fomented protests and public outrage.

10 A Two-Century-Old Dispute Over A Font Ends After Hitler Intervened

From the 1800s until World War II, Germany was enmeshed in a weird controversy over the use of two fonts: Fraktur and Antiqua.

Fraktur was the major font used in Germany until Antiqua came along in the 16th century. Antiqua had been adopted in the non-German parts of Europe, including France and Italy, but not in Germany. However, German printers used it to print non-German words and maintained Fraktur for German words.

Antiqua started to gain prominence in Germany in the 1800s. Several Germans resisted it because it was the preferred font for several political events, including the Renaissance and the French Revolution. The German resistance to Antiqua became more heated after Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.

Conservative Germans considered Antiqua to be a symbol of the French and deemed its use to be unpatriotic in Germany. Radical Germans supported the adoption of Antiqua because they considered it progressive. Soon, German printers were divided over the two fonts. Printers who used Antiqua were called Altschrift, while those who used Fraktur were called Frakturbund.

The Frakturbund continued to win. In 1911, Germany even banned Antiqua in schools and introduced Sutterlin script in its place. The Nazis found themselves at the center of the heated Fraktur-Antiqua dispute when they got into power. They supported Fraktur until January 1941 when Hitler declared it a Jewish script. So they abandoned it and switched to Antiqua.^[1]

9 A Font Brings Down The Pakistani Prime Minister’s Government

On April 3, 2016, German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung released 11.5 million pages of damaging documents belonging to the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents exposed how Mossack Fonseca set up fake companies to help several high net worth individuals hide money in tax havens.

Several top celebrities, businesspeople, and politicians (including currently serving and past world leaders) were implicated. This included Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Gunnlaugsson resigned the day after the leak, while Sharif managed to hold on for some months.

The Panama Papers revealed that Sharif and his family possibly wired state money through the fake businesses to buy homes in London. Sharif and his family denied the accusations. His daughter, Maryam, even provided documents to prove that the homes were owned by a private business. She claimed that her family only acted as the trustee.

The key document was dated February 2006. However, it was printed in the Calibri font, which was released in 2007. The Sharifs’ attorneys and supporters claimed that Calibri was designed in 2004, which was true. The designer, Lucas De Groot, started work on the font in 2002 and completed it in 2004.^[2]

However, Microsoft only released test versions to a closed group of people before its official 2007 release. According to De Groot, it is unlikely that an unknown and unreleased font would have been used to print official documents in 2006. Nawaz Sharif later resigned after the Pakistani Supreme Court declared that he was not honest enough to remain in office.

8 Telecom Executive Loses Homes After Using The Wrong Font

In December 2017, Gerald McGoey, the chief executive officer of Look Communications, filed for bankruptcy. He was ordered to sell his properties to repay the $5.6 million he owed creditors. These creditors appointed some trustees to audit McGoey’s properties to see what they could lay their hands on.

The trustees found two homes. However, McGoey claimed that the homes belonged to his three children and even provided paperwork as proof. He was soon busted after the documents were revealed to have been printed with fonts that did not exist at the time the supposed trusts were signed.^[3]

One document dating back to 1995 was printed in Cambria, which was designed in 2002. The other paper dated back to 2004, even though it was printed in Calibri. As we mentioned earlier, Calibri only became available in 2007. McGoey’s attorneys later claimed that the couple had made mistakes with the dates but insisted their claims were true. The court decided otherwise.

7 Everyone Hates Comic Sans

Vincent Connare designed Comic Sans in 1994. He made the font for Microsoft Bob, a new program that Microsoft was working on at the time. Microsoft Bob turned the screen of a computer using the Windows 95 operating system into the image of the inside of a home. Users could launch programs by clicking on similar objects in the home.

For instance, clicking on the clock opened the calendar. Clicking on the pen and paper opened Microsoft Word. A dog guided users through the home and spoke in a speech bubble in Times New Roman font. Connare thought that Times New Roman was too serious for the new program, so he created the playful and friendly looking Comic Sans.^[4]

Although Comic Sans never made it into Microsoft Bob, Microsoft released it with Windows 95. The font became popular and was soon used for important and official purposes like tombstones, warning signs, and lifesaving hospital equipment. This whipped up outrage against the font.

Having a playful-looking font on official and important items was a big no-no. It was like having a clown in a business meeting. So the font ended up as the most hated font out there. There is even a movement calling for its ban. Nevertheless, it is still good for children and people with dyslexia.

6 Outrage After IKEA Changes Font

In August 2009, IKEA quietly dumped the trademark Futura font it used in its signage and catalog and switched to Verdana. Unfortunately, customers noticed and started a backlash that we remember today as Verdanagate.

IKEA agreed to the change a few months earlier when executives decided to standardize the fonts they used online and offline. Before then, IKEA used Verdana on its website and Futura on its signage and in its catalog. Futura was not available online at the time, so executives settled for Verdana.

Unfortunately, Verdana was created for online use and flops badly when used offline. It looks unusual when the font size is increased or is printed at a high resolution, which is what IKEA did. This was why it was quickly noticed and generated such negative publicity that IKEA was forced to revert to Futura.^[5]

5 A Money-Saving Font Won’t Save The US Government Any Money

In 2014, Suvir Mirchandani, a 14-year-old student, revealed that the US federal and state governments could save around $467 million a year if they changed the font they used in official documents to Garamond.

Mirchandani made the claim after comparing Garamond with Century Gothic, Comic Sans, and Times New Roman. He discovered that Garamond was thinner and used about 25 percent less ink than the other fonts. He later calculated that US federal and state governments could save $467 million a year if they switched to Garamond.

Mirchandani’s experiment was later determined to be flawed because Garamond is 15 percent smaller than the other fonts at the same size. This means that Garamond would use the same amount of ink as the other fonts if its size was increased to match that of the other fonts. Similarly, other fonts will save the government the same amount of money if their sizes are reduced to match the smaller size of Garamond.

Besides, the US government does most of its printing with printing presses and not with office printers. Mirchandani’s experiment was done with inkjet printers, even though the government also uses laser printers which require toner. Toner is cheaper than inkjet inks, which would affect any cost savings.^[6]

Lastly, the US government does not actually buy ink. Instead, it has deals with other businesses to provide office printing services. These businesses charge based on the pages printed and not the amount of ink used. So the government spends the same amount of money to print a color photograph as it does to print a page with just a single letter on it.

4 Font Size Used To Delay Judgment Over A Controversial Michigan Law

In 2011, Michigan governor Rick Snyder signed a controversial law that allowed the governor to appoint emergency managers to take over the affairs of mayors and city councils in periods of crisis. The law quickly became infamous, causing protests, controversies, and a legal battle.

On one side was Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility that opposed the law. On the other was Stand Up for Democracy that supported the law. The state agreed to call for a referendum in November 2012 to decide if they wanted the law to remain.

Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility sued, asking the Michigan Supreme Court to cancel the referendum because the Stand Up for Democracy movement used a small-sized font in the documents it submitted to request the referendum.

Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility claimed that the small font made the petition illegal. This did not fly with the court, which later ruled that the state could appoint emergency managers.^[7]

3 Controversy After The US Federal Highway Administration Revokes Approval Of A Font For Road Signs

The US Federal Highway Administration approves only two fonts for highway signs. The first is the Highway Gothic typeface that has been in use for over seven decades. The other is Clearview, a newer and supposedly clearer alternative to the Highway Gothic typeface.

The Federal Highway Administration first approved Clearview for use in 2004 after researchers proved that it was clearer than the Highway Gothic typeface. A 1997 test indicated that Clearview was 16 percent more readable at night. A 2001 experiment proved that it increased reading distance by 12 percent on the highway. This meant that drivers could read Clearview 23 meters (74 ft) farther away than they could read Highway Gothic.

However, later tests indicated that Clearview was no better than the Highway Gothic typeface. The supposed clarity was credited to the quality of materials used in making road signs bearing the Clearview font.

There were also concerns that the Federal Highway Administration only approved Clearview for monetary reasons. Town and city councils that opted to use Clearview paid a $175 to $795 licensing fee for the font. The Highway Gothic typeface is available free of charge. Nevertheless, the Federal Highway Administration approved Clearview for use again two years later.^[8]

2 Researcher Gets Funding Approval Rejected For Using Wrong Font

A few years ago, Susannah Maidment, a paleontologist at the Imperial College London, tweeted that her research grant application to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in the UK had been rejected because she submitted it using Calibri.

Apparently, NERC had stringent guidelines and required that grant proposals be submitted in “Arial 11 or other sans serif typeface of equivalent size to Arial 11.” Maidment had used a font that did not fit the guidelines. She claimed that the initial guidelines mentioned “Arial or other sans serif typeface of equivalent size,” which did not ban Calibri.^[9]

NERC later explained that it rejected 4 percent of funding proposals over wrong fonts. The organization said that its font requirement was necessary to ensure that applicants had an even playing field because smaller fonts took up fewer pages and allowed applicants to give more details.

1 Ad Agency In Trouble Over Font

In 2017, Cliff Ross, an advertising agency based in Philadelphia, released 10 new fonts that it felt would resonate with the city. Each font was modeled after a different neighborhood. For instance, the font modeled after Center City, which contains much of Philadelphia’s offices, resembled skyscrapers.

However, the font modeled after North Philly proved controversial. It resembled boards of wood held together with nails. This provoked outrage because it suggested that the African-American–dominated North Philly was filled with shanties. Users called the font everything from offensive to gross and disturbing, forcing Cliff Ross to retract it.^[10]

Who doesn’t love a good movie? Each year, more than 2,000 films are produced around the world. Whether good or bad, these movies make millions, sometimes billions, of dollars for everyone involved in the production.

However, money is not all that movies generate. Each year, a select few trigger gossip, buzz, and controversy. After all, everyone loves a good scandal. Usually, a particular scene, prop, or blooper causes it.

Sometimes, the controversy starts months before the film is even released. Due to religious objections, subject matter, or even assumed political stances, the movies on this list were controversial—and some were even banned—before they ever hit the silver screen.

Top 10 Most Controversial Movies

10 The Hunt
2020

Originally set for release on September 27, 2019, The Hunt centers around the idea of a liberal elite cabal hunting working-class conservatives like deer. It’s a scenario straight out of “The Most Dangerous Game.” The satirical horror/thriller movie’s plot and trailers stirred such controversy among Internet denizens that it even attracted the attention of the president.

While some called the film liberal propaganda, others accused it of being right-wing fearmongering. People on both sides seem to agree on only one thing: They hate the film, its actors, and anyone who enjoys it.^[1]

The reaction was so strong and immediate that the film’s release was delayed until early 2020. Since then, it has been sitting at a comfortable 6.5/10 rating, although the controversy surrounding the movie seems to continue unabated.

9 Joker
2019

Joker is about a man pushed to the edge by a combination of poverty, untreated mental illness, and rampant abuse (both interpersonal and systemic). He had been beaten in his childhood to the point of brain damage and then paid for the symptoms of that damage for the rest of his life. How could this film have become anything but controversial?

Long before the movie was released, waves of comments from everyday people all the way to news anchors criticized the film. They called it an “incel” film, with many news stations claiming that the movie would inspire mass shootings and theater attacks. Others argued that the film would embolden disenfranchised young men to riot and commit acts of terror.^[2]

Although these events didn’t happen, the media controversy surrounding the film continued for months before and after its release. At one point, Joker star Joaquin Phoenix walked out of an interview after a critic asked Phoenix if he thought his character would inspire “an unstable, self-pitying loner with a mass-shooter mindset.”

8 Ghostbusters
2016

It’s no small task to remake a movie. Usually, you have two choices: You can make a faithful retread, or you can create a completely new take on the original. One will be bland and predictable but guaranteed money. The other has the potential to surpass the original at the cost of some old fans and a potential for failure.^[3]

Ghostbusters (2016) chose an unfortunate third path, which was to take the name and basic bones of the concept and massively bungle it. By removing all the original characters and insulting anyone who asked why, the production company and some of the actresses involved went out of their way to antagonize the original fans.

Along with a disastrously unfunny trailer and obnoxious think pieces about the new movie, this put off enough people to ensure that the film would be a box office bomb.

7 The Interview
2014

In 2014, Sony Pictures was set to release a movie titled The Interview. The plot was funny and fairly original: Two reporters, who are sent to North Korea to interview despot Kim Jong Un, are recruited by the US government to carry out a hit on Kim at the same time.

Naturally, the North Korean government and citizenry did not take well to the film. Calling it a “dishonest movie that hurt the dignity of the Supreme Leader,” North Korea launched such a fierce campaign of threats against Sony and the film’s actors that Sony lost its nerve.

The movie was initially shelved by Sony to prevent possible retaliation by North Korea. But the film was ultimately launched (although not in theaters) after then-President Barack Obama and others said that not releasing it was a threat to free speech.^[4]

The Interview is suspected of being the catalyst for the 2014 incursions into the Sony networks and data banks by the Guardians of Peace, a North Korea–affiliated group of hackers.

6 The Passion Of The Christ
2004

Religious movies are no strangers to controversy, but The Passion of the Christ got more than its share even before its release in 2004. Director Mel Gibson set out to share, through film, the last 44 hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Instead, Gibson ran into more than a few issues.

First were the concerns that such a movie, depicting the torture and slaughter of Christ, was blasphemous. Then certain “warnings” appeared during filming.

Lead actor Jim Caviezel was left with a 36-centimeter (14 in) scar on his back from an errant whip during a flogging scene. Caviezel and Jan Michelini, the first assistant director, were also struck by lightning.^[5]

Other controversies included Mel Gibson’s alleged anti-Semitic rants (which would later be proven via recordings). Christians also had concerns over the movie’s departures from the New Testament. They saw it as an act of heresy and blasphemy to make changes to the biblical word for the sake of story.

Despite all this, The Passion Of The Christ was wildly successful, making over $600 million total. At the time, it was the highest-grossing R-rated film ever.

Top 10 Most Controversial Religious Movies

5 Borat
2006

With its portrayal of a Kazakhstan character, Borat was released in 2006 to thunderous applause from fans of comedy everywhere—except for some countries in the Middle East.

Before its launch, advance copies of the film were sent to raters, screeners, and censors in the different nations where it would be shown. This is standard procedure for international releases.

Unfortunately, Borat did not make the cut. It was banned in every Arab country except Lebanon. A censor in Dubai called the movie “vile, gross, and extremely ridiculous.”^[6]

Kazakhstan censors and citizens were in an uproar. They claimed that they had been misled about the premise of the film, which they had believed to be a simple documentary. The outcry worked in the movie’s favor, however. It drove up ticket sales in the countries where the film was allowed to air and ultimately made the studio (and Sacha Baron-Cohen) a hefty profit.

4 Brokeback Mountain
2005

Although it’s easy now to see this movie as a solid gay classic, Brokeback Mountain faced incredible controversy before its release. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as a pair of deeply-in-love cowboys embroiled in a 20-year affair behind their wives’ backs, the film sparked ire immediately upon announcement, with instant disavowals from several groups.^[7]

The pushback was so strong that certain theaters didn’t show Brokeback Mountain. It was also the subject of many sermons from religious leaders upset at its portrayal of homosexual romance. The film was even banned in most Middle Eastern countries.

3 JoJo Rabbit
2019

What’s more controversial than the Nazis? Apparently, funny Nazis.

Although the fantastic JoJo Rabbit was a great exercise in making fun of the worst people in history, the film was not without controversy. Even before it debuted in theaters, JoJo Rabbit had many people voicing their opinions on the message they assumed it held.

Many critics were already disgusted with the movie from the first trailer. They claimed that JoJo Rabbit was simply a way to ignore all the dark, deplorable things done by the Nazis. These critics also argued that the use of humor was a gruesome exercise in making light of the horrors of World War II.

Many protested that the film carried an anti-Semitic message with its portrayal of the Nazis describing Jewish people as monsters with scales and fire-breathing capabilities.^[8]

On the other side, neo-Nazis were angry for much the same reason. In fact, neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups under other names were livid at the portrayal of Adolf Hitler as an eccentric, cowardly, imaginary friend to the titular character of JoJo Rabbit. They also hated the gay Nazi couple and the general portrayal of Nazi soldiers as stupid, superstitious, and laughable.

2 Captain Marvel
2019

No matter how it was handled, this movie would have generated some buzz just by being another entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That said, the excitement and anticipation could have been positive if not for comments by Brie Larson, the lead actress.

Larson attracted Internet wrath by remarking repeatedly that she didn’t want or care about movie reviews made by “40-year-old white men.” Some people decried this sentiment as racist and sexist while others lauded it as correct and intelligent.

The fight eventually resulted in a war over Larson’s upcoming film, Captain Marvel. The anti-Larson crowd began review-bombing the film while the pro-Larsons set up bots to inflate the score. The war between the two continued right up until the film’s release.^[9]

1 Monty Python: Life Of Brian
1979

As the oldest movie on our list, Monty Python: Life Of Brian comes from a time when society was slightly more uptight than it is today. So, it’s no surprise that Life Of Brian sparked fierce debates and interest even before its release.

The movie centers around the titular character of Brian, who was born one barn over from Jesus of Nazareth. It is a religious satire that follows Brian as he grows into a young freedom fighter mistaken for the Messiah.^[10]

This immediately angered the Catholic Church (as well as the Protestants and the Jews) and prompted most of Europe to preemptively ban the film. Ireland outlawed the film from before its release until the year 1987.

In areas where it was shown, the film was picketed by nuns, priests, and rabbis, all of whom believed Life Of Brian to be blasphemous. They claimed that the movie made a mockery of Jesus’s suffering on the cross and the religion as a whole. In fact, the film was so hated that it earned a spot in the 1990 book A Brief History of Blasphemy.

Top 10 Movies That Have Been Banned Around The World

Cartoons are a cornerstone of any memorable childhood and even young adulthood, many of us being molded by the shows we consumed in our formative years. Whether it was geared exclusively for kids or not, the world of animation can have an immense impact on people. This means that cartoons, much like any other form of media, can stir up a slew of different emotions, both positive and negative. These are just a few notable examples of cartoons that, for one reason or another, garnered real-life controversy. 

10. The Simpsons – Apu Controversy (2017)

The Simpsons have never been strangers to controversy, often touching on political and social subjects that sparked some intense reactions. However, their biggest controversy arrived in 2017, sparked by a documentary spearheaded by comedian Hari Kondabolu. The Trouble with Apu, written by Kondabolu and directed by Michael Melamedoff, presents the argument that Apu has hurt the perception of Indian people within pop culture. 

Kondabolu maintained that while the character is quite funny and likable, he perpetuates harmful stereotypes and has inspired racially motivated bullying. His biggest demerit against the character had a lot to do with his voice actor, Hank Azaria, a Sephardic Jewish man. The documentary even goes as far as to describe Azaria’s performance as a form of brownface, an offensive practice used by 1900s minstrel shows in the United States. 

Following the documentary’s release, the backlash against Apu reached a fever pitch, leading to the character being quietly retired. While the character still appears in the background with the rest of Springfield’s silent denizens, he no longer receives any dedicated attention. This also resulted in the rest of Springfield’s people of color – like Carl Carlson and Dr. Hibbert – being recast with African American voice actors. The show referenced the debacle in the Season 29 episode, No Good Read Goes Unpunished. A discussion between Marge and Lisa regarding a fictitious book’s problematic content eventually switches to a fourth wall-break reference to Apu’s erasure. 

9. South Park – Muhammad Depiction (2001)

Since it arrived in the 1990s, South Park and controversy have gone together like peanut butter and chocolate. Simply put, in the eyes of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, nothing is off limits, with everything from religion to HIV to abortion to social justice receiving a comedic dissection at some point. 

One of the show’s biggest controversies occurred during its fifth season back in 2001, specifically in the Super Best Friends episode from season 5. The episode sees the boys contend with a new cult known as Blaintology, run by real-life magician David Blaine. The situation leads Stan to turn to Jesus Christ for help who, needing assistance, brings in the Super Best Friends for help. The super team is a Justice League-style super team comprised of Buddha, Moses, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Laozi, and a humorous parody of Aquaman known as Sea Man. However, amongst the ensemble is also Muhammad the prophet of the Muslim faith, who is given fire powers for comedic effect. 

Several years after this episode’s airdate, the reaction to depictions of Muhammad only increased in intensity, resulting in immense pushback against South Park and its creators. The show opted to tackle this pushback in future episodes, first poking fun at it in the two-part Cartoon Wars episode in their tenth season. There were also the show’s 200th and 201st episodes in which a censored Muhammad played a major role during both episodes’ events. 

8. Family Guy – Down Syndrome Joke (2010)

Whether you love it dearly or simply can’t stand it, there is no denying the pop-cultural impact of Family Guy. The brainchild of Seth MacFarlane, inspired by the likes of The Simpsons and other sitcoms, has left a mark on our collective consciousness. From its irreverent humor to its outlandish cutaway gags, the show has established its identity and struck a chord with millions.

However, any show that’s rolled the dice as much as Family Guy has, is eventually going to tick off the wrong people. Case in point, the controversy that was sparked by a one-off character featured in the season 8 episode titled Extra Large Medium. In the episode’s b-plot, Chris scores a date with his crush, a girl from his school named Ellen. As we eventually learn, Ellen has Down Syndrome which the show takes many jabs at during Stewie’s performance of a song titled Down Syndrome Girl. 

This alone might be viewed negatively but matters were compounded when Ellen notes that her mother is the former Governor of Alaska, a not-so-subtle jab at Sarah Palin. Needless to say, Palin and her family were not thrilled after seeing this animated mockery in prime time. Palin’s daughter Bristol even took to Facebook to criticize the episode’s treatment of the genetic disorder as her brother, Trig, has Down Syndrome. While the effects on the show itself were minimal, it does go to show what can happen when you offend someone in a very public and powerful position. 

7. The Boondocks – BET Criticism (2006)

When it comes to having your finger on the pulse, The Boondocks never failed to use its biting satire to tackle several social and political topics. Aaron McGruder’s series struck a chord with many, whether it was during its days as a syndicated comic strip or its four-season run on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block. From critiquing stables of black culture like rap music and soul food to even tackling Barack Obama’s rise to prominence in the late 2000s, there was little The Boondocks wouldn’t cover.

However, one of their more controversial outings was when McGruder and his team opted to tackle Black Entertainment Television, AKA BET. Even as far back as the series’ unaired pilot episode, the network was a target of ridicule, criticized for its perpetuation of harmful black stereotypes. In the episode The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show, BET is shown to be run at the behest of a cartoonishly evil villain looking to make the black population dumber. Nowhere is this better illustrated than when BET offers a reality show to Uncle Ruckus, the series’ resident Uncle Tom. The whole episode is a scathing yet hysterical takedown of the network, leading to real-life pushback from those within BET. So much so that this episode, as well as another season 2 episode, The Hunger Strike, weren’t aired on Adult Swim. 

6. SpongeBob SquarePants – SpongeBob as a ‘Gay Icon’ (2020)

Few modern cartoons have had a cultural impact on the same level as Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. Built just as much for adults as it was for young kids, the show has been a mainstay of children’s programming since it arrived in 1999. However, for a cartoon that’s attained acclaim as widespread as possible, it’s to be expected it would garner some controversy at some point.

The Krusty Krab’s resident fry cook got thrust into a socio-political spotlight back in 2020 when Nickelodeon was running a campaign for that year’s Pride Month.  The social media campaign showcased various characters from across the network’s programming who were a part of the LGBTQ+ community. This included the likes of Korra from The Legend of Korra who was confirmed to be a lesbian in the series finale. However, this rainbow-adorned lineup also included SpongeBob, causing ample confusion amongst online commentators who saw this as confirmation of his sexuality.

SpongeBob’s sexual orientation has been the subject of humor and discussion online for years, often citing occasionally flirty interactions with his neighbor Squidward. As the campaign received retweets and comments by the thousands, many mainstream news sources were quick to pick up the story. Soon enough the online discourse surrounding everyone’s favorite yellow sponge turned ugly, with countless bigoted commentators lambasting the decision online. 

5. The Powerpuff Girls: “See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey” (2002)

Despite its sugary exterior, Craig McCracken’s The Powerpuff Girls was one of the more subversive and creative cartoons to emerge from the late ’90s. Balancing kid-friendly designs with gruesome, and frequently bodily, violence, the series quickly gained an impressively widespread appeal to both boys and girls. This eclectic blend of heart, charm, and brutal violence turned the show into a merchandising juggernaut, generating countless toys, t-shirts, and even an airplane courtesy of Delta Airlines back in 2000.

However, that doesn’t mean that the Powerpuff Girls weren’t safe from controversy, somehow managing to have one of their episodes banned from television. See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey, the 18th episode of the fifth season, was a rather unique episode, telling its story largely through the use of rock opera-style songs. The episode sees Blossom, Butters, and Bubblecup overwhelmed by the villains of Townsville and seeking a way to bring harmonious peace to all. This leads to a singing Gnome, voiced by Jess Harnell, granting the girl’s wish in exchange for them giving up their superpowers. The Gnome soon has Townsville under his spell, indeed promising the girls their desired peaceful existence but also robbing everyone of their free will

These ideas of cults, free will-versus-harmony, and even the episode’s religious-leaning imagery led to the episode being banned in the United States and other countries as well. 

4. Pokemon – Epilepsy Incident (1997)

In the 1990s, few franchises blew the lid off pop culture quite like Pokémon, creating a phenomenon that’s lasted til today and is still going strong. From the original video games to the trading card game to the manga to the various animated shows and movies, there are few mediums Pokémon hasn’t touched. 

However, there was a time when Pokémon’s future on American airwaves was nearly in doubt, all due to one episode. Electric Soldier Porygon saw Ash and the gang sucked into cyberspace to contend with one of Team Rocket’s evil schemes. This adventure teams the gang up with a digital Pokemon named Porygon who helps them traverse the digital world. Along the way, their escapades lead to an explosion which causes a frantic strobe effect that lasts for an extended few seconds. This strobe effect, upon the episode’s original airdate back in December 1997, ended up causing over 600 of the show’s young viewers to experience seizures. 

This resulted in a slew of hospitalizations and a tidal wave of bad press for the Pokemon brand itself. The incident resulted in the anime series going on hiatus for four months and the episode itself being yanked from public circulation for years.

3. Rick and Morty – McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce Riots (2017)

Fandoms truly are the best of times and the worst of times, regardless of whatever its inhabitants are obsessed with, be it a book series or a long-running anime. However, if one were to seek out a prime example of a fandom that completely lost the plot, you’d have to look no further than Rick & Morty. The irreverent and visually unique animated series, created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, struck a chord with Adult Swim fans after its debut in 2013. With its blunt sense of humor and memorable characters, the show quickly took on a life of its own, for better and for worse.

The worst arrived at the beginning of the show’s third season when Rick referenced a discontinued McDonald’s dipping condiment known as Szechuan Sauce. Made as a tie-in for the Disney movie Mulan, the sauce was only around for a brief time before joining the likes of the McDLT and Arch Deluxe in fast food obscurity. However, following the reference, fans of the show took to the interwebs to demand McDonald’s bring back the sauce. In a surprising twist, McDonald’s granted fans’ wishes, bringing back Szechuan sauce, albeit in limited quantity, in late 2017. 

However, it seems McDonald’s didn’t quite anticipate just how popular the sauce’s resurgence would be, leading to a slew of disappointed fans who discovered the sauce had already sold out. This led to fights, outbursts, and clips of socially oblivious fans going viral, turning Rick & Morty fans into overnight pariahs.

2. Arthur – Same-Sex Marriage Episode (2019)

As children’s animation has evolved, the types of topics and subject matters deemed appropriate to talk about have evolved as necessary. This means more shows willing to dedicate episodes to the likes of race, drug use, mental health issues, and even sexuality as well. It’s an important endeavor to expose children to evolving norms and make sure they have all the information they need to form their perspectives. 

However, no matter how far society may come, there will always be people who see the discussion of sexual minorities as offensive or harmful. A prime example of these unfortunate backlashes came about in 2019 when the long-running Arthur animated series tackled gay marriage. The episode sees Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn tie the knot with Patrick, a local chocolatier who works in the neighborhood. The whole thing is very funny and charming, showcasing a lovely portrayal of a same-sex couple that young kids can understand. 

Unfortunately, the episode was not without its detractors, with two PBS affiliates in Alabama and Arkansas opting not to air the episode at all. Additionally, a fundamentalist organization, One Million Moms, started a petition that garnered at least 13,000 signatures calling for the episode to be removed from further airings which it never was.

1. Beavis & Butthead – Link to real deaths (1990s)

In the 1990s, adult animation was in the midst of a true boom period, especially in the wake of shows like The Simpsons. All over television, the landscape was soon awash with countless series looking to push the envelope in terms of style and humor. Nowhere is this revolution better exemplified than through the escapades of Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butthead. The cornerstone of MTV’s Liquid Television block certainly left a sizable mark on many with the buffoonish duo quickly becking mascots of the decade. However, as the series’ presence on prime-time television grew, so did their reach and, in turn, the amount of impressionable eyes watching them. 

Most infamously, the show was marked as the cause of an unfortunate real-life death that occurred in 1993. Austin Messner, a 5-year-old boy living in Moraine, Ohio, set fire to his family’s mobile home which claimed the life of his younger sister, Jessica. Austin’s mother later claimed he was inspired to do this after watching Beavis and Butthead playing with fire in a then-recent episode. This led to any fire imagery being cut from episodes and the show itself being slapped with a disclaimer, as well as being bumped to a late-night time slot. 

Later on, however, it was revealed that the family’s mobile home didn’t even have cable, thus making the mother’s claim highly dubious. Over 30 years later, the whole incident still stands out as the most noteworthy instance of a cartoon sparking real-life controversy.

The world isn’t perfect, so there will always be a certain number of tragedies that could be prevented. But in some cases, they are caused by glaring errors that could easily be stopped by the slightest degree of attention. When it comes to medicine and treatment, there are many safeguards to keep tainting and infections from happening. But in the following instances, contamination still happened.

10 Antibiotic-Resistant Duodenoscopes

Duodenoscopes are devices that are supposed to drain fluid from pancreatic and bile ducts. However, they are unruly when it comes to sterilization. The scopes have a sort of elevator-like movement which allows them to move within the body, draining fluid as needed. As a result, cleaning the scope is quite laborious. Although any good medical professional would clean such instruments, many did not—which was a mistake that proved deadly.

In 2016, two people in the Chicago area died from a bacterial disease that had been popping up around the United States. From 2012 to 2015, around 250 people were infected with this same illness, which had resulted from a flaw in the same machine: the duodenoscope.

The manufacturers of the scope never actually tested cleaning the device in a real-world setting. In turn, this caused a bacteria to spread that otherwise wouldn’t have developed if the instruments were properly sterilized. The illness that spread was a superbug called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).

CRE is an incredibly deadly family of bacteria that kills half of the people who become infected and is resistant to even the most potent antibiotics. CRE and similarly drug-resistant E. coli outbreaks occurred throughout the US and even across Europe in France and Germany. Because they failed to disclose the scope’s failings, the three producers—Olympus, Pentax, and Fujifilm—were investigated by the FDA and hospitals were warned not to use these products.

9 Drug-Laced Diet Supplements

In 2013, a dietary supplement known as Dr. Larry’s Tranquility pills were tested by the FDA. The pills were supposed to cause sleep naturally by using substances such as figwort root and licorice. Out of thousands of other pills that claimed similar results, Dr. Larry’s Tranquility pills were tested and found to contain a lot more than claimed. There were powerful prescription drugs in them.

Two powerful sedatives were found in the pills: Thorazine, a potent antipsychotic, and doxepin, an antidepressant and sleeping medication. Dr. Larry was not a doctor at all but a convicted felon. Larry LeGunn, his real name, was a chiropractor whose license was taken away in 2010 for grand theft and insurance fraud.

He was not the only person to use strong drugs to sell diet supplements, though. Jeffrey Bolanos, who had an extensive history with drugs like crack cocaine and methamphetamine, became head of an Arizona company called Beamonstar Products. Three of the company’s sexual enhancement pills actually contained tadalafil, a main ingredient in the prescription drug Cialis. Later, the products were recalled by the company.

In 2009, another company, Kilo Sports, sold “natural” performance-enhancing drugs, only they weren’t natural. They contained steroids, and another was found to have anti-estrogen substances in 2010. Apparently, in 2004, Martin McDermott, the head of Kilo, had several criminal charges filed against him related to felony possession of testosterone, boldenone, and human growth hormones. He apparently used these drugs to illegally “boost” products that he sold over the years.

8 Bayer’s HIV Blood Plasma

In 2003, after an investigation by The New York Times, it was shown that Cutter Biological, a unit of pharmaceutical company Bayer, engaged in controversial business practices in the 1980s that resulted in the spread of HIV among hemophiliacs overseas. Allegedly, in response to complaints about a medicine sold by Cutter, they produced a newer, safer one in 1984. The only problem is that they didn’t stop selling the dangerous, older product in other countries.

The product sold was called Factor VIII Concentrate, and it was produced from 10,000 donors’ blood plasma to help with the treatment of hemophiliacs. However, the donor plasma was not tested for HIV at the time since there was very little awareness of the disease. Because of this, the hemophiliacs who used the product contracted HIV.

In February 1984, the product was reformulated and the old product was supposedly taken off the market. However, according to company records, they continued to sell the drug in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, and Argentina. Cutter claimed that they did so because customers there doubted the new drug’s effectiveness and a shortage of plasma made creating the new product much harder.

When Hong Kong distributors became interested in the product in late 1984, Cutter told them to use the infected product before using the new formulation. Because of this, around 100 hemophiliacs contracted HIV. The fact that the infected product was still marketed in Asia and other less developed countries caused many customers to accuse Bayer of racial discrimination.

Later, Bayer quietly began to pay off foreign lawsuits related to the product. After the reports became public, Bayer sold their blood plasma business in October 2003.

7 Metal-Tainted Children’s Medication

In May 2009, Johnson & Johnson, the company that manufactures a variety of medications including Children’s Tylenol and Children’s Motrin, began to receive complaints about black specks inside bottles of medication. All the medication had been produced from McNeil’s plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. When the black specks were examined, they were found to be the metals nickel, iron, and chromium.

The medications were liquid and potentially deadly. In April 2010, Johnson & Johnson began a voluntary recall of the medications. The McNeil plant had been plagued with recalls since 2009, and the FDA later sourced the contamination to machinery used during production.

Despite the company discovering the metal particles around this, they continued to produce and sell liquid medication for several months afterward. In 2009, a death occurred due to the tainted medicine: Joshua Arndt, four years old, died after being given one dose of Children’s Tylenol. Although he was rushed to the emergency room, there was nothing that doctors could do to help him.

In 2012, his father filed a lawsuit. But it was dismissed in 2014 because the two-year statute of limitations had passed. Johnson & Johnson did not go without punishment, though. In 2015, charges were brought against the company because they had knowingly sold the medication months after they learned that it was dangerous.

In the end, they had to pay $25 million to settle their legal problems. As for the McNeil plant where the medication was produced, the entire plant was demolished and rebuilt.

6 Deadly Heparin

In 2008, the blood thinner heparin was in such demand in the United States—around 300,000 doses a day—that producers in China began to engage in increasingly shady practices to meet it. Usually, heparin is produced from pig intestines. But according to the FDA, some Chinese producers were making it from cow and sheep intestines, which allowed for the spread of sicknesses unseen in the past.

According to doctors, the main symptom of the contaminated heparin was dangerously low blood pressure, and it was noticed in hospitals and by patients across the United States. By late 2008, 81 deaths had already been linked to the drug. What made this already disturbing situation even worse was the fact that the bad drug made its way through multiple screenings and finally onto the market.

When Baxter International, the distributor of half of all the heparin in the United States, discovered this, they issued an immediate recall. While officials at first believed that only the United States was affected by these contaminations, it became clear that even more countries had received the bad heparin. Eleven countries soon reported similar cases of heparin causing harm.

The contamination was caused by the chemical oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, which is created from non-pig material. Despite Chinese officials claiming that the heparin was not tainted, the FDA managed to trace the heparin to 12 Chinese producers. After this revelation, reforms were made among these companies.

Even though the FDA had been suspicious about Chinese practices since 2007, it wasn’t until 2012 that they began to create serious guidelines. Around 246 deaths have been traced to the heparin since 2007, and it’s believed that some of the contaminated drug may still be on the market nearly a decade later.

5 Bacteria-Infected IV Bags

In 2011, 19 people at six hospitals in Alabama became ill for a very specific reason: Their IV bags had been infected by Serratia marcescens bacteremia, a type of bacteria which can prove fatal when it enters the bloodstream. Many of the patients infected by the bacteria were high-risk patients who were given intravenous feeding because they were too sick to eat on their own.

The outbreak began at several Birmingham area hospitals in Alabama in March 2011. Soon, 19 people became ill, and nine of them would eventually die. The bacteria caused almost immediate effects upon entering the bloodstream, including blood pressure and temperature changes. However, once the surviving patients were treated, they managed to recover.

But this wasn’t the only time that infections in IV bags would cause illness in patients. In Minnesota, a series of painkiller thefts by nurses at hospitals would eventually cause infections in the patients. At St. Cloud Hospital, several patients who were supposed to get painkillers were actually given saltwater.

This caused rare bacterial infections in 25 patients. Six of them ended up in intensive care, and one died. Blake Zenner, a nurse who stole painkillers from 2010 to 2011, was found to be responsible for the outbreak and was finally caught in 2012.

4 Meningitis And Mold Steroid Shots

In 2011, the New England Compounding Center began sending out shipments of steroids that were infected with meningitis and fungus. Within a year, the CDC would estimate that 14,000 people had been exposed to the infected steroids. Meningitis could be contracted from the shots along with a mold that could incubate for months. The epidemic spread across 16 states and would infect hundreds of people.

The steroid involved was a formulation of methylprednisolone for injection, and it was tainted by a rare black fungus called Exserohilum rostratum that usually only affects plants. It’s so rare in humans that its incubation wasn’t even known at the time of the outbreak. However, within a year, 268 cases of fungal meningitis, three cases of fungal joint infections, and 21 deaths were reported that were related to the steroid shots.

While most of those with fungal infections reported incubation periods of a few weeks to two months, it was also known that the infections could incubate for several months. So even after the steroid shots were recalled, those who took them could still get sick.

A similar outbreak of fungal meningitis occurred in 2002 with the same type of steroids. This taught valuable lessons about the manufacturing of these substances. Without stringent standards when it comes to mixing them, it was found that fungus grows aggressively, which caused the two outbreaks.

In 2013, the number of fungal meningitis cases was 751 and there were 64 deaths. Even a full year after the outbreak, people still required treatment, which shows just how dangerous a lack of attention can be in the medical world.

3 Deadly Dirty Syringes

Safety with syringes is commonplace for most patients and professionals: Syringes shouldn’t be reused or shared. But what happens when the people who make the syringes have accidentally contaminated them? This occurred in 2007 when over 100 people became sick with bacterial infections related to the use of contaminated saline syringes that were produced by the same company.

To keep such outbreaks from occurring, there are multiple safety checks that should be put into place by companies. But even after that, the FDA itself examines medical products. In the case of the syringes, evidence shows that the FDA failed to catch the contamination.

The syringes, prefilled with saline, were examined by an FDA inspector before they were shipped out in October 2007. According to the report, the inspector found black, brown, and red particles in the syringes but wrote it off as “rust” and said that the factory management had put a plan in place to take care of it.

Apparently, the factory had switched to an unreliable sterilization method around the time of the FDA inspection, but this wasn’t noted, either. Just one week later, a distributor recalled 1.3 million syringes, which should have caused the FDA to launch another thorough inspection. But they didn’t due to understaffing.

When they finally did another inspection of the factory, it was far below standards and was shut down in January 2008. But by then, the damage was done. Over 100 people had become sick from using the bad syringes, and six actually died. In 2016, B. Braun, the company that sold the syringes, agreed to pay $7.8 million in damages.

2 Bacteria-Infected Ultrasound Gel

In 2011, doctors in the emergency room at Beaumont Health Center near Detroit began to notice that large numbers of patients were testing positive for the bacteria P. aeruginosa. This particular sort of bacteria is not normal and usually comes from contamination. They began to investigate and found that all 16 patients had mostly identical histories: They became sick with respiratory illnesses after cardiovascular surgeries.

Ultrasound gel is used to improve images for surgeries or exams. In this case, the patients became sick after imaging gel was used on them for surgery and infected their respiratory tracts. In 2008, a study in Europe showed that many imaging bottles tested positive for contamination when cultures were grown.

When the researchers announced their findings at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, they warned that bacteria could contaminate gels during the production process. US manufacturers apparently didn’t heed these warnings.

When cultures were grown from the gel bottles used before the outbreak in the United States, they also showed strains of bacteria that came from the manufacturing process. Pharmaceutical Innovations, the New Jersey–based company behind the imaging gel, was raided by US Marshals, and their gel products were seized.

Because imaging gel is so common, it was unknown just how far the contaminated products had been distributed. All the FDA could do was issue a warning that would be known by everyone using the gel because once the gel was applied, the bacteria could infect rapidly. Luckily, no more outbreaks were reported, and new safety standards have since been put in place.

1 Toxic Cough Syrup

This is one of the most tragic stories of tainted medicine because of how widespread it was and the nature of the people it affected: sick patients in the Third World. It all started with chemical production in China where glycerine, one of the main ingredients in cough syrup, would be substituted with the sweet-tasting but highly deadly chemical diethylene glycol to make extra money.

Diethylene glycol is an industrial solvent and one of the main ingredients in antifreeze. When ingested, it causes kidney failure, paralysis, and finally, multiple organ failure.

Several decades ago, medicine produced with diethylene glycol caused over 100 deaths in the United States, which prompted the FDA to pass strict regulations. But in less developed countries, it has, over two decades, been substituted in a variety of syrups and medicines.

This has caused at least eight mass poisonings with one in Panama resulting in 365 reported deaths. A conservative estimate has put deaths in the thousands. Diethylene glycol first appeared in Bangladesh in 1992 when children died after using counterfeit syrups. Later, 88 children died in Haiti.

All the toxic products can be traced back to the Yangtze delta, colloquially known as “chemical country” by the Chinese because it so well-known for chemical production. There, many raw chemicals are produced and diethylene glycol is often sold in place of glycerol.

In many instances where mass deaths were reported from using these products, they went through multiple inspections by distributors. But none of them discovered the truth. Often, those creating the chemicals weren’t even licensed. But in an effort to make a few extra dollars, buyers will turn a blind eye.

Once they have purchased the product, they will falsely certify it so that distributors will accept it. It took many deaths before the Chinese government finally began to take action. In 2007, the World Health Organization reported that around 440 counterfeit operations had been shut down. Hopefully, these efforts by authorities will be enough to prevent any future tragedies.

Gordon Gora is a struggling author who is desperately trying to make it.

There is a monster hiding in your house. Many, actually. They’re watching you, waiting. They’re in your refrigerator, your oven, and your kitchen cabinets, because it seems one of the most dangerous things you handle each day is your food. The ways in which your diet can come back to haunt you range far beyond heart disease and diabetes. Human history is rife with horrific episodes brought about by nothing more than this most basic necessity. One look at these ferocious foodstuffs, and you’ll never turn your back on your local supermarket again.

10 Bread

During the 1800s, England’s population was growing faster than ever before. In fact, by 1850, London had become the largest city in history. But this sudden, enormous growth led to serious shortages of day-to-day items, and profiteering manufacturers were quick to respond . . . by packing their products with whatever they could find lying around their garage.

Plaster of Paris and even chalk were used to stretch out actual ingredients, but the worst was the use of toxic alum.^[1] Safer versions of alum are used for things like pickling, but the dangerous variety—used in modern-day washing detergents—was used heavily in bread. Not only did it allow for more loaves per batch, but it also gave them a more attractive white color. The thing is, alum prevents actual food from being absorbed by the intestines. In the end, this practice led to an epidemic of severe malnutrition, diarrhea, and even the deaths of many children, as starving citizens were unable to digest what meager scraps they could find.

9 Corn

The early 20th century saw the American South gripped by a nightmarish new disease. Sickening skin lesions and madness were the calling cards of the mysterious malady, which took over 100,000 lives between 1906 and 1940. Worse yet, no one could figure out where this “pellagra” even came from.

That is, until Dr. Joseph Goldberger came along. The Pennsylvania physician joined the Public Health Service in 1899 and had spent the last few decades traveling the country solving medical mysteries. It occurred to him that the disease only struck the especially poor, who survived on a diet composed almost entirely of nice, cheap corn.

His dietary findings didn’t go down well with Southern doctors, though, who were convinced the illness was caused by a germ. So Dr. Goldberger proved it wasn’t contagious by swallowing the scabs from an infected patient’s sores as well as infected urine and feces.^[2] He didn’t catch the dreaded disease, and his work helped to unmask pellagra as a simple niacin deficiency.

8 Wine

A symbol of class and refinement for millennia, wine would seem like one of the least harmful things on the planet (unless you count the occasional drunken fistfight). But just try telling that to English nobleman George Plantagenet.

The duke of Clarence and brother of King Edward IV, Plantagenet found himself involved in a Game of Thrones–style medieval power struggle in the late 1400s. Constantly at odds with his brother, he began scheming to remove him from the throne. However, before his rebellion could even start, King Edward beat him to the punch. Plantagenet was secretly imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed on February 18, 1478.

Despite beheading being the traditional fate of traitors, Edward instead had a final insult planned for his sibling. He ordered Plantagenet drowned in a barrel of his favorite drink, malmsey wine.^[3] After his uniquely ironic execution, some believe his body was left in the barrel when it was sent off to be buried.

7 Chocolate

In the early 20th century, the world stumbled upon a miracle. By simply adding a small amount of a newly documented element, any humdrum object could be made the stuff of fairy tales. Clock faces and cosmetics were dressed up with the miraculous glowing material. Candy manufacturers even began adding it to their chocolate for its supposedly invigorating qualities. Too bad it was radioactive.

Radium-infused chocolate was only one dangerous product that people were woefully eager to cram in their mouths. Wines and water were also packed with radiation before the dangers started to make themselves known. A 1925 article in The New York Times heralded the end of the radium age with the announcement of a nightmarish new disease: radium necrosis. It was basically radiation poisoning of the jaw caused by ingesting radium. Victims found the flesh and bone of their lower faces dying and falling away or developing grotesque tumors.^[4] Death followed shortly after.

6 Fish

For some, eating raw fish may be a terrifying prospect in its own right, but a certain Japanese delicacy gives sushi-phobes another reason to fear. Blowfish, or fugu, is prepared with extreme care by master sushi chefs. The law demands it. The government regulates the process carefully because a single mistake could end the life of a customer.

The organs of the blowfish are filled with a substance called tetrodotoxin.^[5] Should any taint the meat, this unbelievably nightmarish poison begins with a subtle numbing of the unlucky customer’s mouth. Soon, however, the numbness evolves into full-blown paralysis, which slowly migrates down the body. The victim is left completely unable to move but fully aware. Death finally comes when the paralysis reaches the lungs, and the still-conscious diner slowly suffocates. Luckily, due to the strict laws concerning its preparation, only 23 people have been killed by fugu in the last 16 years. Still, not many takers.

5 Nutmeg

During the 1600s, a terrible war was waged between the English and the Dutch. It was a brutal and bloody conflict that lasted for years. It was over something we like to sprinkle on eggnog.

Humble nutmeg found itself at the center of this bizarre international conflict because it had become something of a status symbol.^[6] Nobles of the era would stockpile spices like gold, and the trendiest new addition to any spice cabinet was nutmeg. The seeds were prized for their exotic flavor, their supposed aphrodisiac properties, and the belief that they could actually cure the Black Death. Unfortunately, though, they could only be found on a single Indonesian island chain, the Bandas. The quest to monopolize the nutmeg industry led Dutch and English forces to commit horrors ranging from torture to mass slaughter, upon both enemy combatants and the innocent residents of the islands.

Luckily, the bloodshed finally ended in 1667, when England signed a treaty handing over control of their only remaining Banda island. They didn’t get much in return, just the Dutch-controlled island of Manhattan.

4 Water

Throughout history, typhoid fever has claimed countless lives. Minor epidemics were fairly common until recently, but in 1903, the city of Ithaca, New York, faced a sudden and unusually aggressive outbreak of the dreadful disease.^[7] Construction had recently begun on the Six Mile Creek Dam, and the shady owners had neglected to include a filtration system of any kind. Conditions were rough for the builders as well; the entire crew was forced to share a single outhouse, leading many to simply use the creek. However, the final nail in the coffin was that a few of the builders had recently moved from an area of Italy notorious for typhoid outbreaks.

The results were as obvious as they were devastating. Ithaca residents began experiencing crippling stomach pain and dangerously high fevers. The sickness had spread far and wide before anyone figured out their drinking water was to blame. People could only watch as friends and family began to succumb. In the end, 82 people, including 29 college students, were killed.

3 Grain

Medieval England just couldn’t catch a break. As if constant war and the Black Plague weren’t enough, folks had a more obscure reason to lock themselves in their mud cottages: English sweating sickness.

With outbreaks occurring mainly during the summers of the 15th and 16th centuries, this strange illness came on fast and killed faster. Within 24 hours of infection, the victim would sweat profusely, experience shortness of breath and heart palpitations, and finally drop dead. Despite much documentation in everything from official records to fiction (Shakespeare even mentioned it in his play Measure for Measure), no one really knew where it came from.

Researchers now believe the hantavirus was to blame.^[8] The symptoms are eerily similar, and just like the Black Death, it is transmitted by rodents. Medieval England had no shortage of rats; the vermin were notorious for chowing down on stores of grains like wheat and oats. While eating, the incontinent beasts would leave their urine behind, contaminating the food. Unlucky peasants would then sit down for dinner, and an epidemic would be born.

2 Cheese

Listeria monocytogenes is a particularly nasty bacterium. In humans, it causes an unpredictable condition called listeriosis, which can be as minor as a touch of the flu or infect the nervous system, causing convulsions and death. It also really seems to like cheese.

Products containing unpasteurized milk are prime targets for Listeria. In 1985, California’s Jalisco Products produced a batch of cheese without following pasteurization procedures. The result was one of the largest listeriosis outbreaks in history.^[9] Southern California was devastated by the deadly neurological disease, which hit pregnant women and newborn babies the hardest. The death toll topped out at a terrifying 62 when all was said and done, including many stillbirths.

And this wasn’t an isolated incident. Listeriosis outbreaks linked to cheese are insanely common, even now. Maybe order a side of antibiotics the next time you hit the pizza joint.

1 Rye

In the Middle Ages, Europe was subjected to what can only be described as a full-on living nightmare. A strange plague, known as St. Anthony’s fire, began to spread. Victims suffered extreme burning sensations in their hands and feet, the feeling of insects crawling beneath their skin, and horrifying hallucinations. The infection sometimes even caused the flesh of the hands and feet to die, requiring amputation.

It wasn’t until much later that botanists were able to crack this “holy fire.” The fungus Claviceps purpurea infects many grain plants, but it seems especially fond of rye.^[10] Small black growths called ergots grow alongside the grains on tainted plants and were often mistakenly ground up with them in medieval mills. Bread made from the flour would then infect humans, leading to the hellish symptoms.

Despite the horrors, the study of ergot has led to many advances in medical science, like cures for migraine headaches and psychological disorders. It has also led to advances in psychedelic science by giving the world LSD.

Stamps may not be at the forefront of our minds in today’s digital age. But they remain an important part of postal history and culture—and daily usage. One aspect of stamps that often goes unnoticed is the process of selecting the images that adorn them. In the United States, this task falls to the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. That’s a group that meets regularly to deliberate on thousands of stamp ideas submitted by the public.

While aesthetic appeal is certainly a factor in their decision-making, there are also guidelines for what can be depicted on a stamp. But even with these regulations in place, controversies still arise. Both the United States and other countries have faced backlash for stamp designs that have offended certain groups. Some have even caused international incidents!

In this list, you’ll learn about ten examples of controversial and ill-advised stamp design choices. These stamps serve as a reminder of the importance of careful consideration in creating them. Who knew this much hubbub could be caused by such a small adhesive postal tool!

Related: Top 10 Shockingly Controversial Billboards

10 Civil War Generals (United States)

The Civil War was, of course, a defining moment in American history. It officially came to an end in 1865, but the memories of its battles have raged on ever since. In the 1930s, tensions surrounding the conflict flared up once again. That time, it came in the form of multiple heated debates among stamp collectors.

In 1937 and 1938, the U.S. Postal Service released a series of ten stamps meant to honor some of the country’s most famous military heroes. Among these stamps was one depicting William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union general known for his brutal tactics during the Civil War. Sherman was famous for his “march to the sea,” which resulted in widespread destruction in the South during the fight. Sherman had been honored on stamps before, but for whatever reason, it hadn’t been a big deal. By the 1930s, though, it was different.

His stamp appearance brought significant opposition from southern residents. Many Southerners were still bitter about the devastation wrought by Sherman during the war, having parents and grandparents who lived through it. So they threatened to boycott the stamp. In fact, the legislatures of Georgia and South Carolina even passed official resolutions against it. Despite this, the stamp was a success. In fact, some Southerners even bought it just so they could finally “lick” Sherman.

Fearing more controversy, the government released a stamp featuring Confederate general Robert E. Lee. It was meant to appease angry Southern stamp collectors. However, it failed in its own right because the stamp depicted Lee, a three-star general, with only two stars on his collar. Southern military buffs interpreted the mistake as a deliberate insult to their hero, and a second Civil War stamp controversy bubbled up.^[1]

9 Bernard Revel (United States)

The process of designing postage stamps is a rigorous one. Usually, multiple committees are tasked with reviewing and approving every aspect of the design before it is released to the public. However, there is one individual who has the power to alter the approved design (mostly) without detection: the person responsible for etching the final design before production.

In 1986, this is exactly what happened in a very unfortunate moment. That year, the U.S. Postal Service released a stamp honoring Yeshiva University’s centenary. The stamp featured the image of noted Jewish rabbi and scholar Bernard Revel. Kenneth Kipperman was the man behind the design.

At the time, he was one of very few people allowed to engrave stamps. A year before the stamp’s release, he had subtly added a Star of David to Revel’s beard. It sat in near invisibility in the very corner of Revel’s mouth where his mustache meets his beard. The alteration went unnoticed until 1987 when a stamp-collecting outfit tipped off The Washington Post.

Immediately, the post office went into damage control. The U.S. Postal Service made it clear that while it is not uncommon for engravers to personalize their work, it is not allowed. Still, the insertion of religious commentary into a federally created stamp worried the organization. They tried their best to walk back the controversy even though it took months for the thing to even come out.^[2]

8 Stalin’s Supporters (Russia)

The passage of time has a way of obscuring history. For those who lived under a brutal dictator, for example, the memories of their atrocities are awful and unending. But for future generations, the actions of such rulers may be viewed in a more relaxed way. This is certainly the case in Russia—especially when it comes to Joseph Stalin.

In the 2000s, only a third of Russians considered Stalin’s actions to have been bad. Despite the forced executions of countless people during his reign, modern Russians don’t seem to see the harm. So it makes morbid sense why in 2001, the Russian government released a set of stamps honoring Stalin’s henchmen. Despite being very bad men during their lives, decades had passed, and Russia simply thought it was time to give them glory again.

Those pictured on the postage were some of the most awful mass murderers ever. Sergei Puzitsky, for example, oversaw the killings of half a million Cossacks in Russia. And he got himself a post-millennium stamp! Russia’s chief stamp designer even defended the decision to honor these men. “We’re starting to realize in Russia that not everything in our history was bad,” said Boris Mitukin, the Russian House of Stamps’ chief designer, in a BBC interview that year. “These were honest, decent citizens. Some of them were even geniuses. They helped protect our country and our people.”

Many others refused to see it that way, though. “It’s a slap in the face to the millions who died in that totalitarian system,” said one Russian woman who spent five years in a gulag. “It’s just awful that we live in a society where hangmen and murderers are glorified.”^[3]

7 Burhan Wani (Pakistan)

The relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with tension and hostility for many years. Despite occasional attempts to improve relations, the two countries have remained at odds with each other. That doesn’t mean politicians haven’t tried to cool tensions, though. One very notable attempt occurred in 2018.

That year, Imran Khan became the prime minister of Pakistan. Immediately, he signaled his willingness to work toward resolving differences with India. However, a planned meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries was abruptly canceled by India. A number of things went into the misfire, but chief among them was a Pakistani stamp commemorating martyrs who died fighting for the country in the Kashmir region.

Not long before Khan took power in Pakistan, the country had issued several stamps in honor of “Kashmir Martyr’s Day.” The stamps were meant to commemorate the deaths of Pakistani fighters, including a notable man named Burhan Wani. But the stamps quickly became divisive. India also claims Kashmir for itself—hence the tension with Pakistan—and Indian officials viewed those being honored on the stamps as terrorists.

This caused a rift in the relationship between the two countries. Very quickly, the hope for détente crumbled. India labeled Wani and the other Pakistani fighters terrorists and condemned the stamp. Pakistan rejected the label and moved forward with using it in postal work. Through it all, the two countries’ relationship remains strained.^[4]

6 The Brontosaurus (United States)

Did you grow up with a favorite dinosaur when you were little? Was it the brontosaurus, by chance? If it was, you should know the brontosaurus doesn’t actually exist. See, paleontologists have actually “discovered” that gigantic, long-necked dinosaur twice. The first time they found it, they called it an apatosaurus. The second time around, new scientists “discovered” it again and termed the beast a brontosaurus. The second name stuck in pop culture, though.

But experts were concerned about the overlap, and once they figured out each set of fossils came from the same dinosaur, they made the move to work it back to the original name. So brontosaurus was yanked while apatosaurus was pushed, and all was good, right? Wrong! Most of us regular folks did not get the memo about the name change. Pretty much everybody went on calling it a brontosaurus, even as “experts” tried in vain to stop it.

The post office did, too! In 1989, the U.S. Postal Service came out with its own brontosaurus stamp. Even though that name had long since been retired at the time, the postage people didn’t care much about what the fossil folks had to say. Paleontologists tried to get the stamp changed, but the Postal Service (correctly) realized the country knew that dinosaur by its, um, incorrect name. So they went forth with a brontosaurus stamp!

Still, scientists seethed at the decision to transmit incorrect information. The Smithsonian Museum’s head of paleontology sputtered that the post office’s choice to use “brontosaurus” despite being told otherwise “suggests that the Postal Service cares little for the accuracy of the stamps they issue and they prefer ‘cartoon’ nomenclature to scientific nomenclature.” Feisty!^[5]

5 The Crimean Bridge (Ukraine)

The violent conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been marked by moments of fierce resistance and bold defiance. Despite initial predictions that Kyiv would fall quickly to the Russians in early 2022, Ukrainian soldiers have shown remarkable determination. One notable example occurred when a small group of soldiers stationed on an island refused to surrender to a Russian warship.

Instead, they told the ship’s crew to “go f*** yourself.” While the men were eventually taken captive, the incident was celebrated as a symbol of Ukrainian resilience. Soon, it was even commemorated with a stamp in the country. But that wasn’t the war’s controversial stamp. Not by a long shot!

No, that one came after the destruction of the Crimean Bridge. The billion-dollar bridge was built by Russia after it first annexed the Crimean Peninsula back in 2014. Ever since, the span has been seen as an unwelcome symbol of Russia’s permanent presence in the area. In October 2022, on Vladimir Putin’s birthday, an explosion destroyed the bridge. Ukraine didn’t admit to being behind the blast, but the symbolism was very clear. And the host government moved to take advantage of it!

Hours after the explosion, Ukraine released a stamp that showed two people standing defiantly on the edge of the broken bridge. For a country that claimed not to be involved in the explosion, the stamp’s quick release was a head scratcher. Still, it was a very bold statement—and one that perfectly encapsulated the tensions of war.^[6]

4 Richard Nixon (United States)

When it comes to evaluating the performance of past presidents, opinions vary greatly. But one president is widely considered to have had the most tumultuous tenure in office: Richard Nixon. Of course, he is the only president in American history to have resigned from office, which followed his administration’s role in the Watergate scandal.

That controversy led to widespread public disapproval and calls for his impeachment. So when he left office, it’s an understatement to say he was polarizing at best—and downright unpopular at worst. Nevertheless, presidents have a long history of being honored with postage stamps after they die. And when Nixon passed in 1994, that tradition continued, even as objections rose.

Despite the controversy surrounding Nixon’s presidency, the U.S. Postal Service decided to honor him by releasing a stamp in the mid-1990s featuring his image. This decision was met with criticism from across the country. Many regular citizens and politicians alike expressed their opposition. The head of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, for instance, wrote a letter to the Postal Service expressing his disbelief at the decision.

Nixon didn’t deserve a stamp, the argument went, because he had lied to the American people and Congress. Despite the backlash, the Postal Service proceeded with the release of the stamp. But thankfully, Americans got creative in their protest. Some people even went so far as to creatively alter envelopes around the stamp to make it appear as though postage-stamp Nixon was behind bars.^[7]

3 Marie Stopes (United Kingdom)

In 2008, the United Kingdom’s Royal Mail issued a set of stamps to honor six women who had made significant contributions to the country. They felt it was long overdue to honor those women, considering most stamps previously had been for men. One of the women chosen was Marie Stopes. She was a pioneering English figure in the field of family planning. She wrote the first widely-available book on the topic way back in 1918. Three years later, in 1921, she opened the first free clinic offering abortion and family planning services.

However, Stopes was also a vocal advocate for eugenics, and she believed in the concept of a master race. This fact caused a great deal of controversy and backlash at the time the stamp was announced. The furor came both from those who were against her views on reproductive rights, as well as those who identified as feminists.

In 2008, the charity founded by Stopes dismissed the negative response to the stamp. They noted that despite the controversy about some of her beliefs, Stopes’s achievements were undeniable. But by 2020, the organization had changed its stance. They recognized that the darker aspects of her legacy could not be ignored. The charity even moved to change its name to MSI Reproductive Choices.

By doing so, they finally admitted that the positive aspects of her legacy could not be separated from the truly reprehensible ones. This change came after a decade and a half of increased awareness and discussions about race and implicit bias. As for the stamp, it made it through the 2008 run, even amid controversy. Knowing the 2020 charity change, though, means it’s unlikely Stopes will ever be honored again by the Royal Mail.^[8]

2 Where’s the Cigarette? (United States)

Smoking was far more prevalent—and accepted—among past generations in America than it is today. It wasn’t unusual to see notable, world-famous celebs taking a drag off a cigarette. Now, that doesn’t happen quite as often. But a few decades ago, it was the norm. However, things have changed pretty rapidly in the last thirty or so years. And the U.S. Postal Service got caught in a major controversy twice right in the middle of that shift.

It all began in 1994 when blues guitarist Robert Johnson was honored with his own stamp. But the picture his postal pose was based on had been altered: The iconic cigarette he’d been holding was gone! Quickly, people became upset with the post office for taking out the cigarette and altering the image. Critics said it changed the entire context of Johnson’s pose. For their part, the Postal Service said the cigarette was wiped because “they didn’t want the stamps to be perceived as promoting cigarettes.”

Amazingly, five years later, the whole thing happened again. In 1999, the USPS released a stamp honoring iconic artist Jackson Pollack. However, the stamp was missing one key thing: the painter’s ever-present cigarette! During his life, Pollack was known for smoking while painting. Images of him hard at work virtually never capture the brilliant man without a cigarette in his mouth. It was simply part of who he was.

So when the stamp came out with no cigarette, Pollack fans and art historians alike balked at the choice. The artist who created the stamp even threw the Postal Service under the bus for it! “It was an instruction to me,” the illustrator later told the Baltimore Sun, “to remove the cigarette.” That choice didn’t sit well with art aficionados. They claimed the cigarette-free stamp put Pollack’s portrayal completely out of context.^[9]

1 Beating Alcoholism (United States)

Governments that create stamps (probably) aren’t sending subliminal messages through the post. And companies who purchase those stamps usually aren’t trying to send a secret message to their employees or letter recipients, either. They’re just trying to ship out postage in bulk to do business. And whatever the stamp says is secondary to getting the letter delivered on time. Right? Well, in some cases, notable stamp choices have led to bizarre and unfortunate conspiracies.

Take the case of the alcoholism stamp of 1981, for example. That year, the U.S. Postal Service released a stamp that read: “Alcoholism: You can beat it!” The intention behind the stamp was admirable. At the time, alcoholism was not a topic that was very openly discussed. So it was good to talk about it and hopefully get people on a healthier track!

The stamp’s release was part of a much larger program too. It was accompanied by a national advertising campaign designed to start a conversation about the issue. However, the post office didn’t anticipate the confusion caused by the stamp. By the time they had printed almost 100 million of them, it was too late. And the reason for its unpopularity was an incredible one.

By 1985, the Postal Service admitted they’d messed up after the stamp completely failed to sell. That year, they explained why when asked about it by the Los Angeles Times. “Apparently, people felt putting that stamp on a letter was suggesting to the person receiving it that he has a drinking problem,” employee James Van Loozen recalled. “You have to be careful what you put on stamps.” No kidding! And now the Postal Service knows better… we hope!^[10]

Food is not only a necessary part of life but one that plays a very important role in many different cultures, religions, and homes. It can bring people together, whether bonding over creating a new dish or passing down recipes from one to another. Food can be an indulgence for some, a reward for others, or a passion for those who wish to make cooking their career.

While food can have many positive roles, it can also lead to some very disastrous results. From outbreaks to recalls to the development of diseases and allergic reactions, food can play a starring role when it comes to negative side effects.^[1] Many times, these side effects are known and can be prevented, but other times . . . not so much. Here are a few instances where food and drink or their production played a very unfortunate role in people’s deaths.

10 Game Gone Wrong

Hot dog-eating contests are not an unfamiliar competitive event; in fact, many eating competitions featuring a variety of foods have gained popularity around the world. However, despite the popularity of these contests, there are many risks that come along with competitive eating competitions, one of which is the choking hazard. Such a problem happened for 13-year-old Noah Akers from San Pedro, who choked in a hot dog during a game and ultimately died.

Noah Akers had been one of many participating in a hot dog-eating game in 2010, hosted by the Boys and Girl’s club in order to raise relief funds for the earthquake in Haiti. While the club claims it was not an eating contest in the normal sense, as the children where only asked to eat one hot dog which was covered in whipped cream, it was still an event where a candy prize would be given to whoever managed to finish the strange food combination.

Noah had been participating in the event when the hot dog became lodged in his throat. Although bystanders attempted to dislodge the hot dog from his airway, it remained stuck until paramedics arrived. The paramedics were able to dislodge the hot dog, but Noah had gone too long without oxygen and passed away a few days later at the hospital.^[2]

An investigation was made into the event, though it was determined that the organization had provided proper supervision and warnings.

9 Bean Pile

Many people suffer injuries in the workplace, especially those who are working with heavy machinery or malfunctioning equipment. It is estimated that in 2018 alone, an estimated total of 14 people died a day due to workplace-related mishaps in the United States. Raymond Segura Jr., a 56-year-old man who worked for a bean company in Colorado, unfortunately experienced an accident which resulted in his untimely death in 2012.^[3]

Mr. Segura had worked for the Kelley Bean Company for over 12 years without incident until one day, the overhead conveyor belt he was monitoring malfunctioned. The conveyor belt was used to transport pinto beans in large, bulk quantities, and due to the malfunction, Mr. Segura became trapped under falling beans. When he did not respond to inquiries about his status, workers were sent to investigate and saw the mountain of beans.

Once it was realized that Mr. Segura had become trapped under the beans, over 50 emergency personnel as well as inmates from a local jail came to his aid. It took over an hour to dig out Mr. Segura’s body from the 6-meter (20 ft) pile of beans which had fallen on top of him.

Unfortunately, by the time they reached him, Mr. Segura had already passed away, though it was unknown if it was due to lack of oxygen or the impact. An inquiry was put into place concerning the malfunction of the conveyor belt by both the police and Kelley Bean Company. The incident was ultimately ruled an accident.

8 Drowned In Whiskey

The decision to take one’s life is not an easy one, and with the number of suicides seeing an increase from previous years, any steps that can be taken can help to save a life. In the case of Brian Ettles of Scotland, the 46-year-old father’s suicide on the job in 2012 came as a shock to all around him.

Mr. Ettles, who had worked for the Glenfiddich Distillery for 22 years, had just celebrated his wife’s birthday the night before and seemed normal while at work the next day. However, despite his normal appearance and activity, Mr. Ettles climbed 5 meters (16 ft) up to the top of a 50,000-liter (13,000 gal) tank in which whiskey was distilled and threw himself inside.^[4] Alarms were raised shortly afterward, and paramedics were called in to aid Mr. Ettles. By the time the emergency crew were able to reach him, he was unresponsive and was pronounced dead on the scene.

After an investigation, no signs of suspicious circumstances or foul play were suspected in Mr. Ettles death. It was concluded that he had, unfortunately, taken his own life, though police did not find a suicide note. The coroner determined that his cause of death had been drowning in the vat.

7 Carroted Out

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important if one wants to keep in tip-top shape and feeling the best they can. Over time, many diet fads have come and gone, all of which claimed to be the best option for maintaining perfect health. Basil Brown, a health fanatic, was known for his interest in attempting to find this level of perfection. The 48-year-old had gone through various different avenues in trying to chase this ultimate health goal.

In 1974, during a stint in which he began to drink an estimated 3.8 liters (1 gal) of carrot juice daily, Mr. Brown was advised by his doctor that his new health regimen was going to have detrimental effects, such as irreversible damage to his liver. Despite the warning, Mr. Brown kept up his new diet over a period of ten days, drinking over 10,000 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.

True to his doctor’s word, Mr. Brown experienced cirrhosis of the liver, which ultimately killed him. After being autopsied, it was ruled that his overingestion of vitamin A caused toxicity and prompted liver failure.^[5] Mr. Brown also experienced a yellow-orange hue to his skin due to the large amounts of carotene in his system from the carrot juice.

6 Baked In

Performing maintenance work can come with risks, especially when dealing with large, heavy machinery. Being aware of these risks and taking precautions is essential. In 1998, David Mayes and Ian Erickson both believed that the necessary precautions had been taken when they were called in to perform maintenance on a bread-baking oven in the Harvestime Bakieries plant in Leicester. The oven, which was 23 meters (75 ft) long, had not been shut off long enough, however. Instead being deactivated for a full 12 hours before maintenance, the oven had only been shut off for two.

Mayes, 47, and Erickson, 43, entered the oven, only to call through their walkie-talkies moments later that it was too hot inside. Due to there not being an option to reverse the conveyor belt, the men were forced to go through. The temperature in the middle was estimated to still be 100 degrees Celsius (212 °F). It took 17 minutes for the conveyor belt to bring Mr. Erickson out, but Mr. Mayes became trapped in the oven.^[6]

Due to the extent of his burns, Mr. Erikson died in front of his coworkers, and paramedics recovered Mr. Mayes’s body after arriving on the scene. Due to the circumstances of their deaths, a lawsuit was filed, and it was revealed that the management at Harvestime had declined having repairmen come due to the cost and the length of time it would take to repair the oven. Instead, they asked members of their own staff to do so, choosing to have them go in while the oven was still warm so that they didn’t have to wait long for it to reheat and could continue production.

Three executives and the owners of Harvestime all admitted to health and safety offenses and were fined £373,000.

5 Mixed In Dough

Baking at a manufacturing level calls for larger machines, some of which can be dangerous to be around if one is not careful, as illustrated in the previous entry. For Mr. Ng Sew Kuang, the 73-year-old owner of Seng Confectionery in Singapore, what seemed to be a routine procedure ended up being one that cost him his life. In 2018, Mr. Ng was in the middle of making red bean paste for his confections when he apparently fell into a dough-making machine.

The mixer had, unfortunately, been on, and due to the force of the machine, Mr. Ng was crushed to death due inside his mixture. His body was found by his workers, who noticed there was an odd burning smell coming from upstairs.^[7] By the time emergency personnel arrived, however, it was too late, and Mr. Ng had passed away.

Mr. Ng had been working on the second floor since 4:00 AM, as he did every day, making it uncertain when he fell into the mixer exactly, and his death was ruled an unfortunate accident. The bakery, which was next to his daughter’s salon, had been featured in The Straits Times for its traditional creations and baked goods only four years prior.

4 Death By Chocolate

While the name “Death by Chocolate” is most commonly used to describe different types of chocolate dishes or as an expression that can sometimes be thrown around when someone has too much chocolate to eat, for Mr. Vincent Smith Jr., it was a literal description of his untimely death.^[8]

In 2009, Mr. Smith, 29, had recently been hired at Lyons and Sons in Camden, New Jersey, which processes and mixes chocolates. He was standing on top of a platform over a vat of melting chocolate. Mr. Smith had been in charge of adding chocolate into the vat when he apparently slipped and fell in. One of his coworkers saw him fall and ran to the shut-off valve, but Mr. Smith had been hit by one of the paddles inside the vat, which keeps the chocolate moving.

By the time his coworkers got him out of the vat, it was too late, and Mr. Smith was pronounced dead due to being hit by the paddle and pulled under the hot, melting chocolate.

While the fall was ruled accidental by police, it was discovered that the company had been working without the proper permits. Lyons and Sons was then investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over their safety precautions, and the family filed a wrongful death suit.

3 Cooked With Tuna

In the workplace, communication is important, especially when workers may not be aware of each other’s location or progress. In the case of Mr. Jose Melena, who had been repairing the inside of an industrial oven used for the tuna at the Bumble Bee plant in California where he had worked for six years, no one had informed others of his presence inside the oven, leading to his coworker turning it on while he was still inside.

In 2012, 62-year-old Mr. Melena had been assigned to fix some of the chains inside the 11-meter-long (35 ft) oven and was inside when one of his coworkers turned on the oven and then proceeded to dump around 6 tons of tuna inside. Mr. Melena had no means of escape and was cooked inside the 132-degree-Celsius (270 °F) oven along with the tuna for two hours. His coworkers discovered his charred body after they realized his car was still in the parking lot, and he was declared dead by firefighters who arrived on the scene.^[9]

After looking into Mr. Melena’s death, it was found that Bumble Bee hadn’t been reporting their worker injuries, including a severed finger and a fractured skull which had occurred due to safety violations. The company, the plant’s director of operations, and the safety manager were each charged with three felony counts of safety violations causing death. Bumble Bee had to pay over $6 million in damages.

2 Water Intoxication

Drinking the recommended amount of water daily is good for one’s health and skin. However, it is also important to know that drinking too much water can also lead to serious health issues. A mother in California was unaware of the serious consequences which can stem from too much water intake and died after her participation in a radio station’s water-drinking contest in 2007.

Jennifer Strange, 28, had participated in KDND-FM’s contest “Hold Your Wee for a Wii,” in which whoever drank the most water would win a Nintendo Wii. She told other contestants she was doing it for her three kids at home. The competition called for the participants to drink as many water bottles as they could without going to the bathroom. Halfway through the contest, the radio hosts upped the amount of water that needed to be drank.

While some listeners, one being a nurse, called in to warm the radio hosts of the risks of their contest, the concerns were waved off by the hosts, who claimed that that all the contestants had signed releases and proceeded to make jokes about the body being made of mostly water, meaning the contestants would be fine.^[10]

Mrs. Strange was not fine. She quit at second place due to not feeling well, telling one of the radio hosts that she was in pain. Mrs. Strange is said to have drank around 7.6 liters (2 gal) of water in three hours, causing her to become bloated to the point that one of the radio hosts mentioned she looked pregnant. After calling sick into work, Mrs. Strange went home and was found dead in her bathroom just hours after her participation in the contest. The cause of her death was determined to be water intoxication.

Her husband sued the radio station. It was discovered that the contest was not approved or even sent to the station’s legal department for review and that no warning was provided to the contestants over the risks involved in the contest itself, though contestants were told to quit if they felt ill.

The jury sided with Mr. Strange, finding that Entercom Sacramento LLC was liable for Mrs. Strange’s death and owed the family $16.5 million. Ten radio station employees were fired after the event, three of whom were the hosts from the morning’s competition.

1 Over-Caffeinated

In 2010, a New Zealand mother’s constant consumption of Coca-Cola resulted in sudden cardiac arrest, which killed her. Natasha Harris, 30 years old, was known for her love of the soda, consuming a large amount every day from the time she woke up to before she went to sleep. Her husband estimated that his wife’s intake totaled around 10 liters (2.6 gal) of Coca-Cola daily.

The amount of cola she drank contained 11 times the recommended amount of sugar one should be having daily and twice the amount of caffeine that can be safely ingested. Mrs. Harris had been suffering from nausea, fatigue, and various symptoms the week before her death, though both she and her family believed it was due to her being stressed.

Mrs. Harris’s addiction to Coca-Cola was not only a severe problem for her, as she experienced withdrawal symptoms when she was not able to have access to the beverage and had previously undergone dental surgery to have teeth removed due to her soda intake, but to her children as well. At least one of her eight kids was born without tooth enamel, a condition attributed to her Coke-drinking.^[11]

While Coca-Cola was determined not to be responsible for Mrs. Harris’s death, many called for the company to put better warning labels on their products.

When we read about catastrophes, food is usually the last cause we think of. Natural disasters such as fires, floods, cyclones, and tsunamis usually come to mind, or there’s the suffering brought on by drought, war, and famine. Industrial disasters have also been fairly common throughout history, from early factory fires and accidental encounters with dangerous equipment to toxic chemical spills in modern industry.

However, you may not have known that food manufacture can sometimes be a dangerous business. Many of our most common foods are capable of going off with quite a bang under the wrong conditions. Did you know that we have had fires, floods, and explosions caused by some of our most seemingly innocent foodstuffs?

10 London Beer Flood

A tsunami of beer may seem like an ale-lover’s dream, something that might even be joked about around the bar. However, it was no laughing matter for residents in one of London’s poorest districts in 1814, when they were inundated with a river of ale.

On October 17 of that year, a vat of beer in the Meux and Co. Brewery suddenly burst when one of the metal rings securing it failed. This sparked a bizarre chain reaction. The vat then toppled surrounding beer kegs, releasing over 1.47 million liters (388,000 gal) of beer into the surrounding neighborhood.

The huge tsunami of ale rushed through the brewery wall, drowning a waiter in the adjoining tavern before flowing down Great Russell Street. While some locals reportedly rushed to enjoy their “free pint,” surrounding homes were extensively damaged. A further seven people were killed in the tidal wave of beer that flooded the area.^[1] Most fatalities occurred in a small lane behind the brewery, where residents were trapped by the oncoming rush of beer.

The coroner’s report declared the accident a natural, if not somewhat bizarre, disaster.

9 Boston’s Great Molasses Flood

Residents in a Boston neighborhood met with a sticky end in 1919 following an accident at the Purity Distilling Company plant. Unusually warm temperatures caused an 8.7-million-liter (2.3 million gal) tank of molasses to buckle and explode. As the sugary mess flooded from the factory, surrounding buildings were swept away. The flood killed 21 people and injured 150, according to news reports at the time.

A number of buildings were damaged in the initial explosion, and others were damaged by the wave of molasses, adding their debris to the sticky flood, which eventually flowed into the harbor. The explosion was so strong that a section of the nearby Boston Railway was damaged when debris landed on the lines. There were reports that the sickly sweet smell of molasses pervaded the area for months to come.

Investigations concluded that the combination of a defect in the storage tank and the warm weather had caused the explosion. Today, a plaque on Commercial Street commemorates the bizarre disaster.^[2]

8 Fruit Juice Flood

When agricultural prices are low, markets can be flooded with fruit. Farmers often sell their produce for pulp to be made into juice. However, a Russian town was literally inundated with fruit juice following a warehouse accident in 2017.

The roof of the beverage manufacturing plant in the small town of Lebedyan collapsed, injuring two workers. Stocks of packaged fruit juices held in the warehouse were damaged as the roof caved in on the factory. As rescuers attempted to clear the wreckage, several tons of mixed juice stored in the warehouse escaped, flooding the town.^[3]

Attempts to contain the sticky torrent of liquid flowing through the streets proved fruitless. The river of juice eventually seeped into the River Don. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the accident. The workers trapped inside the building were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

7 Tapioca Tanker Disaster

In 1972, a Swiss freighter narrowly avoided sinking after accidentally cooking the world’s largest tapioca pudding in its hull. The Cassarate was transporting a mixed cargo of lumber and grains when a fire broke out in the timber decks in the upper holds. For 25 days, the crews watered the smoldering flames in an attempt to contain the fire.

However, the water seeped into the lower decks, where the cargo of tapioca was held. The water from firefighting efforts, combined with the heat from the blaze, effectively “cooked” the tapioca into a dessert large enough to feed a million people. This caused the grain to swell, threatening to burst the ship’s hull at the seams.

The tanker made an emergency docking in Cardiff, Wales. Here, firefighters continued to control the lumber blaze, before pondering the question of what to do with the 500 truckloads of tapioca pudding.^[4]

6 Glasgow Distillery Fire

The quality of whiskey was once tested by its flammability. However, this very quality caused one of the worst disasters in modern Scottish history. A Glasgow distillery fire in 1960 saw huge vats of pure alcohol exploding like bombs, showering the surrounding area with debris. As the alcohol-fueled fire raged out of control, blue flames could be from everywhere in the city.

The Arbuckle, Smith, and Co. Limited warehouse on Cheapside Street held over 3.8 million liters (one million gal) of whiskey and over 117,000 liters (31,000 gal) of proof rum. When a fire broke out in the warehouse, the highly flammable alcohol exploded, with the fire destroying a nearby tobacco warehouse and several other buildings.^[5]

Over 400 firefighters were called to the scene, which was described as Britain’s worst peacetime fire. As the walls of the bond store continued to collapse, 19 firefighters were killed attempting to control the blaze, which took a week to contain.

5 Norwegian Goat Cheese Fire

Cheese seems like a fairly harmless food, but you may want to be aware of its flammable qualities the next time you are melting cheese on toast. Its combustible properties were put on spectacular show during a Norwegian truck accident.

In 2013, a truckload of Brunost cheese was being driven through the a tunnel in Tysfjord in Northern Norway. The truck driver noticed a fire at the rear of the truck, abandoning his load around 300 meters (1,000 ft) into the tunnel. The high sugar and fat content in the brown cheese caused it to burn “almost like petrol,” sending toxic fumes through the tunnel.^[6]

Emergency services were forced to wait until the toxic, cheesy fumes subsided before they could begin recovery operations. The tunnel was closed for several weeks due to damage caused by the bizarre cheese fire.

4 Washburn A Mill Fire

In 1878, residents in Minneapolis were rocked by a massive “flour bomb” as an explosion at a flour mill shook the town, killing 18 mill workers. Fire broke out in the basement of the Washburn A flour mill, the town’s major employer. An eyewitness account at the time tells of watching the fire progressively light up one floor of the seven-story building at a time. Before long, the massive stone building was reduced to a pile of rubble.

The fire broke out during a shift change, with workers having no time to evacuate before the flour ignited, setting off a series of blasts. It took only a matter of minutes for the explosive flour fire to obliterate the building and send debris flying, destroying surrounding mills and killing four more people. Due to the intensity of the explosions, residents in surrounding towns feared an earthquake had occurred.

A coroner’s report concluded that highly combustible flour dust had fueled the explosions.^[7]

3 Hawaiian Molasses Spill

While no one was killed in Hawaii’s brush with molasses, it still caused a sticky environmental issue.

Sugarcane plantations surrounding Honolulu send their produce to be processed and sent to the mainland for sale. In 2013, a leak occurred in a pipeline which was carrying molasses from the sugarcane processing plants to cargo ships waiting in Honolulu Harbor. Over 871,000 liters (230,000 gal) of molasses seeped into the harbor, causing an environmental issue similar to a major oil spill.^[8]

Thousands of fish and other marine life began suffocating in the sticky mess. Luckily, the spill proved simpler to rectify than an oil spill. Unlike oil, sugar is soluble in water, so the sticky mess eventually dissipated, and the water quality in the harbor returned to normal.

2 German Chocolate Flood

Streets paved with chocolate seem like something straight from a fairy tale. However, it was a reality for residents of the small German town of Westonnen in December 2018.

In a scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, a vat of liquid chocolate in the DreiMeister factory overflowed. Over a metric ton of molten chocolate flowed like a river down the street, solidifying quickly in the brisk winter air. Resident chocolate-lovers were held back from the scene to allow workers a sweet break to clear the hazard.

Roads were closed for several hours as cleanup crews worked with shovels and blowtorches to remove the solidified chocolate from the roadway. Unlike Hansel and Gretel, they were not encouraged to break off a piece of the candy to have a taste. The manufacturer was quick to reassure customers that the incident wouldn’t affect the availability of chocolate for Christmas.^[9]

1 Gunnedah Pet Food Explosion

A series of explosions in an Australian pet food manufacturing plant caused in excess of AUD $10 million worth of damage in 2003.

Residents in the rural town of Gunnedah thought they were experiencing an earthquake when a series of explosions shook the town late one night. A boiler explosion in the nearby pet food plant was felt up to 20 kilometers (12 mi) away. More than 30 homes and ten other buildings within the vicinity of the factory were damaged. Windows shattered in the blast, damage was caused by flying debris, and the scene was described as “a war zone.”^[10]

Residents reported seeing a mushroom cloud over the plant as the wheat dust used in production caught fire. LPG gas cylinders within the plant continued to ignite, causing ongoing explosions throughout the night as emergency crews evacuated residents and fought to bring the situation under control.

Fortunately, there were no casualties in the explosions, although the building was quickly reduced to a twisted mess of metal girders.

Lesley Connor is a retired Australian newspaper editor, providing stories for online publications and her travel blog.

Everyone makes mistakes, so the saying goes. The problem is that the word “mistake” doesn’t hold a lot of meaning. Sure, it means something wrong happened but you get no sense of gravity. Dropping your toast butter side down is a mistake, but so is forgetting to place a seal on a rocket ship that causes it to explode. Some mistakes can be quite a bit costlier than others. 

10. Lou Reed Got All Royalties From A Tribe Called Quest’s Hit Can I Kick It

If you don’t know Lou Reed you’re missing out on one of the greats in the history of music. The Velvet Underground frontman was a singer, songwriter, and inspiration to countless others. He was also never shy about sharing his thoughts. 

In 1990, A Tribe Called Quest released a track called Can I Kick It, which is still one of their most memorable hits. But there was a problem with it. The group sampled a lot of music in the production of the song and one of the things they sampled was Lou Reed’s bass line from the song Walk on the Wild Side. And they never asked Lou Reed for permission. 

The record label didn’t clear the rights and when Reed found out, he didn’t deny them access to it. He simply told them they’d have to pay. A Tribe Called Quest never received a dime in royalties from the song as a result, all of it going to Reed instead thanks to the label’s mistake. 

9. US Forces Accidentally Built a Fort in Canada

A lot can go wrong in the world of construction. One of the credo’s for any carpenter is measure twice and cut once. You really need to be sure what you’re doing. But you also need to make sure you have the where down as well, or all the expert craftsmanship in the world won’t save you.

The border between the United States and Canada is one of the longest in the world and, for the most part, the neighbors get along well with this arrangement. It’s almost a straight line from one coats to the other but there are a few wonky bits, especially around the Great Lakes and up to the east coast. This ended up contributing to the shameful story of Fort Blunder.

Originally called Fort Montgomery, this US military base was built in 1816 in an effort to ensure another Battle of 1812 wasn’t on the horizon. It was to have 30 foot high walls and overlook Lake Champlain where it could prevent another British invasion.

The problem was that the maps were not read correctly, and the fort was built a mile into Canadian territory instead of on American soil. It wouldn’t be until sometime in the 1840s when Britain and the US reached a firm agreement on borders that Canada lost a little land and the fort was given back to the US with a small tweak to maps. 

8. Crypto.com Accidentally Refunded Someone Over $10 Million

Remember Monopoly? One of the Community Chest cards you could get in the game awarded you $200 thanks to a bank error in your favor. As kids, many of us hoped to one day be on the receiving end of such a blessed mistake. 

In real life, bank errors are few and far between and they are rarely in your favor. Even if they seem to be in your favor, legally the money still isn’t yours and those who have benefitted from them in the past had to give it back. But what about a cryptocurrency exchange? 

A woman who was looking for a $100 refund on Crypto.com ended up having $10.5 million refunded instead. As one would expect, she immediately went out and spent a lot. She even bought a house that cost $1.35 million.

How did such a mistake occur? Following an audit a full seven months later, the website realized that someone had entered an account number in the payment section by mistake. That oversight led to an epic spending spree.

The site ended up suing the woman and the Supreme Court in Australia froze her accounts and ordered her to sell the house and return the cash. 

7. Soccer Fans Keep Mixing Up Bucharest and Budapest

Geography is not everyone’s strong suit, especially beyond the borders of where they live. Surveys have revealed geographic illiteracy is a huge problem worldwide. For the most part this may never affect you in your day-to-day life, but it might if you find yourself booking flights to places you don’t want to go.

In Europe there seems to be a pervasive issue in understanding the difference between Budapest and Bucharest. Budapest is in central Hungary. Bucharest is in Romania. They’re about 400 miles apart.

Back in 2012, over 400 Spanish fans who planned to watch their team play in a Europa League soccer game loaded up on planes and flew to Budapest to see the match. When they got there, they discovered the game was being played in Bucharest. 

In 2021, French fans did the same thing in reverse when they arrived in Bucharest for a game that was being played in Budapest, proving no one reads maps or names very well before booking plane tickets. 

6. Astronaut Alan Bean Ruined Apollo 12’s Camera

Everyone and their uncle uses a cell phone to take pictures nowadays but back in the day, you needed a “real” camera. Once upon a time that meant using film, something very rare these days. Part of the reason is that film can be a fickle media. You can’t just keep taking dozens of pictures with film because you run out. It needs to be developed, handled carefully, stored properly, all that jazz. You also want to not point any of it directly at the sun, especially if you’re in a place with no atmosphere.

When Apollo 12 was headed to the moon for our second visit, there was a lot less pressure on the whole mission. There was still interest, but it waned when everyone on Earth realized they wouldn’t be able to watch. That was all thanks to a mistake by astronaut Alan Bean.

As you can imagine, camera equipment being sent in space to document a moon landing in full color was sensitive and expensive. Bean, not fully appreciative of this, ended up pointing the camera directly at the sun. With no atmospheric filter of any kind, the sun destroyed the camera pretty quickly, reducing the trip to an audio-only affair and dampening enthusiasm the world over.  By the time crews returned for Apollo 14, networks literally cut away from coverage to put soap operas on.

5. NASA Accidentally Sold a Bag That Had Been on the Moon

One of the most exciting things that can happen on a shopping trip is finding a mis-priced item. Most stores follow a rule where they will sell it to you for the price on the label, even if the label is a mistake and you’re getting a great deal. But not every sale follows those rules.

In 2015, a government auction on eBay included a small white bag. A woman in Illinois bought it for just under $1,000. The bag was from NASA and it had been to space. But there had been a mixup and the bag that was sold had been up in Apollo 11 and had actually been used to collect the first samples of moon dust. It was supposed to have been one from Apollo 17 that went to space but never left the lander.

When the new owner of the bag sent it to NASA to confirm it was real, she trusted that they’d confirm or deny and send it back. They did not. Instead, they kept the bag and told her it was sold in error and that it “belonged to the American people.” They offered her a refund instead.

A lawsuit resulted from the disagreement and a judge ruled in the woman’s favor. She ended up selling it at auction in 2017 for $1.8 million.

4. A Boy Tripped and Punched a Hole in a $1.5 Million Painting

The comedy pratfall has been a staple of laughing at other people’s pain for generations. Everyone loves watching someone else fall down. But sometimes a person goes above and beyond in their tomfoolery and doesn’t just trip, they trip epically. Such was the case for a 12-year-old schoolboy in Taipei who was visiting the local museum.

In 2015, the Huashan 1914 creative arts center had a Da Vinci-inspired exhibit which featured a 17th-century painting called Flowers by Paolo Porpora. As the boy was approaching the painting he tripped and, as most people would, he put his hands out to try to catch himself. Unfortunately, that ended with him putting his hand right through the $1.5 million painting.

A few anxiety attacks later the boy was mostly let off the hook since insurance would cover the restoration damage, but it was a valuable lesson for all in the importance of keeping art either behind glass or at least a velvet rope.

3. Steve Rothstein Cost American Airlines $21 Million in Unlimited Flights

History is rife with tales of companies trying to run clever promos that backfired, like when Red Lobster underestimated the cost of an endless crab promo that cost the boss her job and cost the business hundreds of millions. 

American Airlines made the same mistake by offering an unlimited flight promo for $250,000. They must have thought anyone who took up the offer would not take $250,000 worth of flights, or at least not much more. But they did not see Steve Rothstein coming.

Rothstein bought his pass and proceeded to clock more than 10,000 flights. He flew friends to Europe; he flew strangers home, he’d even fly out on business trips in the morning and be home on a new flight for dinner, all first class. Sometimes he’d fly to another city just for a sandwich he liked.

The cost to American Airlines was estimated at $21 million. The company finally canceled his unlimited pass on the grounds of fraud. Because Rothstein sometimes invited strangers to fly with him, he’d book his companion seat under made up names because he didn’t know who was coming with him. The airline claimed that as the reason to terminate his ticket. 

2. William Shanks Wasted years Incorrectly Calculating Pi by Hand

Everyone’s favorite irrational number pi has been calculated to over 100 trillion digits. Thank computers for that. But before computers, mathematicians were doing it the old-fashioned way with pen and paper and it was not easy. Just ask William Shanks.

Shanks was born in 1812 when pi had only been calculated to 152 digits. By 1873, Shanks had devoted years of his life to unraveling the number and had reached 707 digits. Keep in mind that, prior to computers, calculating a new digit in pi could take days or even weeks of work.

It would be decades later when another mathematician, going over Shanks’ work, discovered he had miscalculated at digit 527. The end result was years of work being rendered useless.

1. Andres Escobar Was Killed For Scoring a Goal on His Own Team

Professional athletes are under a lot of scrutiny at the best of times and rabid fans will turn on someone at the drop of a hat if they feel they are underperforming. You can imagine how bad the reaction might be if a player were to accidentally score a point for the opposing team,then. Or maybe you can’t, since this one’s almost unbelievable.

In 1994, Andrés Escobar accidentally scored a goal against his own team during the World Cup. Escobar, previously a popular and skilled player, just screwed up. The goal cost them the match and dropped them from the competition. Colombian fans were beyond enraged. 

Just over a week after the game, a group of men attacked Escobar on the street, at first mocking and insulting him for what he did. Then things escalated. One of the men pulled a gun and shot him six times in his car. 

Officials believed the killer, the bodyguard for some drug traffickers, had been paid to kill Escobar because his bosses lost money on the match, but that was never proven.