The ancient practice of single combat is as old as war itself. It is defined as a duel between two single warriors, which typically takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. These duels sometimes served as a way to prevent extensive loss of life, with the winner’s side being granted victory. However, single combat could also occur in the midst of battle between two agreeing warriors. These fights were almost always to the death.

The reasons for engaging in these dangerous duels are varied. Some looked to win power or glory, while others looked to spare the lives of their fellow soldiers. Some simply fought out of necessity. Here, we will look at some of these dramatic duels.

10 John Smith

John Smith is well-known for establishing Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America. However, what many don’t know is that Smith had quite an extraordinary life before he set sail for the New World. For several years before his famous voyage, he worked as a mercenary, fighting in a number of conflicts all over Europe.

While fighting against the Turks in Transylvania during the siege of Alba Iulia, Smith engaged in three duels. They came about when a Turkish officer called for a Christian officer to fight him in single combat. Smith responded to the challenge, and the two met in the no man’s land, where Smith quickly defeated the Turkish officer. Two more duels came afterward, one in which pistols were used and another in which battle-axes were used. Smith won all three and beheaded each of his opponents.

For his success in single combat, Smith was knighted by the Transylvanian prince, and the emblem of the “three Turkish heads” was bestowed upon him.

9 Ben Jonson And Gabriel Spenser

John Smith wasn’t the only famous Brit to have taken part in single combat. In 1598, Ben Jonson, a playwright, actor, and friend of Shakespeare, dueled fellow actor Gabriel Spenser. The duel took place on September 22 in the fields of Shoreditch. The particular reason for the duel remains unknown.

The duel was fought with swords, and Jonson killed Spenser with a stab to the right side. Duels of this nature were common at the time. Jonson was arrested for manslaughter and faced hanging, but he escaped by pleading “for benefit of clergy,” which placed people who could read outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts.

8 Robert The Bruce And Henry De Bohun

In 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, the Scottish army, led by Robert the Bruce, king of the Scots, faced off against a formidable English force in a fight for Scottish independence. On the first day of battle, an English knight named Henry de Bohun (nephew of the earl of Hereford) saw the Scottish king exposed and decided to charge. The single combat which ensued was witnessed by both armies.

Bohun had a larger horse and a lance, and he believed he had the advantage. However, at the last second, Robert maneuvered his horse out of the way of Bohun’s charge and struck him with his axe so hard that he split Bohun’s helmet and head down the middle. This thrilled the Scots and demoralized the English, who retreated the next day. The blow was apparently so hard that it broke Robert’s axe, and all he could be heard saying in the aftermath was, “I have broken my good axe.”

7 Marcus Marcellus And Viridomarus

Marcus Marcellus was a Roman consul and general, well-known for his aggressive military tactics on the battlefield. He fought in the Punic Wars against the Carthaginians and was also instrumental in capturing the fortified city of Syracuse. However, he is most known for defeating the Gallic king Viridomarus at the Battle of Clastidium in 222 BC.

According to the Roman historian Plutarch, the two recognized each other on the battlefield due to their distinctive and ornate armor. The two were both on horseback and charged at one another. Marcellus struck Viridomarus with his spear, knocking the king from his horse. He quickly finished the job with a few more blows.

Subsequently, the two armies engaged each other, and the Gauls were defeated in a pitched battle. After defeating Viridomarus in combat, Marcellus took the man’s armor as spolia opima. This was recognized as the most honorable war trophy a general could obtain. Only two other Romans were ever able to attain spolia opima.

6 Marcus Licinius Crassus And King Deldo

Marcus Licinius Crassus was the grandson of Crassus, who was a member of the first triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Pompey. Although not as known, he was an accomplished military and political leader in his time. Under the rule of Octavian Augustus, the younger Crassus was key in expanding the new empire’s borders. One of his greatest achievements came when he was sent to Thrace to halt an invasion of Bastarnae tribesmen around 29 BC.

During this campaign, Crassus tricked the Bastarnae army into an ambush, in which he killed their king, Deldo, in single combat. The Bastarnae army was subsequently routed. For this heroic deed, Crassus should have been able to claim spolia opima, but Augustus, fearing that granting him this honor would put Crassus in a position to challenge his own political power, refused to allow it.

5 Kumagai Naozane And Taira No Atsumori

One of the most famous stories in Japanese culture is that of Kumagai Naozane and Taira no Atsumori. Taira no Astumori was a warrior of the Taira clan, which went to war with the Minamoto clan, which the samurai Kumagai Naozane belonged to, in 1180. The war, known as the Gempei War, lasted five years and saw the fall of the Taira clan and the rise of the Minamoto clan to power.

In the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani in 1184, the two warriors faced each other in single combat. According to the story, Taira was swimming toward a friendly boat, which was going to carry him to safety after the Taira forces had been routed by the Minamoto, when Kumagai called for him to come back and fight. Taira accepted this challenge. The two grappled on the beach, with Kumagai eventually defeating Taira, knocking his helmet off in the process.

When Kumagai did this, he realized that Taira was merely a boy of about 17. Kumagai had a son of the same age and did not want to kill the boy, so he asked Taira to give his name so that he could spare him. Taira (a noble) knew this was a breach of the Japanese code of honor and refused, instead saying, “Just take my head and be quick about it.” Kumagai did so but felt horrible about it.

Later in life, Kumagai renounced the samurai way of life and became a Buddhist monk. Many contend that his killing of Taira was the reason.

4 Prince Mstislav And Prince Rededya

Mstislav was a Russian prince and son of Vladimir the Great. He lived in the 11th century. During his time, he invaded and conquered many other territories and helped to spread Christianity to Russia. He is best known for his duel with Rededya, prince of the Circassian tribe. The two princes were locked in a state of war, when in an attempt to limit bloodshed, Rededya proposed that the matter be settled in single combat. Mstislav agreed, and it was decided that the two would wrestle, with the losing party accepting defeat in the war.

The fight began and lasted several hours until Mstislav seemed to be on the verge of defeat. According to legend, Mstislav prayed to the Virgin Mary for assistance and pledged to build a church in her honor if he won. Moments later, Mstislav pulled out a dagger and stabbed Rededya, killing him. This was a breach in the honor code of the duel, but Rededya’s tribe submitted to Mstislav and his men anyway. Staying true to his pledge, Mstislav built a church and dedicated it to Mary.

3 Miyamoto Musashi And Sasaki Kojiro

Miyamoto Musashi is arguably the best swordsmen who ever lived. He won over 60 duels in Japan and often preferred to use two swords at once. His greatest test came when he dueled another skilled master, Sasaki Kojiro, in 1612. Known as “the Demon of the Western Provinces,” Sasaki was a formidable adversary who specialized in using the no-dachi, a large, two-handed sword.

The two decided they would fight on the remote Ganryu Island. Miyamoto arrived several hours late in an attempt to physiologically disturb his foe. He brought with him a wooden sword, which he had carved out of an oar on the way over. Sasaki was so enraged that he almost immediately attacked Miyamoto. However, Sasaki proved to be no match for Miyamoto, who quickly dispatched Sasaki with a strike to the ribs, which punctured his lung and killed him. Miyamoto quickly returned to his boat and left the island in order to escape Sasaki’s angry followers.

This duel essentially cemented Miyamoto Musashi’s status as the greatest swordsman in Japan. He later became a relatively successful painter and writer.

2 Iron Herman And Guy Of Steenvoorde

On March 2, 1127, Charles, the Count of Flanders, was murdered. It was discovered that there were a number of conspirators in on the plot. One knight, Guy of Steenvoorde, was accused of being involved but maintained his innocence. Not convinced, another knight known as Iron Herman challenged Guy to a duel. Galbert of Bruges gave an account of the duel.

The two began on horseback, but Herman was knocked off his horse. Herman then killed Guy’s horse, and the two were left on their feet, swords drawn. According to Bruges, “A continuous and bitter encounter followed with exchanges of sword blows, until, worn out by the weight and burden of their arms, they threw away their shields and hastened to win the fight with their strength in wrestling.”

Now fighting with their bare hands, Guy finally gained the advantage and pinned Herman down. However in a last-second fit of strength, Herman threw Guy off. Guy subsequently admitted defeat. In the eyes of those watching the duel, Guy’s defeat was evidence of his guilt in the plot, and he was quickly hanged.

1 King Naresuan And Prince Mingyi Swa

In 1592 (or 1593), we witness one of the most epic duels of all time, between the Siamese king Naresuan and Burmese prince Mingyi Swa. Not only was it a duel between two members of royalty in the midst of a battle, but the two were also on the backs of war elephants. The duel occurred at Nong Sarai, a battle fought during the Burmese-Siamese Wars.

According to accounts given, Naresuan rode forth and challenged Mingyi to a duel, coaxing him into accepting it by shaming him. Once the prince accepted, the two, both on the backs of their war elephants and with their crews (necessary to control the animals), engaged one another. They exchanged strikes, and Mingyi narrowly missed Naresuan, who eventually landed a blow with his sword, cutting into Mingyi’s shoulder and killing him. It should be noted that there are number of different accounts of this battle.

The duel became known as the “elephant duel” and is considered an important aspect of Thai history. Today, King Naresuan is considered one of the greatest Thai heroes, and Royal Thai Armed Forces Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the duel.

Brad is currently a student at Fordham University. He can be reached at [email protected].

There are some actors who have done some amazing things over the years, playing incredible roles, doing their own stunts, or just cranking out a lot of movies over their lifetime. As with anything else in the world, if you can be the only person to have ever done something, that unique status can be considered pretty cool. It’s doubtful any actors set out to accomplish these specific goals, but inevitably there’s always going to be one person who is the only person to have done a thing, at least until someone else does it, assuming that’s at all possible. For now, these are the only actors who have achieved these remarkable accomplishments.

10. Anthony Daniels is the Only Actor in all 9 Star Wars Movies

The very first Star Wars movie came out in the year 1977. It was followed by two sequels in the early ’80s. The prequel trilogy premiered in 1999. The sequel trilogy began in 2015 and the final film, Rise of Skywalker, came out in 2019. That means the Star Wars film saga has been going for 42 years. And in that time, across 9 feature films in the central storyline, only one actor appeared in every single one – Anthony Daniels.

Anthony Daniels plays C-3PO, and he’s literally the man inside the suit.  When he first got the role, he assumed it was going to be a one and done kind of deal until the producers came back to him with an idea for a sequel and then another sequel. He went on to play C-3PO in the Rogue one movie, and he’s voiced him in several animated projects, and even appeared on The Muppets at C-3PO. He lent his voice to Star Wars rides at Disney World, and has done commercials and other promotional projects in character as well.

9. Sylvester Stallone Is The Only Actor To Have a Number One Movie Six Decades in a Row

Sylvester Stallone has been a versatile force in Hollywood for decades now. On screen, some of his early roles made audiences think he was sort of a big, dumb muscle man. But it’s worth remembering he was the writer behind Rocky and won an Academy Award for that. He’s actually done quite a bit of writing work over the years in addition to his acting. 

While not all of his movies have been award winners, they are often very popular. Because of that, and because of the length of his career, Sylvester Stallone is actually the only actor who’s had a number one movie in each of six different decades. 

The movie Rocky premiered in 1976 and made $225 million at the box office. Not a big deal today but adjusted for inflation that’s over $1 billion, so definitely a hit.

In the ’80s Stallone made a killing and more than one film hit number one including both Rocky and Rambo films. In the ’90s he scored big with the movie Cliffhanger and then later with Demolition Man and Cop Land.

The 2001 movie Driven topped the box office, giving him his first hit of the new millennium. In 2010 he released The Expendables, which spawned another franchise and also hit number one, and finally in 2021 he clinched the sixth decade when Suicide Squad, in which he plays King Shark, hit number one, and he’s added to that with 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 

8. Oscar Isaac is the Only Actor to Have the Marvel Triple Crown

Being in a comic book movie is a rite of passage these days. Very few actors of renown have not appeared in a movie for either Marvel or DC at this point. There are a couple of actors who have had some crossover and appeared in both Marvel and DC properties. Ryan Reynolds has been Deadpool in Marvel as well as the Green Lantern for DC. Chris Evans played the Human Torch as well as Captain America. But Oscar Isaac is the only actor who has tripled down on Marvel.

While the MCU is the juggernaut of the Marvel universe, it’s not the only place to get movies based on Marvel characters. Because of various contracts and rights issues over the years, Marvel has been split up in some unusual ways. Sony has the rights to Spider-Man and his associated characters. For a long time Fox had the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, although those now belong to Disney. And the rest falls under the Disney and Marvel merger that created the MCU.

Oscar Isaac joined the MCU when he played Moon Knight on the Disney Plus series. Prior to that he was in the Fox Marvel movies when he played Apocalypse in the X-Men franchise. In 2023, Isaac finished his Marvel domination by playing Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (after a post-credits cameo as the character in Into the Spider-Verse). 

7. Will Smith Had 8 Consecutive Films Gross Over $100 Million

There are plenty of ways to define success as an actor, but for many people, especially the people who are getting paid by movies, box office is the be all and the end all. Some stars are generally understood to be bankable. That means that you can count on them to make a lot of money because of how popular they are. For a good deal of time, one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood was Will Smith. 

As a leading man Will Smith has pulled in over $6.5 billion at the box office in his career. That makes him the 9th most profitable leading man in Hollywood. But he does hold a distinction no one else has, and that’s starring in 8 films in a row that all grossed over $100 million domestically. If you go international, he actually had 10 in a row top $150 million.

When top movies make over $1 billion these days, that doesn’t sound like a lot. But for an actor to do 8 in a row is unheard of. Actors often shake up their routine with smaller movies that don’t make as much money, or they’ll just find themselves in a dud that bombs at the box office. 

6. Jonathan Freeman Voiced Jafar in Aladdin the Movie and on Broadway

There have been occasions in the past when an actor has played the same character on screen as they have played on stage, or vice versa. Jonathan Freeman seems to be the only actor who has transitioned a character from an animated film onto the stage.

Freeman was the voice of Jafar in the original Aladdin movie back in 1992. When the cartoon was adapted to Broadway, he played the character on stage giving it a little more authenticity since the voice was exactly the same.

Freeman has voiced Jafar in more than one animated film, as well as video games and theme park rides. All told, Freeman had been voicing the character for about 30 years in various media. 

5. Bernard Hill Is the Only Actor To Star in More Than One Film That Won 11 Oscars 

Every once in a while a movie comes out that is so beloved across the board that, when award season shows up, it seems to sweep nearly every category. Both Ben Hur and Titanic received multiple Academy Award nominations when they were released, with Ben Hur getting 12 of a potential 15 nominations and Titanic getting 14 of a potential 17. And even with all those nominations, scoring wins for most of this is no easy task.

All told, only three films have won 11 Oscars and none have won more. The two previously mentioned and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. And Bernard Hill is the only actor to have starred in more than one.

Hill played the character of King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He also played Captain Edward J. Smith in Titanic. You certainly can’t attribute the overwhelming success of both films to Hill alone, but the fact remains no other actor has been in as many highly awarded films to date.

4. Tom Hanks is the Only Actor In the Army Rangers Hall of Fame 

Back in the year 2013 actor Tom Hanks was voted the most trusted person in America. This was based solely on the persona that he has in movies. People like Tom Hanks because he seems like a good guy. The effects the characters he plays in movies has on people goes far beyond just convincing everyone he’s trustworthy. Nothing serves as a better example of this than the fact that the Army Rangers inducted Tom Hanks into their Hall of Fame strictly because of his work in movies. He’s the only actor who has ever been inducted to the Army Ranger Hall of fame.

Hanks received the honor as a result of his work in the film Saving Private Ryan, as well as for his commitment to honoring those who served in war. 

3. Kelsey Grammer Was Emmy Nominated for Playing the Same Character on Three Shows

If comic book movies have taught us anything it’s that actors love seeing crossovers with characters from other films. But comic books didn’t hold exclusive rights to this idea. Over the years, TV shows have flirted with crossovers to keep audiences interested and sometimes your favorite characters would appear on someone else’s show for an episode or two.

In the history of television, Kelsey Grammer is the only actor who has been nominated for his portrayal of one character but on three different shows. Grammer made a career out of playing Dr. Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist who first appeared frequenting the bar Cheers back in the 1980s. That was where Grammer received his first Emmy nomination.

Crane was such a hit that NBC gave him his own show. On Frasier, Grammer went on to receive more Emmy nominations and while it seems like it should end there, it doesn’t. He also did a guest spot on the NBC show Wings where he played the doctor and that was also nominated for an Emmy.

2. John Cazale is the Only Actor Whose Entire Filmography Was Nominated for Best Picture

If you use award nominations as a metric for the talent of an actor, then an actor who has been in nothing but movies nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards might be considered one of the best actors ever. Most of the actors that are considered the best in the world, those who have received multiple awards for their skill over the years, can’t claim to have been in nothing but Best Picture nominees. In fact, only one actor can make that claim. His name is John Cazale.

John Cazale starred in 5 movies over 7 years. That was the full length of his career. But if an actor was only going to work for that long on so few films, then they could make no better choices than Cazale did. He starred in The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather II, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter. Both Godfathers and The Deer Hunter won Best Picture while The Conversation and Dog Day Afternoon were nominated.

In addition to only starring in Best Picture nominees, Cazale is the only actor whose entire filmography was chosen by the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.

Cazale had been diagnosed with cancer while filming The Deer Hunter and passed away before it was released.

1. James Dean Is The Only Actor To Get More Than One Posthumous Oscar Nomination

Getting a posthumous Oscar nomination is not as rare as you might think. A fair number of actors and filmmakers have received nominations after they unfortunately passed away, and 16 of them actually ended up winning. Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight is one of the most famous cases of this happening. 

The first actor to ever receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination was James Dean. As famous as James Dean is, and his legacy lives on today, nearly 70 years after his death, it’s surprising to remember that Dean only starred in three movies.

Not only was Dean the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for his work in the movie East of Eden, he became the only actor in history to be nominated for two Academy Awards posthumously when he was nominated the following year for the film Giant.

In 1913, French agricultural engineer Max Ringelmann studied people playing tug of war. His studies resulted in the observation of the Ringelmann Effect. It posits that the more individuals or groups are involved in an action, the less effort exerted by any individual unit. After all, there’s less blame that will be put on any specific unit in the event of failure, and less credit in success. Not to mention more infighting, confusion, chokepoints, bottlenecks, and so on. As we’ll see, Ringelmann’s Effect can definitely be a valid principle. 

For the purposes of this list, the largest unit covered will be a “brigade.” In the army, a brigade is a collection of regiments (usually around four). A regiment is a group of battalions (often two) and a battalion is a group of companies, and companies are generally around 100 troops. As we’ll also see, sometimes a company is a much larger group of soldiers than what is needed to change the course of a battle, and with it, often history.   

10. The 303rd Squadron

Despite the fact the nation of Poland surrendered less than a month after Germany invaded on September 1, 1939, that was by no means the end of Polish military involvement in the Second World War. In August 1940, the 303rd Squadron was formed out of refugee pilots from the 1st Police Air Force Regiment that gathered in Blackpool, England. Trained on outmoded planes back in Poland, they took to their Hawker Hurricanes with such vigor that they shot to the top of the Royal Air Force ranking for the Battle of Britain and stayed there for essentially the duration of the war, shooting down three times the number of enemy planes for an average RAF squadron while suffering one third the casualties. On September 7, 1940 alone they shot down 14 Luftwaffe planes without suffering a single casualty. 

Plenty of experts both then and in recent years have given the 303rd Squadron credit for being the key to victory. Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding said that if it weren’t for their contribution in the Battle of Britain, “I hesitate to say the outcome would be the same.” Carl Cruff of the New England Air Museum said of the 303rd “…they were able to turn the tide of history.” Despite their amazing performance, for decades their contribution was downplayed, largely due to Poland’s presence behind the Iron Curtain increasing tensions with the British government for being unable to keep the promise of returning the Poles to their liberated homeland.     

9. Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry 

By Western standards at least, it’s not ideal for a group of soldiers to have the word “princess” in their regiment’s name, and this was particularly the case in the 1950s. The teasing very likely came to an end after the events of April 24-25, 1951. That was when the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry was deployed to Hill 677 to defend the withdrawal of the South Korean army across the Kapyong River Valley, about 10 miles from the 38th Parallel, in response to a massive Chinese offensive. 

To show just what the 700 Canadians were up against, on April 23, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment clashed with the Chinese and were forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses. The next day 5,000 Chinese troops began waves of assaults on the Canadians, including under cover of night. Desperate measures were needed to hold the line, such as one wounded private needing to launch one-man counterattacks three times. At another point Lt. Michael Levy resorted to requesting Canadian artillery bombard his own position to halt an attack. Towards the end of the battle the Canadians were completely cut off, saved only by air-dropped supplies. Ultimately, their sacrifice and bravery would buy the United Nations forces time to regroup and stymie the larger Chinese offensive.      

8. 1st Tank Brigade

Let’s talk about, by far, the most recent events on this list. It’s time to turn our attention to Chernihiv, a city in Ukraine roughly 60 miles north of Kiev. When the Russian Invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, this brigade of roughly 150 tanks and 1,200 troops was the only force that stood between the city of 230,000 people and the Russian 41st Combined Arms Group, which included more than 10 battalions. As early as February 25, the 1st Brigade had brought the 41st to a standstill. 

By March 6, the greatly outnumbered brigade was being predicted to surrender as its supply lines were in danger of encirclement. Instead, it not only held out, but suffered much lower casualties than expected and managed the feat of shooting down Russian aircraft. By March 23, having suffered 10,000 casualties, the 41st had fallen back to change strategy, handing the Ukrainians a surprise victory. 

7. The Cavalry Reserve at Poitiers

Now that relatively current events are out of the way, this next entry is going to the other end of the timeline and taking us to the Middle Ages. As far as major battles of the Hundred Years War (1340-1457) go, the 1356 CE Battle of Poitiers is often overshadowed by the Battle of Crécy a decade earlier, and the Battle of Agincourt half a century later. After the end of the 10-year ceasefire in the wake of the milestone victory at Crécy, an English force of 12,000 under the command of Prince Edward “The Black” raided into central France. They were caught by an army of 40,000 French under the command of King John II, and despite an attempted retreat on Prince Edward’s part, on September 19 the battle began. 

While the longbowmen once again had a devastating effect on the French – just as they had at Crécy – this time it was by no means such a lopsided fight. Attacking in three main waves, they threatened to break the English army. Edward sent a force of 160 cavalrymen around the French army, which spread a panic among the French that they were being surrounded. This sneak attack resulted in a rout so bad that King John II was captured, his ransom not paid until 1360.  

6. Zvika Force    

In 1973, Syria invaded Israel near the Golan Heights. One man who was determined to stop them was 21-year-old Zvika Greengold. He had finished hitchhiking to Nafekh Base and was sent to collect wounded from two damaged Centurion tanks. Instead, Goldman and company repaired the tanks and intercepted a Syrian column in Russian T-55s. After knocking six enemy tanks out of commission, Zvika Force switched to the other tank to continue the fight, bluffing masses of Syrian tanks and their own Israeli superiors, and convincing them that there simply had to be more than one tank out there taking on dozens of enemies. 

Eventually Zvika Force joined a group of a dozen other tanks. While fighting more than 100 additional tanks, Zvika Force repeatedly had to defend Nafekh by itself. In the end, it was 30 hours before Zvika and company left their Centurion tank, having bought more than enough time to reinforce the base and stop the invasion. The story was later heavily criticized for being propaganda. To be sure, there was some exaggeration of his exploits. For example, some reports swelled the number of kills Zvika Force inflicted to 60 tanks, which Greengold himself said was nonsense. Still, the heroism of this skeleton tank crew was not to be denied. 

5. Beale’s Rifle Company 

The popular image of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans is basically redcoat soldiers marching to be shot en masse by Americans while inflicting negligible casualties in response, and two weeks after the war was over to boot. But that famously misguided charge was the end result of several engagements that began in December 1814, and earlier in the battle things had been going much more favorably for the British. In the first clash, the British captured five American gunships at Lake Borgne and took the initiative. 

Then on the night of December 23, 1814, the British infantry encountered Beale’s Rifle Company at the Villere Plantation. Although the battle ended in a stalemate and the casualties were about even, British morale was badly shaken and further attacks were delayed, giving plenty of time to reinforce the defenses for when the British launched their famous doomed attack on January 8 the next year. Unusually for a group that so greatly distinguished themselves in a rough fight, Beale’s Rifle Company was composed of merchants and lawyers. Twenty years after the battle, the members were provided land grants.  

4. Rosecrans at Rich Mountain

On July 11, 1861, early in the American Civil War, a Northern army under General George McClellan stood opposite a Southern army under General Robert Garnett at Rich Mountain, Virginia. The Southerners were defending two Appalachian mountain passes and the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, which would be instrumental if the Confederacy wanted to end the break away of northwestern Virginia counties. McClellan sent a brigade of troops under General William Rosencrans to flank the Confederates. Rosecrans did so, then launched an attack as ordered.

As reported by veteran John Beatty in his 1879 memoir The Citizen Soldier, McClellan and his troops could easily hear the battle going on in the enemy’s rear, and the troops were waiting for McClellan to order the attack be pressed home. But McClellan decided to forgo any such attack because he believed Rosencrans was beyond saving. In fact, Rosencrans’s brigade had defeated the southerners and captured half of their army. 

3. 8th Hussar Cavalry

On January 22, 1795, Holland was at war with France as the French Revolutionary Wars were raging. A fleet of fourteen Dutch ships froze in the waters near Hexel Island, roughly 50 miles north of Amsterdam. Well-armed, the vessels were ready for an attack by ships from unfrozen waters or by artillery bombardment.

So, General Jean-Charles Pichergu turned to a more unusual weapon for battling gunboats, and ordered a cavalry charge on the ships. The 8th Hussar Cavalry caught the ships so completely off guard that they surrendered faster than the French had dared hope in one of the more unusual events in military history. 

2. Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon

When the Wehrmacht launched its final Blitzkrieg on December 18, 1944 to begin the Battle of the Bulge, the I&R Platoon of the 394th Infantry Regiment near Lanzerath, Belgium were just 18 men, a group led by a 20-year-old Lieutenant Lyle Bouck. After spotting the approach of the 1st SS Panzer Division, the platoon’s communications with high command were cut by a two hour artillery bombardment, and a group of more than 250 organized paratroopers attacked. Unfortunately for the attackers, the platoon had already received their orders to hold at all costs. 

Over the course of the next day, the platoon inflicted 200 enemy casualties and stalled the advance for most of a day until 50 paratroopers successfully organized a flanking attack at dusk. Amazingly they only suffered one wounded casualty when Bouck was shot in the leg and one death. The Battle of Lanzerath would provide such an invaluable delay that it knocked practically the entire northern German attack off schedule by 18 hours, allowing massively better preparation for defenses and organizing counterattacks. It wouldn’t be until 1981 that the remarkable stand was recognized and the platoon became the most heavily decorated of the US military.     

1. The Lost Battalion

Speaking of battles between Americans and Germans that came down to a huge degree to the actions of one small group, on October 2, 1918, 700 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 308th Infantry under Major Charles Whittlesley attacked the Germans along the Charlevaux Ravine in the Argonne Forest. While units on either of their flanks stalled, those nine companies reached their objective (by some accounts through a breakthrough, by others because the Germans lured them in through an ordered withdrawal) and then were cut off by the 2nd Landwehr Division. Over the next five days the battalion was subjected to almost relentless sniping, machine-gunning, and attacks.  

Not only did those isolated troops face countless attacks by a vastly superior force alone, the one point where they got support from the rest of the Allied army, it actually helped the German Army. On October 4, the 152nd Field Artillery Brigade began a bombardment of the area in an attempt to relieve the battalion, but due to faulty information their shells overwhelmingly landed on their fellow troops, killing 30 of them.

The Germans were well aware of this, and when the Americans sent pigeons back to command to call for an end to the bombardment, the German snipers gunned them down. The one pigeon that got through arrived with a wound from a German bullet. The end of the bombardment meant the resumption of German assaults, but even out of food and low on ammo they were able to repulse the attacks, and the attempt to destroy the battalion tied down the German troops sufficiently for the rest of the American offensive to break through. Only less than 200 came out of the battle still able-bodied, having done much to bring about the end of the First World War the month after.   

Dustin Koski wrote Return of the Living, a postapocalyptic supernatural comedy.

What is the most remarkable thing you have ever done in a single day? What is your proudest achievement? Many of us accomplish great things in our lives, but they are often the result of a process. For example, being the first person in your family to go to college, writing a novel, or traveling the world. All of these are great accomplishments, but condensing an achievement into a single day is much harder. Some people, however, are able to do this in ways that are entirely unbelievable.

10. Indian Singer SPB Recorded 21 Songs in One Day

Indian singer SPB was a man dedicated to his craft. Real name Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam, he holds a World Record for recording 40,000 songs in 16 languages which is a feat that is honestly hard to wrap your head around. But he didn’t stop there.

His 40,000 songs was obviously over a lifetime as a singer. But even in a single day he was doing amazing things. He also managed to record 21 songs in a single day, actually in just a 12 hour span, back in 1981. He also managed to record 19 Tamil songs in one day and 16 Hindi songs in one day. He was also the voice of countless actors in Bollywood scenes when they were required to do singing.

9. Charles Servizio Did Over 46,000 Pushups in a Day

How many pushups would you say you can do? Or what do you think the average number is? Some super fitness gurus can drop down and crank out 1,000 pushups at the drop of a hat. But according to one survey, more than half of Americans can’t pull off 10 push-ups in a row. Worse, more than a third would struggle to do 5 in a row. All of that makes Charles Servizio sound even more impressive.

In 1993, Servizio broke a Guinness World Record by performing 46,001 pushups in 24 hours. That’s 1,916 pushups per hour. That’s about 32 every minute. While the record for pushups in an hour has been broken many times and people have surpassed Servizio’s hour record, the 24-hour has stood for three decades.

8. Ben Feldman Sold $20 Million Worth of Insurance in One Day

Ben Feldman’s legacy is either as the most amazing salesman of all time or a somewhat tragic tale of a man who was way, way too into his work. Who knows, maybe it’s both. In any event. Feldman goes down in the history books as the nearly mythical insurance salesman who managed to sell $20 million worth of insurance in one day.

Feldman did things as an insurance salesman that boggle the mind. If $20 million in a day isn’t good enough for you, know that he sold $100 million in a year once. He sold $1.5 billion in his lifetime. He was making $1 million per year in commissions. He personally sold more than whole companies. In the 1970s, he personally sold more insurance than 1,500 of the insurance companies in America. The man was basically Insurance Superman.

How does a man get to be a sales dynamo? That part is harder to understand. Word is that Feldman was so shy he once gave a talk at a seminar behind a screen so he didn’t have to see the crowd. But it sounds like he also did little else. 

He researched life insurance from 10 to midnight before bed every night. He worked 12 hour days, 6 and even 7 days a week and, if nothing else, it definitely paid off as he proved himself to be a defining force in life insurance that arguably changed the entire landscape. Before Feldman, most insurance companies wouldn’t insure people for more than $50,000 on the grounds no one needed that much insurance.

7. Sweden Switched 360,000 Streets from Left to Right in a Day

One of the most noticeable differences between the UK and North America is how people drive. Brits drive on the left side of the road. This holdout from a bygone era still happens in former British colonies. They drive on the left in New Zealand, in South Africa, and in Matla. In fact, 76 countries drive on the left while 163 stick to the right. 

Sweden was once a left side country, but they made the switch to the right in 1967. And it happened in a single day. The entire country made a flip covering 360,000 streets and 60,000 miles of road. It happened at 4:50 in the morning when all traffic was stopped for 10 minutes to make the switch. And when it was done, everyone drove on the right. It sounds preposterously simple on paper, but it was not. 

The switch took four years worth of planning and as much as £80 million. Overnight, 350,000 street signs were changed. It took the work of soldiers, police and volunteers, over 200,000 of them in total, to make it happen in that one day. The switch was done, in part, to help prevent accidents. Most Swedish drivers had foreign cars with steering on the left, making driving on the left more confusing. 

6. Will Ferrell Played for 10 MLB Teams in One Day

The record for playing for most MLB teams in a single day isn’t even one that makes sense because why would anyone need to play for more than one team in a day? At best it seems like a strange trade could have resulted in a player being on two teams in a day like Joel Youngblood in 1982. Luckily, Will Ferrell is not really a player and a lot of what he does is weird, so it does make a strange kind of sense after the fact. Ferrell holds a record for playing for 10 MLB teams in one day. 

In 2015, actor Will Ferrell went out for spring training as part of an HBO special being filmed for Funny or Die alongside Major League Baseball. The show was to support cancer research, so the MLB let Ferrell suit up with 10 different teams over the course of the day and play literally every position on the field. He had to be transported by helicopter to five different stadiums to pull it off.

By the end of the day Ferrell has been an Angel, an Athletic, a Cub, a Diamondback, a Dodger, a Giant, a Mariner, a Padre, a Red Sock, and a White Sock.  

5. The First Minnesota Regiment Had the Biggest Single Day Loss of Life of Any US Regiment

While a positive single day achievement is always laudable, sometimes something can be noteworthy for how awful it was. That was the case of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. 

The regiment had proven its valor in more than one battle before Gettysburg, but it was that historic battle that would prove their mettle and also write them into the history books. It’s been said that, if not for the 1st Minnesota, the Union would have lost Gettysburg.

It was July 2, and the Union was being pushed back by Confederate forces who outnumbered them considerably. Reinforcements were a ways off yet and Union General Sickles, an untested leader, had made a foolish move without orders, creating a gap in Union lines that the Confederate forces exploited. There were very few veteran soldiers on site to try to hold back the enemy except for the battle tested 1st Minnesota. They’d started the war 1,000 men strong but, after three prior battles, they were down to 262. 

Sickles’ move had all but doomed the Union. The fear was, if the Confederate Army would storm the rest of the Union and the war would effectively be lost. The 1st Minnesota was ordered to plug the gap against six-to-one odds. All they needed was five minutes for reinforcements to arrive.

The 262 men pushed onward knowing they were being sent to their deaths. They fought hard and their flag fell five times, each time being raised by someone new. By the end, 215 men had died, a total of 82% of the entire regiment. It remains, to this day, the biggest loss of life by any regiment in a single day of combat. They held for 15 minutes, turning the tide of the battle for the Union.

4. Mosquitoes Kill More People Per Day Than Sharks Did in 100 Years

The humble mosquito, one of the greatest pests known to man. They’re small, they’re a nuisance, and they exist in every country on Earth except in the Antarctic and, curiously, Iceland. That makes them incredibly hard to escape. They’re also prolific killers. Mosquitoes will kill more people in one single day than sharks have over the last 100 years.

In 2016, about 1,470 deaths could be attributed to mosquitos per day. This is thanks to the number of deadly diseases which mosquitoes can transfer to humans, including malaria. On the other hand, between 1916 and 2016, sharks managed to kill just 1,035 humans. 

Changing climate has been making conditions for mosquitoes more hospitable and it’s believed that, in the future, the gap between mosquitoes and sharks is only going to grow as mosquitoes become more and more deadly. In 2018, mosquitoes killed 830,000 people which averages to about 2,274 per day. 

3. 4.5 million Thin Mints are Baked for Girl Scouts Per Day

Every year the Girl Scouts roll out their annual cooking selling campaign and people go nuts for them. Thin Mints seem to be the most popular making up 25% of all cookies sold and to meet demand, a lot of cookies need to be produced. 

To keep up with the Thin Mint demand, 4.5 million Thin Mints are baked per day at the height of cookie demand. Considering the girls sell as many as 200 million boxes of cookies, the volume is clearly necessary.

2. Martian Moon Orbits Lead to More than Three Eclipses a Day

Science fiction TV shows and movies often hit a little speed bump when trying to discuss time in an intergalactic way, especially with alien species. When you refer to a day or a year, it’s based entirely on how we tell time on Earth. A year is how long it takes the planet to rotate around the sun. That would mean nothing to an alien. Every planet in our solar system has varying lengths of time for what would be one of their years. Mars, in particular, can get a lot of things done because of how lunar rotation works there.

On Earth, we have around four to seven eclipses per year. On Mars, you get an average of 3.2 every day thanks to how fast the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos orbit the planet. Though the moons are too small to fully block the sun, they still pass it. Phobos orbits every 7.65 hours and Deimos every 30.35 hours.

1. A Chinese Container Ship Produces as Much Pollution in One Day as 500,000 Trucks

A modern container ship can be as much as 1,320 feet long. It takes a lot of power to move a ship that size, laden down with hundreds of tons of shipping containers, and that means burning a lot of fuel. In China, just one of these massive shipping containers will put out as much pollution in a day as 500,000 trucks on the road.

The fuel used by these ships in China is also some of the lowest quality diesel with high levels of contaminants. Sulfur levels are 35 times higher than what would be permitted at ports in Los Angeles. It’s been estimated that the pollution caused by things like these container ships contributes to 1.2 million premature deaths.