Random Last-Minute Decisions That Changed World History (13 items)

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  (#13) Hannibal Created A Battle-Losing Avalanche By Striking A Snow Drift With A Walking Cane

  Hannibal Barca was a famed Carthaginian military leader who notably led combat elephants over the Pyrenees and Alps into Rome. He was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts to take Rome, but he may not have been if not for a single poke he made with his cane. While crossing the Alps, Hannibal’s army encountered a large snowfall, which slowed them right down.

  Wanting to prove that the ground they traveled on was still solid, Hannibal struck a large snow drift with his walking cane. This touched off an avalanche, which took out a large portion of his army.
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  (#5) Clouds Saved Kokura From Nuclear Attack

  For such a monumental couple of events, the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not planned in incredible detail. The US wasn't even sure they were going to use nuclear tools until not long before they were dropped, and their list of potential target cities was large. The US didn’t meditate on which Japanese cities to target as Japan's surrender was nearly guaranteed in the face of nuclear materials.

  The original plan was for Kokura to be hit right after Hiroshima, but a young crewman named Kermit Beahan determined it was too cloudy to see all of Kokura, so he called it off. This was a lucky break for Kokura, but not so much for Nagasaki, the secondary option.
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  (#10) Stanislav Petrov Singlehandedly Saved The World From Nuclear Materials

  Everyone in the world owes a great debt of gratitude to Stanislav Petrov, yet few even know his name. If not for Petrov, a nuclear battle would almost certainly have erupted between the US and the Soviet Union, and it would have devastated humankind.

  On September 26, 1983, Petrov was working at his job monitoring the Soviets’ early warning systems. Several sensors went off, indicating the US had launched missiles toward the Soviets, which meant it was Petrov’s job to begin returning fire. Sensing something was amiss, he quickly decided to delay telling his superiors, knowing the awful repercussions for the world if he did.

  Faced with such a decision, weighing the potential for an apocalyptic nightmare against the profound personal repercussions if he was mistaken, Petrov hesitated. Eventually, the triggered sensors proved to be a false alarm, meaning that Petrov’s decision to disobey his duty - a deliberate disavowal - saved not just his country, but also the world.
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  (#4) A Last-Minute Officer Change Doomed The Titanic

  The sinking of the Titanic is one of the greatest naval tragedies in history. The ship, famously described as “unsinkable,” hit an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank shortly thereafter. There is plenty of blame to be passed around for the massive loss of life on that night, but one portion belongs to a last-minute decision to switch officers.

  Second Officer David Blair was removed from the crew just before the ship set sail, and he forgot to hand in his key to a locker that contained binoculars for the lookout. The ship had set off before he realized, and so the crew had to watch for icebergs using only their eyes. Obviously, this proved woefully inadequate.
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  (#2) Teddy Roosevelt Saved His Own Life By Putting A Thick Speech In His Breast Pocket

  Teddy Roosevelt, easily America’s most action movie-esque president, loved to make grand speeches. In 1912, while making another run at the presidency as the leader of a new political party, the Progressives, Roosevelt had prepared a 50-page diatribe that he aimed to deliver to a waiting audience. Before heading there, Roosevelt randomly decided to fold up the speech and place it in his breast pocket, a small decision that soon saved his life.

  When standing to address the crowd, an assailant shot Roosevelt in the chest, but the bullet was greatly slowed by the massive hunk of paper in his pocket. Of course, being the bull moose that he was, Teddy still got up on that stage and delivered a rousing speech, even with a piece of lead lodged inside his body.
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  (#11) Marie-Antoinette’s Last-Minute Decisions Doomed Her Family

  History has not shined very brightly on Marie-Antoinette, and while not all of her reputation is deserved, the story of her passing definitely doesn’t help matters. Marie-Antoinette was famously beheaded during the French Revolution, at which time she definitely didn’t say “Let them eat cake.”

  She and her family could have totally avoided perishing, however, had she not made some bold choices. The royals were set to flee in an ordinary carriage, but Marie insisted on the fancier model, which was slower and way more conspicuous. Antoinette did not want to split the family up, which would have happened if they had taken two of the smaller, faster carriages.

  This most likely played into the family's ultimate capture and slaying.

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