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(#1) The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion
In 1986, NASA was high on its biggest PR moment since the moon landing thanks to the fact that along with six astronauts, they were sending an educator, Christa McAuliffe, into space. It's hard to say just how many people were watching television when the Challenger went into the air and then quickly burned up in front of the eyes of the world.
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(#2) Journalist and Cameraman Killed On Air
In 2015, reporter Alison Parker and her cameraman, Adam Ward, were gunned down on air by a disgruntled former colleague near Roanoke, VA while broadcasting live. The perpetrator was Vester Lee Flanagan, who once worked as an on air broadcaster for WDBJ in Virginia.
He killed himself a short time after the murders occurred.
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(#3) Christine Chubbuck
- TV Journalist
Christine Chubbock, a newscaster in Sarasota, FL in the '70s, shot herself in the head live on air after reading the statement, “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in ‘blood and guts,’ and in living color, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide.”
Allegedly, only one tape exists of the suicide and it may be so degraded that it's impossible to view.
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(#4) R. Budd Dwyer
- Politician
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(#5) Man Sets Himself On Fire In The Middle Of The Interstate
In 1998, Daniel V. Jones, an HIV-positive maintenance worker from Los Angeles, parked his truck in the middle of an interstate, unfurled a banner that read, "HMO's are in it for the money!! Live free, love safe or die." That's when the SWAT Team and news helicopters showed up, giving Jones the world stage to light himself on fire with a Molotov cocktail, before shooting himself with a shotgun.
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(#6) Helicopters Collide While On The Air In Phoenix
Two helicopters collided over the Phoenix sky in 2007 while covering a police pursuit, when both pilots failed to notice one another (which is crazy because they're both flying helicopters). The actual broadcast footage doesn't show the crash, instead the viewer saw the feed from the camera as the helicopters smashed into one another.
However, unedited photos of the actual incident do exist (link NSFW).
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(#7) Inejiro Asanuma Is Assassinated With A Sword
In 1960 Otoya Yamaguchi, a member of Japan's ultra-nationalistic party, stormed a live televised political debate featuring Inejiro Asanuma (a leader of the socialist party) and stabbed him with a traditional Japanese long knife before being subdued.
Yamaguchi later killed himself after writing, “Seven lives for my country. Long live His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor!” in toothpaste on his cell wall.
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(#8) Jack Ruby Guns Down Lee Harvey Oswald On TV
Lee Harvey Oswald was easily the most hated man in America after killing President Kennedy in 1963. While being transported to a new prison, Jack Ruby leapt from a crowd and shot Oswald at point blank range while news cameras were rolling.
It's a live moment that would launch a thousand conspiracy theories.
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(#9) Bank Robbers, Law Enforcement Have A Standoff In North Hollywood
Way back in 1997, two goons robbed a Bank of America with a massive amount of firepower. As the world watched on television they took part in a stand off that claimed their lives while injuring 11 police officers and seven innocent bystanders. -
(#10) Shawn Nelson Steals Tank, Goes On Rampage
Before Shawn Nelson was rampaging through the streets of San Diego in a stolen tank, he was a plumber with an on again, off again meth habit, and possibly undiagnosed mental problems. After stealing a tank from a National Guard armory, Nelson led police on a 23-minute televised chase during which he destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars in property before being shot and killed by an officer. -
(#11) Randy Johnson Hits A Bird With His Pitch
In 2001 Randy Johnson was on his way to winning his first MLB pennant with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he was also on his way to being the only baseball player to ever kill a bird with his fastball. If that doesn't break your concentration, nothing will. -
(#12) Armed Robbers Raid An On-Air Poker Tournament
The last place you expect anything exciting to happen is on a live poker program, but back in 2010, when a group of armed robbers took over a European Poker Tour tournament and got away with $1.2 million, that's exactly what happened.
The video is a bit hectic (and also in German), but it's easy to understand why everyone was so freaked out.
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(#13) Chef Caught With Cocaine On Daytime TV
How do you say "oops" in Slovakian? It's probably just, "oops" right? Well whatever it is, chef Ľubomír Herko is going to be saying it after being caught chopping up fat rails of coke on a daytime television show. It's entirely possible that he was kidding around as many people in the cooking world are wont to do.
But look at his red, sweaty face and those super dilated pupils and tell us he wasn't prepping more than duck confit.
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(#14) Olympic Marathon Leader Tackled Mid-Race
During the marathon event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima was attacked by a defrocked priest while he was running in the lead. The attack pushed de Lima back into third place.
On a positive note, de Lima was later awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for the spirit of sportsmanship from the Olympic Commitee.
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(#15) Brazillian Hostage Situation Unfolds On TV
A hostage crisis in Brazil took a bizarre turn when Jose Luiz Datena, a popular television host, was called upon to negotiate the victim's release because he was the only person the suspect would speak to. While on air, Datena convinced the man to free his hostages, and brought himself that much closer to his life-long dream of becoming Alan Partridge.
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(#16) Max Headroom Overtaken By Pirate Broadcast
Despite being widely believed to be a hoax, in 1987 an group of pranksters took over Chicago's WGN and WTTV television feeds and broadcasted a strange live video featuring a guy in a Max Headroom mask bouncing around like a weirdo, talking about Pepsi, and getting spanked with a flyswatter.
It's not the most subversive thing that's ever been done on television, but it certainly wasn't expected.
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(#17) Hartford News Anchor Eats Cat Vomit 'Accidentally'
During the morning news segment for WFSB in Hartford, a weatherman ate what he thought were Grapenuts. Why anyone would be excited about the prospect of eating old Grapenuts is confusing, but whatever. Later, he discovered on air that he had, in fact, ben chomping down on good ol' fashioned cat vomit. -
(#18) O.J. Simpson Leads the LAPD On A Low-Speed Chase
If you were alive in 1994 (and not a baby or asleep during the day) then you watched the O.J. Simpson chase. This was one of those magical moments where everyone stopped what they were doing and bonded together to be confused about an insane thing happening in front of them.
One of the most interesting things about the chase is that at no point does anyone do anything crazy (well, beyond the actual crazy murder that occurred days earlier), they just cruise around the highway until O.J. eventually gives himself up. It's almost zen in its nonchalance.
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(#19) Rare Thundersnow Falls On Boston
On a lighter note (literally), when Jim Cantore was reporting on winter storm Neptune, he was hoping to see thundersnow. What the heck is that, you ask? Thundersnow is an unusual meteorological occurrence where during a thunderstorm snow falls instead of normal precipitation.
If you can't tell from the video, it's basically a weatherman's wet dream.
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(#20) TV Reporter Quits On Air To Advocate For Medical Marijuana
Sometimes you've just got to do what you got to do, and that's exactly what Charlo Greene did when she quit her job as a reporter live on air to work full time at a medical marijuana dispensary. Unsurprisingly, her dispensary was raided by police a few months later. -
(#21) Pot Activist Smokes Joint On Air
Proving that he's the grooviest of all pro-pot activists, Andre du Plessis, head of the Cannabis Working Group in South Africa, lit up a joint while on a televised debate with David Bayever, deputy chairperson of the Central Drug Authority. As edgy as du Plessis may be, he's no Zach Galifianakis. -
(#22) Kanye West Exposes George W. Bush's Secret Agenda
Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst moments in recent American history. Not only were multiple rescue attempts bungled by the US Government, but it showed how deeply ingrained racism is in this country. While raising money to support the people of New Orleans, Kanye West went off script and aired his grievances with the then President's perceived attitudes towards African-Americans. Mike Meyers, West's partner during the telethon looks absolutely shocked when West says the now famous line, and it's hard not to laugh at his deer in the headlights response.
In this one moment, Kanye was able to cut through the bipartisan doublespeak of the Katrina effort and actually say something important on live television. -
(#23) Curious Cat Drops In On Local News
Sure, a cat climbing on a news anchor in the middle of a broadcast isn't as exciting as a shoot out or live hacking, but cats are adorable and this is exactly the kind of palate cleanser you need after seeing a live helicopter crash. -
(#24) The BBC Gets Hacked On Air
While showing the general public how to use their home computers (or "micros") on BBC in 1983, the last thing that the hosts of this live program needed were a bunch of hackers taking over their computers. But that's exactly what happens about one hour and 10 minutes into the show.
Feel free to roll the video back to 1:09:00 for context/a VERY BRITISH man fumbling with a keyboard.
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(#25) Tucker Carlson Falls Asleep On Air
Tucker Carlson is the worst kind of a talking head. He has no problems espousing statements that may or may not be true, he dumbs down major issues to the point of nonsense, and he falls asleep on television. His excuse in this last case was that he'd been up all night covering for another anchor, but he was probably just watching his own show.
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