When History Hung by a Thread
What if a single moment could have rewritten the entire course of human civilization? Throughout history, there have been countless forgotten historical events that came dangerously close to changing everything we know about our world. These aren’t the battles and revolutions you learned about in school—these are the bizarre, mysterious, and utterly unexpected moments when fate teetered on a knife’s edge.
From military forces losing wars against birds to mysterious explosions that could have signaled the end of civilization, these pivotal moments in history reveal just how fragile our timeline truly is. Let’s explore seven extraordinary close calls that nearly rewrote the history books.
The Great Emu War: When Australia’s Military Met Its Match
In 1932, Australia faced an invasion unlike any other. The enemy? An army of approximately 20,000 emus terrorizing farmers’ crops in Western Australia. What followed became one of the most absurd military campaigns in history—and a humbling defeat for human forces.
A War Against Feathered Foes
The Australian military deployed soldiers armed with Lewis machine guns to combat the emu population. Despite firing thousands of rounds, they managed to kill only about 986 emus. The birds proved surprisingly tactical, scattering when attacked and regrouping elsewhere, effectively outmaneuvering trained soldiers.
This forgotten historical event could have had far-reaching consequences. Had the military succeeded, it might have established a precedent for using armed forces against wildlife populations worldwide, fundamentally changing conservation approaches and military doctrine.
- Duration: Several weeks in late 1932
- Ammunition expended: Thousands of rounds
- Emus eliminated: Approximately 986 out of 20,000
- Outcome: Military withdrawal, emus declared victorious
The Tunguska Mystery: An Explosion That Could Have Been Catastrophic
On June 30, 1908, a mysterious explosion rocked the remote Tunguska region of Siberia with the force of 1,000 atomic bombs. This pivotal moment in history flattened approximately 2,150 square kilometers of forest, yet left behind no crater and no definitive explanation.
A Close Call for Civilization
The Tunguska event represents one of the most significant historical close calls in human history. Had this explosion occurred over a populated area like London or New York, it could have killed millions and potentially triggered international conflicts based on assumptions of enemy attack.
Scientists theorize the explosion resulted from an asteroid or comet that disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere. The event’s mystery endures because:
- No impact crater was ever found
- The explosion occurred at an estimated altitude of 5-10 kilometers
- Seismic waves were detected as far away as England
- Local witnesses reported seeing a fireball brighter than the sun
This mysterious historical event continues to influence modern asteroid monitoring programs, highlighting how a single cosmic close call shaped our approach to planetary defense.
The Late Bronze Age Collapse: When Civilization Nearly Ended
Around 1200-1150 BCE, one of history’s most catastrophic periods unfolded across the Mediterranean. The Late Bronze Age Collapse saw the simultaneous destruction of major civilizations including the Mycenaeans and Hittites, with over 300 settlements abandoned almost overnight.
A Domino Effect of Destruction
This period represents perhaps the closest humanity has come to complete civilizational collapse in recorded history. The causes remain debated, but the effects were devastating:
- Trade networks spanning continents completely collapsed
- Writing systems disappeared from entire regions
- Population levels dropped dramatically
- Technological knowledge was lost for centuries
What makes this one of the most significant forgotten historical events is how close it came to erasing human progress entirely. Had the collapse been complete, the development of classical civilizations like Greece and Rome might never have occurred.
Historical analysis suggests that only isolated pockets of civilization surviving this collapse allowed for humanity’s eventual recovery and advancement.
Other Pivotal Moments That Nearly Changed Everything
The Dancing Plague of 1518
In Strasbourg, hundreds of people began dancing uncontrollably for days, with some reportedly dancing themselves to death. This bizarre event could have spread further, potentially destabilizing entire regions through mass hysteria and economic disruption.
The Great Onion Corner of 1955
Sam Siegel and Vincent Kosuga cornered 98% of Chicago’s onion market, controlling around 30 million pounds of onions. This economic manipulation could have triggered widespread food shortages and demonstrated how easily essential commodities could be weaponized.
The Carrington Event of 1859
The most powerful geomagnetic storm in recorded history knocked out telegraph systems worldwide. Had this occurred in our modern digital age, it could have caused trillions in damage and crippled global communications for months.
Why These Forgotten Events Matter Today
These lesser known historical events offer crucial lessons for modern society. They demonstrate how seemingly impossible scenarios can unfold rapidly and how unprepared humanity often is for unexpected challenges.
Each event provides insights into:
- Resilience planning: How societies can prepare for unexpected disruptions
- Risk assessment: The importance of considering unlikely but high-impact scenarios
- Global interconnectedness: How localized events can have worldwide consequences
- Adaptive strategies: Learning from past near-misses to build better response systems
Modern initiatives in asteroid detection, pandemic preparedness, and economic regulation all trace their origins to lessons learned from historical close calls like these.
The Fragile Thread of History
These seven forgotten historical events remind us that history’s progression is far more fragile than we typically imagine. Each represents a moment when different outcomes could have fundamentally altered the trajectory of human civilization. By studying these pivotal moments and close calls, we gain valuable perspective on both our past vulnerabilities and our future preparedness.
The next time you consider how inevitable our current world seems, remember the emus that defeated a modern military, the mysterious explosion that could have leveled a city, and the collapse that nearly ended civilization itself. History, it turns out, has always been just one close call away from taking a completely different path.
