PODCAST · history
This Day, But Wrong
by Alex and Jordan
The blunders, cons and misunderstandings that happened on today's date. History's greatest mistakes, right on schedule.
Episodes
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The 133% Solution
In 1955, South Vietnam held a referendum so thoroughly rigged that Saigon alone recorded a third more votes than it had registered voters. The man behind it had been warned. He ignored the warning. The world noticed.
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The Gesture That Killed Six Hundred Men
On October 25, 1854, a vague wave of the hand sent 670 British cavalrymen charging into a valley surrounded by artillery on three sides. The man who made the gesture was the first to die. The man who wrote the poem about it became immortal.
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The Tape That Lied to Everyone
On October 24, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange's ticker tape fell four hours behind reality — and nobody knew what anything was actually worth. The information gap turned a bad day into Black Thursday, and Black Thursday into the Great Depression.
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The Man Who Forged an Empire's End
On October 23, 1812, a disgraced general escaped a Paris sanatorium, waved some forged paperwork, and nearly toppled Napoleon's empire — all before breakfast. The con lasted hours. The question it exposed lasted years.
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The Rooftop Rapture
In 1844, Baptist preacher William Miller did the math, announced the end of the world, and convinced tens of thousands of followers to sell everything and climb onto rooftops in white robes. The world did not end. The embarrassment, however, lasted considerably longer.
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The Grand Opening That Opened Nothing
In 1892, Congress ordered Chicago to open the World's Columbian Exposition on Columbus Day — then Chicago threw a massive ceremony for a muddy construction site and called it done. The actual fair didn't open for another six and a half months.
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The Italian Test
In 1936, Australian officials handed a British woman a dictation test in Italian — a language nobody told her to learn — because they disapproved of her travel companion. She failed. Then she put her fingers in her ears. A bureaucratic absurdity that brought down a cabinet minister.
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The Map That Ended Christianity in Japan
In 1596, a Spanish sailor tried to scare Japanese officials into returning his confiscated cargo — by explaining, in careful detail, exactly how Spain uses missionaries to conquer countries. The missionaries already in Japan did not survive his sales pitch.
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The Epilogue They Threw Away
In 1851, a London publisher reset Moby-Dick in type, made hundreds of unauthorised cuts, and accidentally dropped the one paragraph explaining how the narrator survived. British critics gleefully savaged the novel for its impossible dead narrator. Melville only found out what happened when his…
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The Wave That Wasn't Water
In 1814, a brewery clerk spotted a warning sign, shrugged, and went back to work. One hour later, 320,000 gallons of porter beer demolished a London slum and killed eight people. The brewery was later reimbursed by Parliament for its trouble.
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The Giant in the Ground
In 1869, a cigar maker named George Hull buried a ten-foot fake stone man in upstate New York, dug it up, and charged thousands of Americans to stare at it. Scientists argued about it. Barnum copied it. And the guy who called it a fake — was the biggest sucker in the room.
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The Ten Days That Never Existed
In 46 BC, Caesar's astronomer made a calendar that was off by just eleven minutes a year. Sixteen centuries later, the Pope had to delete ten days from existence to fix it — and half of Europe refused to accept the memo.
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The Fan Who Caught the Blame
On October 14, 2003, a lifelong Cubs fan reached for a foul ball — along with half a dozen other people — and became Chicago's most wanted villain overnight. Steve Bartman didn't cost the Cubs the pennant. But try telling that to a city that had been waiting 58 years.
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The Moon That Broke an Empire
The Moon That Started a War
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The blunders, cons and misunderstandings that happened on today's date. History's greatest mistakes, right on schedule.
HOSTED BY
Alex and Jordan
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does This Day, But Wrong have?
This Day, But Wrong currently has 14 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is This Day, But Wrong about?
The blunders, cons and misunderstandings that happened on today's date. History's greatest mistakes, right on schedule.
How often does This Day, But Wrong release new episodes?
This Day, But Wrong has 14 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to This Day, But Wrong?
You can listen to This Day, But Wrong on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts This Day, But Wrong?
This Day, But Wrong is created and hosted by Alex and Jordan.
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