Introducing Odd Salon: SHORTS! Five, five-minute stories from the odd corners of history, science, art, and adventure. Grab a cocktail and join us online for our new series of speed round history.

Tuesday, Aug 25: “Mistakes Were Made”

Tales of accident and error, serious slip-ups, major misunderstandings, and brilliant blunders.

Curated by Odd Salon Founding Fellow Amy Widdowson

Featuring:

Colin Alexander ~ The Devil’s in the Details: The Wicked Bible of 1631
Bad editing, or sabotage? A few errant letters in a print of the King James Bible change the meaning of the commandments and more, leading to prosecution, fire, and ignoble ends for those held responsible.

Kate O’Donnell ~ Lucky Shot: The Almost-Botched Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Although the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was planned, its success was a mistake. Join us for an error-filled ride with amateur assassins as a series of blunders accidentally triggers the most devastating wars in history.

Terran Schackor ~ The Vasa Shipwreck: You’re Doing it Wrong
A king slaps a sail on a fortified armoire, and births an important lesson in engineering.

Jessica Hansen ~ Disneyland’s Disastrous Opening Day: A Lesson in “Failing Forward”
Opening day at the happiest place on Earth was anything but “happy”. An overly aggressive timeline, a treacherous heatwave, melting asphalt, broken rides, sinking ships, and a plumber’s strike were just a fraction of the (luckily metaphoric) trainwreck that would be forever remembered as Disneyland’s “Black Sunday”.

Divya Anantharaman ~ Crooked Smile: The Bizarre History of the Lion of Gripsholm Castle
During the 18th century, a series of treaties were made where seafaring European states exchanged goods to secure free passage of their ships through foreign waters. How did one of these treaties result in what is arguably the most infamously memed (and misunderstood) piece of taxidermy?

Streaming with live community chat on YouTube via private invite

Pay what you can sliding scale: Tickets starting at $5

*Discounted tickets for Members and our Patreon Community.*
(Members please use this year’s discount code. Patreon friends, please check Patreon to get your discount code)

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Facing tough economic times? We hear you. Trade us one weird fact and we’ll send you a free ticket – Email us your favorite historical mistake>