Fred Korematsu

"Queens" of Mysore : left, Krishnaraja Wadiyar III 's first wife, Devajammani has a discoloration around the mouth, thought to be due to the blowing of variolation dust in the nose ("nasal insufflation"). Right, his second wife shows the…

Medieval English split tally stick ( front and reverse view). The stick is notched and inscribed to record a debt owed to the rural dean of Preston Candover , Hampshire, of a tithe of 20 d each on 32 sheep, amounting to a total sum of £2…

Fred Korematsu had plastic surgery on his nose and changed his name to Clyde Sarah to pass as Spanish-Hawaiian. A coworker turned him in anyway. The Supreme Court upheld his 1942 conviction 6–3.

Killing of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki

Sixteen-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen eating dinner in Yemen, was killed by a drone two weeks after his father. The Obama administration later said it was a mistake. His grandfather asked why.

Entebbe raid

At Entebbe, hijackers sorted 248 passengers by passport — Jews to one side, non-Jews released. The remaining hostages were held in a terminal as ransom for 53 prisoners held across four countries. Israeli commandos flew 2,500 miles to answer.

Pigasus (politics)

The Yippies hauled a 145-pound pig named Pigasus to Chicago's Grant Park in 1968 and held a formal press conference nominating him for president — police arrested both the pig and seven activists within minutes.

Bloodgate

A physio bit open a fake blood capsule on the sideline so a player could be illegally swapped out. The capsule left red stains on his teeth. The entire scheme unraveled in 22 minutes.

Variolation

Ottoman physicians rubbed smallpox scabs into children's skin scratches centuries before Jenner's vaccine. The practice cut mortality from roughly 30% to under 2%, yet Europe called it barbarism until the death tolls reversed.

Tally stick

For 700 years, the English Exchequer split hazel sticks to record royal debts — the king kept one half, the creditor the other. In 1834, Parliament burned the old sticks and accidentally set Westminster on fire.

Michel Lotito

Michel Lotito — 'Monsieur Mangetout' — ate an entire Cessna 150 aircraft over two years, grinding it into metal filings, plus 18 bicycles, 15 shopping carts, and a coffin.

Timothy Wilson Spencer

Timothy Spencer was executed in Virginia in 1994 as the first person in U.S. history put to death on DNA evidence alone — evidence that also exonerated David Vasquez, who had already confessed and pled guilty to one of Spencer's murders.