Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/12-historical-events-that-almost-happened-completely-differently/
History feels final, set in stone. Yet beneath the surface of our past lies something unsettling. Moments when a single decision, a stroke of luck, or even pure chance redirected everything. Think about it this way: if one person had said yes instead of no, if a briefcase had stayed in place, if weather conditions had been different, the world you live in now might be unrecognizable.
These aren’t just footnotes in dusty textbooks. They’re the threads that almost unraveled the entire tapestry of modern civilization. Some came down to seconds, others to inches. Each one reminds us how fragile our present really is. So let’s dive in.
When Nuclear War Almost Started Because of a Bear
Let’s be real here, nuclear annihilation nearly began because of wildlife. During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, a figure climbed a fence near a military base in Duluth, Minnesota, triggering alarms that suggested Soviet special forces were preparing to sabotage US command facilities. Fighter jets loaded with nuclear weapons rushed to their launch sites under the assumption that World War Three had begun. At the last moment, however, it was realized the shadowy figure was actually a black bear climbing a fence, and the strike was called off.
A bear. That’s all it took to nearly start a thermonuclear exchange that could have obliterated hundreds of millions of people. The absurdity…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-02-16 10:28:00
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