Historical Blunders: The Mistakes That Changed the World

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Пікірлер: 717

  • @Sideprojects
    @Sideprojects21 күн бұрын

    Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Head to keeps.com/SIMON to get a special offer. Individual results may vary

  • @ianbracken7973

    @ianbracken7973

    21 күн бұрын

    Nobody would know who you were if Keeps cured baldness. Not even you!!

  • @thomasjones4570

    @thomasjones4570

    20 күн бұрын

    A blunder requires real time carelessness. Not carelessness long after the fact. Thus, Russia selling Alaska was not a blunder. It actually made perfect sense not only at the time, but also the near future. In fact, even after the mini-gold rush, Alaska still would have been un-defendable by Russia and America was...itching to take it. The risk for Russia was still too great as it not only meant an issue with a future war with Britain, it also meant holding land that could cause a conflict with America as well.

  • @gohliangsong

    @gohliangsong

    20 күн бұрын

    Simon should apply Keeps to his scalp, not his chin. ❤

  • @dmitryisakov8769

    @dmitryisakov8769

    20 күн бұрын

    Crimean War finished in 1856 not 1865. Why would you make such blunder? There is indeed a connection to Crimean War. USA was Russian ally during that war, which was one of the reasons why Russia was the only ally of Lincoln during USA civil war. Alliance, that would be shuttered by Lincoln's assassination in 1865 by the Brits (they tried to assassinate Alexander 2 as well in 1866). Sale of Alaska on unfavourable terms (it was already well known that Alska had wast deposits of gold) was the last attempt to save the alliance. It failed.

  • @SupertzarMetal

    @SupertzarMetal

    18 күн бұрын

    Looking to follow Simon's hair growth.

  • @sydhenderson6753
    @sydhenderson675321 күн бұрын

    To defend Alexander II, having Britain annex Alaska would not have helped Russia that much, but selling it to the US was a way to keep it out of British hands and make the US friendlier.

  • @z0ro_62

    @z0ro_62

    21 күн бұрын

    Which is true. Most people don't know that during the Russian Civil war America attacked the communist

  • @dpelpal

    @dpelpal

    20 күн бұрын

    Russia's army was a joke then, and it is a joke now. Let's get real here, people 🙄

  • @lewisdoherty7621

    @lewisdoherty7621

    20 күн бұрын

    I have been telling people that. The Russians would have lost it, but sold it to a country which had just been through a civil war and could block Britain.

  • @yewtoob2007

    @yewtoob2007

    20 күн бұрын

    During the Crimean War, an Anglo-French force attacked Petropavlovsk, the major port of Kamchatka, twice. Another war with Britain could have easily seen Alaska taken by the sea by a similar enterprise.

  • @brianthomas2434

    @brianthomas2434

    20 күн бұрын

    For much the same reason, Napoleon had sold Louisiana to the US in 1803. He knew that, during the almost constant state of war between France and the UK, British troops from Canada would easily outnumber any force France could muster on the North American continent.

  • @carolynmills513
    @carolynmills51320 күн бұрын

    My father was wounded with a bayonet to his leg in WWII, 1945. He was scheduled to have it amputated on 3 occasions. The doctor each time said they had this "wonder drug-penicillin" and would wait til the next day. Story short, it saved his leg.

  • @carolynmills513

    @carolynmills513

    20 күн бұрын

    Meant 1945...

  • @MichaelScheele

    @MichaelScheele

    20 күн бұрын

    I assume you meant 1945.

  • @sanitarium017

    @sanitarium017

    20 күн бұрын

    ​@carolynmills513 you can edit comments

  • @ravenblood1954

    @ravenblood1954

    20 күн бұрын

    @@carolynmills513yeah you could confused my mightily there. At first I was like “How OLD are you if your dad was around in 1845” xD. Then I saw you were talking about WW2 and got even more confused xD

  • @carolynmills513

    @carolynmills513

    20 күн бұрын

    @@ravenblood1954 fat fingers!!! Lol

  • @rogergallagher5511
    @rogergallagher551120 күн бұрын

    Mao officially stepped down in 1976. That's a new euphemism for death I haven't heard of before.

  • @grizzlygrizzle

    @grizzlygrizzle

    20 күн бұрын

    Leftist lexical manipulations disable truth.

  • @easalsoeas4565

    @easalsoeas4565

    17 күн бұрын

    This fool is a propaganda mouthpiece and I would only expect to hear such foolish things spoken as facts

  • @danubiosalas4231

    @danubiosalas4231

    16 күн бұрын

    What can you expect? He also said Alaska was purchased for 17 million dollars, everyone knows it was 7.2 millions.

  • @United-Nations-Space-Command.

    @United-Nations-Space-Command.

    14 күн бұрын

    Only in death does duty end

  • @gazpachopolice7211

    @gazpachopolice7211

    13 күн бұрын

    That may seem funny until you consider that Kim Il Sung didn't step down despite going to hell in 1994 and is still president.

  • @heronimousbrapson863
    @heronimousbrapson86318 күн бұрын

    During the Crimean war, British warships based in what is now Victoria, British Columbia actually attacked Russian settlements In Alaska. This is perhaps one reason why Russia saw Alaska as undefendable.

  • @carkawalakhatulistiwa

    @carkawalakhatulistiwa

    7 күн бұрын

    Imagine if Canada invaded Russia, Alaska

  • @ThomasWeaver1992
    @ThomasWeaver199221 күн бұрын

    Russia was likely going to lose Alaska if they did keep it. British Canada could have easily invaded it. The USA was an ally of Russia at that time, so selling Alaska to an ally was a smart move in the short term.

  • @gideonmele1556

    @gideonmele1556

    20 күн бұрын

    Not so much an ally but they didn’t have any qualms back then. A much better choice than dealing with their rival, Britain

  • @onewaynestreet

    @onewaynestreet

    20 күн бұрын

    ​@@gideonmele1556 Russia was our ally in 1867 and had been an ally of the Union states throughout the Civil War. If it weren't for Russia and their threats against London to remain neutral, Britain may have sided with the Confederacy. They were poised to do so.

  • @tripsaplenty1227

    @tripsaplenty1227

    20 күн бұрын

    russia could have got more money if they didn't accept the first low ball offer.

  • @volbound1700

    @volbound1700

    19 күн бұрын

    US benefited by the fact that no one liked the British. We got the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska that way.

  • @danidavis7912

    @danidavis7912

    17 күн бұрын

    Just my opinion, but yes, the Brits would have destroyed Russia then, if they chose to do so. As a US soldier who trained with our NATO friends in western Europe in the 1980s, I can say with full conviction that the Limeys and the Frogs were both forces to be reckoned with. I have nothing but respect for those guys. Simply put, their special forces were second to none.

  • @dennisenright9347
    @dennisenright934718 күн бұрын

    Ironically, long before the gold and oil were discovered, one of the first natural resources exploited in "Seward's Icebox" was ice. To be harvested and sent to cool the drinks in the saloons of San Francisco.

  • @et76039
    @et7603920 күн бұрын

    Two points. The sale price was $7.2 million. A co-worker was from Seward's family; it's generally pronounced soo-ard or soo-ward. The Russian Empire was overextended by its New World colonies; there was no good transportation route, by any combination, between those colonies and the main imperial population centers. As later demonstrated by the Russo-Japanese War, defending that territory from a hostile power would have been untenable. The colonies functioned to exploit local resources, with few permanent settlers relocating from elsewhere in the empire to live there. The modern analogy might be mining asteroids.

  • @tomaskinoshta7589

    @tomaskinoshta7589

    19 күн бұрын

    FYI: Alaska is a parasitic state. Every year the US government sends more money to Alaska than Alaska sends back to the USA.

  • @VanAuld

    @VanAuld

    18 күн бұрын

    $7.2 million is correct.

  • @victoriaeads6126
    @victoriaeads612621 күн бұрын

    I lived in Russia for a few years back in the early 2000s. MULTIPLE times Russians asked me why America never returned Alaska after the lease expired. There was no lease, it was an outright sale. At the time it was called "Seward's Folly" because Alaska was thought to be empty of anything useful. Yeah, Russia regrets it. OTOH, what a nightmare international politics would have been (and would be again) if Russia had territory in North America 😳

  • @user-ge8yn4ql4i

    @user-ge8yn4ql4i

    20 күн бұрын

    How did they react to learning that it was a sale?

  • @argiberico

    @argiberico

    20 күн бұрын

    @@user-ge8yn4ql4i invading Georgia, Armenia, and Ukraine.

  • @dmitryisakov8769

    @dmitryisakov8769

    20 күн бұрын

    I agree. It was a sale. What actually happened to the money is debatable, but it doesn't remove the fact of sale. Now, I also want to contribute a personal anecdote. I have lived abroad for a very long time and met a lot of Americans. But so far, none of them knew who Cassius Clay is. The story of Alaska sale is incomprehensible without him. But somehow, he is practically erased from history books. Are you aware of the guy? Muhammed Ali's name before converion to islam was Cassius Clay, but it was given to him in honor of that original Clay (just for your information)😉 Let me know if this information is of interest

  • @philipliethen519

    @philipliethen519

    20 күн бұрын

    @@dmitryisakov8769 How is the story of the sale of Alaska incomprehensible without what involvement of Cassius Clay? Thank you.

  • @dmitryisakov8769

    @dmitryisakov8769

    20 күн бұрын

    ​@@philipliethen519 I will try not to go down too far down the history ;) During the election campaign in 1860, Lincoln was relatively dismissive or even hostile towards Russia. When civil war broke down in 1861 it could have become a breaking point for him, because immediately Britain and France offered support to South (inclusive initiative in recognizing South as legitimate political entity in international affairs). However, Cassius Clay was USA ambassador in Sankt-Petersburg. It was under his initiative that direct communication (letter exchange) between Lincoln and Alexander was established. Letters are quite fascinating in themselves. Particularly important the letter from Alexander describing the proposal from Britain and France on recognizing South. Alexander told Lincoln that not only he rejected the proposal, but he also declared that if Britain and France intervene, Russia would declare war on them. Russian fleet in New York and San-Francisco at critical moment of the war in 1863 was part of the same effort from Cassius Clay (British historians in early 20th century re-wrote/ridiculed that event), including the emperors order to Russian admiral, that in the event of British or France attack he submit his fleet under command of Lincoln. Emancipation of serfs in Russia took place in 1861. While there were multiple abolitionists around Lincoln, he was refusing to make abolition of slavery as focus in the Civil War. It was Cassius Clay, that personally delivered the copy of Russian Emancipation Manifesto to Lincoln in 1862, and kind of shamed Lincoln into pivoting and declaring abolition of slavery in 1863. Collaboration between Lincoln and Russia continued throughout the war. Cassius Clay particularly pushed for a telegraph line project that would connect USA to Europe through Alaska and whole Russian territory. That project was championed by Wester Union. And it is in the reports from this project one can find that everyone (both Russians and Americans) knew well by 1865 that Alaska had deposits of gold. However, after the end of civil war and more importantly the assassination of Lincoln everything went downhill. Note that within the year of Lincoln assassination the first attempt on Alexander’s life took place. It took them 4 attempts to kill him. By them I mean British puppet masters - too much data points towards them. However, even after Lincoln assassination Clay tried to maintain the alliance and he was pushing to telegraph project. But in 1866 trans-Atlantic telegraph line was complete making the east route less attractive. Clay tried to save this project, he also tried to preserve the alliance with Russia. It was him who proposed the idea of Alaska sale and he was working on that project. But his plan was to make it a vehicle to preserve alliance. But Seward was in pro-British camp. On Russian side it is important to understand that Alaska was not formally Russian. It was actually part of Russian-American company - a private corporation that was actually causing a lot of trouble for the emperor. So he actually wanted to break it. And from his perspective he was killing 2 birds with one stone. But he underestimated the influence of corruption. Including the fact that his ambassador Stoeckl was compromised by the company. By the time of sale, Clay was removed from his position and was marginalized. And the whole Alaska deal was repackaged. So now we know it a Sewards folly. This is just a gist of it. I think enough for the KZread post 😉)

  • @Mike-kc5ew
    @Mike-kc5ew21 күн бұрын

    The selling of Alaska was a calculated decision of Russia at the time. Don't forget, history does not occur in a vacuum. Russia had just been to war with the UK, and the UK claimed a large portion of the Pacific Northwest in British Columbia, and the Yukon, which bordered Alaska. It wasn't too hard to predict that if Russia would be in another war with the UK, they may lose the Alaska territory and receive no financial compensation. So Russia determined how much they assumed the land to be worth (boy were they off), and sold it to anyone but Britain. The U.S. just happened to be in the right place at the right time for the sale to work out for their favor.

  • @gideonmele1556

    @gideonmele1556

    20 күн бұрын

    And the Great Game was far more important than what was seen as a vast, sparely populated snowfield that had some good sealing. Offloading that flank to a neutral third party for a nice chunk of change seemed like a good play until the gold and oil discoveries which to be fair, Russia wasn’t in a position to capitalize on even if the kept it.

  • @Sarindanvelor

    @Sarindanvelor

    20 күн бұрын

    i mean tbf they were worried about the brits taking it so they sold it to people who had a pretty solid recent track record of beating the brits

  • @justonecornetto80

    @justonecornetto80

    20 күн бұрын

    @@Sarindanvelor Solid track record? Are you forgetting the War of 1812 when the British threw the US out of Canada then marched into Washington and had a party in the White House before burning it down? By the end of the war, the US was practically bankrupt because of the British naval blockade. Track record indeed.

  • @johnc2438

    @johnc2438

    15 күн бұрын

    @@justonecornetto80 But then there was that little coda in New Orleans, before word of the treaty signing had reached the battling belligerents in the Gulf of Mexico. The Duke of Wellington's son-in-law met his end at the hand of Old HIckory.

  • @danfsteeple

    @danfsteeple

    14 күн бұрын

    And it hurt the Native Alaskans

  • @joluoto
    @joluoto20 күн бұрын

    Russia actually needed cash at the time, and just like the Americans called it Steward's Folly, St. Petersburg considered Alaska completely worthless. The money they got from the sale went right into much needed infrastructure projects.

  • @Docwilson91
    @Docwilson9120 күн бұрын

    For those who didn’t do the math, Alaskan oil reserves are worth $275.2 billion according the data Simon provided.

  • @ChicagoFaucet.etc.

    @ChicagoFaucet.etc.

    20 күн бұрын

    Great. That almost pays for Ukraine. 🙄

  • @autobootpiloot

    @autobootpiloot

    20 күн бұрын

    @@ChicagoFaucet.etc.thankfully the more stable world economy pays for the aid to Ukraine more than ten times over. And the arms manufacturers flourish because of it. And it gives the us more international power that will pay for it. And that power will make the us sell even more arms to allies. Not helping Ukraine will be the end of the us being a superpower. Every single man outside of the us knows that. Sadly more and more people inside the us don’t have a clue of anything outside its borders. The ones that do support Ukraine.

  • @andrewharper3165

    @andrewharper3165

    20 күн бұрын

    ​@@autobootpilootaptly surmised Sir.

  • @Docwilson91

    @Docwilson91

    19 күн бұрын

    @@autobootpiloot the US supplying Ukraine allow the US to get rid of older stock and allows us to make new munitions. So it’s a win at least for arms manufacturers

  • @autobootpiloot

    @autobootpiloot

    19 күн бұрын

    @@Docwilson91 even better, a lot of weapons given would have to be recycled in the US and is now given to Ukraine. They actually save money by giving it away, but on paper they write down the replacement as the amount of military aid given. That’s not fair and very misleading in my opinion. That isn’t the case with all weapons given obviously. Everything combined does cost a lot of money, but it’s worth it I think.

  • @sparky7915
    @sparky791520 күн бұрын

    While men were searching for gold they had to eat too. Apparently there were Chinese in Alaska preparing food for the men. According to my bathroom reader some men woke up a Chinese guy looking for food. In a hurry he gathered all kinds of leftovers and put it all together. The men loved it and asked him what it was. The Chinese said it was Chop Suey or junk food.

  • @captainspaulding5963

    @captainspaulding5963

    20 күн бұрын

    Chop suey is widely believed to have been developed in the U.S. by Chinese Americans, but the anthropologist E. N. Anderson, traces the dish to tsap seui (杂碎, "miscellaneous leftovers"), common in Taishan (Toisan), a county in Guangdong province, the home of many early Chinese immigrants to the United States

  • @dereksollows9783
    @dereksollows978320 күн бұрын

    That story about Dr Flemings' sufferings at the hand of big-medicine keeps repeating endlessly.

  • @petertrevorah7689
    @petertrevorah768920 күн бұрын

    I’m so glad you mentioned Howard Florey and his team. So often I have read simplistic histories of penicillin that give all the credit to Fleming. As you have said, the truth is much more nuanced but it was Florey and his team that actually put the drug to work saving lives.

  • @robertthomson1587

    @robertthomson1587

    16 күн бұрын

    Indeed. The Australian prime minister Sir Robert Menzies said, "In terms of world well-being, Florey was the most important man ever born in Australia".

  • @WaywardVet
    @WaywardVet20 күн бұрын

    The Louisiana Purchase. Not only did France give away land they hadn't conqured, it pretty much set the stage for "It's ours on paper".

  • @nyuuchan3563

    @nyuuchan3563

    20 күн бұрын

    This is true. The fact that no other country disputed the purchase tho…

  • @grizzlygrizzle

    @grizzlygrizzle

    20 күн бұрын

    The expansion of a primitive, tribal theocratic ideology beginning around 632 AD.

  • @WaywardVet

    @WaywardVet

    19 күн бұрын

    @@nyuuchan3563 And i will admit, i am a US Cavalry veterean. There were disputes. We still laugh about Custer. Tecumseh we revere. (I should clarify. Nations protested. My branch of the army behaved poorly)

  • @SnowLeopard-lt1vf

    @SnowLeopard-lt1vf

    19 күн бұрын

    @@grizzlygrizzlesounds like your describing Christianity in the 11th-13th century more than 632.

  • @ADobbin1

    @ADobbin1

    17 күн бұрын

    It was french territory. The Spanish gave it away.

  • @lajoyalobos2009
    @lajoyalobos200921 күн бұрын

    Aren't sparrows mostly insectivores? Whoever thought that was a good idea had no clue what they were doing. If anything, one would think having MORE sparrows would be a good thing.

  • @giselematthews7949

    @giselematthews7949

    20 күн бұрын

    Ya, the government in China and Russia is still in the dark ages.

  • @gideonmele1556

    @gideonmele1556

    20 күн бұрын

    Mao is as Mao does

  • @swlak516

    @swlak516

    20 күн бұрын

    Commies gonna Commie

  • @southerndruid3391

    @southerndruid3391

    20 күн бұрын

    Sparrows are omnivores. Like most other finches, they are opportunists.

  • @jonthinks6238

    @jonthinks6238

    20 күн бұрын

    Mao got almost everything wrong. 😅

  • @GLASSB182
    @GLASSB18220 күн бұрын

    I absolutely love the name of this video lol. Like Arthur C. Clarke once said, "A hundred mistakes would not matter, when a single success could change the destiny of the world." But in these cases, it did matter lmao.

  • @aceundead4750

    @aceundead4750

    20 күн бұрын

    Lol or you could view this video as "a hundred successes wont matter when a single mistake can change the destiny of the world."

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn222320 күн бұрын

    0:40 - Mid roll ads 2:10 - Chapter 1 - The killing of sparrows in china & the great famine 5:10 - Chapter 2 - Discovery of penicilin 8:50 - Chapter 3 - Constantinople's unlocked gate 12:55 - Chapter 4 - Russia sells alaska

  • @SenorGato237
    @SenorGato23717 күн бұрын

    "Why did Constantinople get the works? An unlocked gate," just doesn't have the same ring to it.

  • @WAL_DC-6B

    @WAL_DC-6B

    15 күн бұрын

    "Why did Constantinople get the works?" ...... "that's nobody's business but the Turks!" has a better "ring to it."

  • @treydezellem27
    @treydezellem2721 күн бұрын

    Selling Alaska was not a blunder, it was a necessity to survive as a state. It was completely worthless to the Russians therefore just because it’s been discovered for its resources now doesn’t mean it was a blunder.

  • @guru47pi

    @guru47pi

    17 күн бұрын

    Exactly. Think of it this way: Russia already has 5-6 Alaskas that they can actually defend; they're called Siberia. Siberia is loaded with gold, oil, titanium, diamonds, etc. It's just extremely poor bc all the money goes to the czar, the Party, or oligarchs, depending on the century. Put another way, this is like saying France should never have sold Louisiana to the US. They had only gotten back from Spain a few years before the sale, and had no ability to defend it. Selling both to the US were basically the countries getting paid to acknowledge the reality that they couldn't develop or defend the regions

  • @kj55
    @kj5520 күн бұрын

    Can you imagine how different the cold war would have played out if Russia still had Alaska

  • @landtuna3469

    @landtuna3469

    15 күн бұрын

    ....or northern California?

  • @danfsteeple

    @danfsteeple

    14 күн бұрын

    The White Army probably would have fled to Alaska

  • @acerimmer8338

    @acerimmer8338

    9 күн бұрын

    Yeah, it would've been even colder. Gets pretty chilly up in Alaska.

  • @brianmarple9029
    @brianmarple902919 күн бұрын

    Watching this while on the Alaskan north slope working in the oilfield made it all the better.

  • @padawanmage71
    @padawanmage7120 күн бұрын

    “Hey, that’s a cool looking horse!” King Priam of Troy

  • @mikesturyan9
    @mikesturyan920 күн бұрын

    Pretty sure it was the cannons knocking down the walls that let the Ottomans in.

  • @johnvaleanbaily246
    @johnvaleanbaily24621 күн бұрын

    Yeah... about the Alaska purchase. You do realize that the Klondike gold rush happened in Canada, not Alaska. In fact the Klondike is region of the Yukon territory (as it was then), in north-western Canada... Always good to get your facts right.

  • @sydhenderson6753

    @sydhenderson6753

    21 күн бұрын

    I think Simon has a video on the Klondike and Alaska gold rushes. The Americans who went to the Klondike went through Alaska. The Nome gold rush was kind of a sequel and a lot easier to get to since it isn't hundreds of miles inland.

  • @pmgn8444

    @pmgn8444

    20 күн бұрын

    Very true. Fact Boi and some of his writers aren't really concerned about accuracy. US merchants in Seattle and in Skagway, Alaska Territory, made a fortune equipping people heading into Canada's Klondike.

  • @baronvonjo1929

    @baronvonjo1929

    20 күн бұрын

    ​@@pmgn8444I'm sure they care. But with how many topics they cover and how many videos I don't particularly expect everything to be right but its still annoying.

  • @et76039

    @et76039

    20 күн бұрын

    Wikipedia points to the Klondike Gold Rush as a factor in populating Alaska. Although the Klondike is indeed in Canada, access was through Alaska, so Simon doesn't lose points on that. Both trails that were used to get to the Klondike originated in Alaska. It took the AlCan Highway to get a major road to tie the Yukon to the rest of Canada, several decades later.

  • @beerasaurus
    @beerasaurus20 күн бұрын

    Mao was the most powerful fool ever

  • @jonthinks6238

    @jonthinks6238

    20 күн бұрын

    He sets the deplorable record for killing the most people. Yes and china is still communist.

  • @grizzlygrizzle

    @grizzlygrizzle

    20 күн бұрын

    Biden: "Hold my beer."

  • @DubhghlasMacDubhghlas

    @DubhghlasMacDubhghlas

    19 күн бұрын

    @@grizzlygrizzle I don't like Biden but to think he is worse than Mao shows how uneducated you are.

  • @112313

    @112313

    17 күн бұрын

    ​@@DubhghlasMacDubhghlasgive joe some time...and he will kill millions through nothing but gaffe.

  • @DavidMcdonald-df8tb

    @DavidMcdonald-df8tb

    13 күн бұрын

    The more I hear about that guy Mao the more I think he was a real jerk.

  • @tango_uniform
    @tango_uniform20 күн бұрын

    My dad taught me about Chinese sparrows 60 years ago. Very interesting.

  • @thomasjones4570
    @thomasjones457020 күн бұрын

    A blunder requires real time carelessness. Not carelessness long after the fact. Thus, Russia selling Alaska was not a blunder. It actually made perfect sense not only at the time, but also the near future. In fact, even after the mini-gold rush, Alaska still would have been un-defendable by Russia and America was...itching to take it. The risk for Russia was still too great as it not only meant an issue with a future war with Britain, it also meant holding land that could cause a conflict with America as well.

  • @baneofbanes

    @baneofbanes

    20 күн бұрын

    Thing is even for the time the sale of Alaska was extremely cheap. They very likely could’ve charged more for the territory and America still would’ve paid it.

  • @thomasjones4570

    @thomasjones4570

    20 күн бұрын

    @@baneofbanes Still does not fit the criteria for a blunder as a things value is relative. At the time the land held little value for Russia as they could not defend it and the little they could gleam from the land did not add any value to Russia or its economy coupled with the fact that anything they wanted to do with it came with a higher cost of transport over such a vast distance. To this day the land itself has little value and that is why its population is under 1 million despite its size.

  • @gideonmele1556

    @gideonmele1556

    20 күн бұрын

    @@baneofbanesthe concern was the US rejecting the proposal and the Brits just taking it. So either get cash or lose it anyway. If they knew oil and gold were there, that would be even more incentive for Britain to strike at that mostly undefended vast tract of snow. Giving the Brits ports so close to the Russian Pacific would have been even worse

  • @martinfitzsimons5884
    @martinfitzsimons588421 күн бұрын

    Its clear how well Keeps works. Simon’s beard is coming along nicely 😎👍

  • @StephenJohnson-jb7xe
    @StephenJohnson-jb7xe20 күн бұрын

    If you are alarmed by how Simon pronounced Seeward you should hear how he pronounces quarter horse.

  • @kimiyoshi1818
    @kimiyoshi181819 күн бұрын

    This video reminds me of the book "100 Mistakes that Changed History" by Bill Fawcett. It's a good read, and makes me think that history is not just about winners, but cataclysmic blunders.

  • @patrickbo2045
    @patrickbo204517 күн бұрын

    Elephants, you say? Check out the naked mole rat, that's a freak of nature that pretty much deserves its own video

  • @kidbluboo
    @kidbluboo21 күн бұрын

    Holy crap Simon I've literally watched 5 new videos from you today spread across all your channels! Keep them coming!

  • @Hillbilly001

    @Hillbilly001

    20 күн бұрын

    He's a Lizard Overlord. Allegedly.

  • @stephd2607

    @stephd2607

    20 күн бұрын

    Only 5? Those are rookie numbers.

  • @yukonbikerguy
    @yukonbikerguy20 күн бұрын

    Thanks for the video guys, always entertaining! The 1898 Klondike gold rush happened in Yukon Territory Canada. The people came through Skagway USA and over the White Pass into Canada to Dawson City Yukon. It wasn't part of Alaska and so that gold would not have belonged to Russia. The gold in Nome and the oil are real Alaskan treasures though, that would have been Russian.

  • @DavidWRankinJr
    @DavidWRankinJr20 күн бұрын

    The US was the enemy of my enemy for Russia. The British had local troops in Canada, and a history of fighting wars for territory. Alaska was at the very far end of a supply train for Russia at the very time when it couldn’t afford to maintain it. The British tried to take Crimea and almost fought the US for Oregon and Vancouver several times, why wouldn’t Alexander think Britain would use any excuse to take Alaska from him. The Yukon Gold Rush would have provided that excuse if nothing else. To use the old expression, Alexander cut his losses. Yes, Alaska was worth more than he got, but he was better off with it in US hands than British hands.

  • @tomriley5790

    @tomriley5790

    10 күн бұрын

    Yep I'm pretty sure he was hoping it would lead to a war between Britian and the US if he got lucky...

  • @philiphumphrey1548
    @philiphumphrey154820 күн бұрын

    I would say Boudicca's decision to fight a pitched battle with the Romans at Watling Street (ignoring all the hard learned lessons and experience of the previous 17 years) was a monumental blunder that had long term effects. But for that England might never have been Romanized and history could have been very different.

  • @tomriley5790

    @tomriley5790

    10 күн бұрын

    Reality is Britain was never really romanised, we were always an uncivilised barbarian frontier that cost more to keep than was gained, that's why the Romans withdrew (as well as all those troops required to keep Britain under control led to an uncomfortably large force that every hundred years or so would give the commander the idea of setting off to try and conquer rome themselves).

  • @nanoglitch6693
    @nanoglitch669319 күн бұрын

    YO!!! As an Alaskan, massive kudos on pronouncing Kenai correctly! Non-locals pretty much ubiquitously *always* get it wrong with a baffling consistency lol. 😂

  • @mathiassommer1851
    @mathiassommer185121 күн бұрын

    Man I really like that almost everyday when I go to bed there is a new video. Thank you!

  • @djsonicc
    @djsonicc20 күн бұрын

    "it isn't clear who left the gate unlocked..." Yeah I can't imagine too many people being eager to admit that kind of a blunder lol

  • @jasondarland2383
    @jasondarland238321 күн бұрын

    After starving through a few months of siege for an emperor who probably treats me like shit anyway, can bet your ass id sneak through that gate for a late night smoke and just forget to close it on the way back.

  • @Davy_Blaze

    @Davy_Blaze

    20 күн бұрын

    Well if the attacking force new about your colaboration, sure. Otherwise by opening gates you would be killed as a regular enemy soldier.

  • @Hanoverfist86
    @Hanoverfist8619 күн бұрын

    Quote “History is a pack of fables that is agreed upon.”Napoleon Bonaparte 🇫🇷

  • @Jakey4000
    @Jakey400020 күн бұрын

    At least at my pharmacy we don't care if you're looking for any product for a reason, we just want to make sure you're getting the best option available, or advice if the only option is to get a prescription

  • @amaccama3267
    @amaccama326721 күн бұрын

    Congratulations on 1M

  • @wailingalen
    @wailingalen20 күн бұрын

    Mao's "Great Leap into Famine and Death"

  • @tritium1998

    @tritium1998

    Күн бұрын

    He gained more food and lives than ever after the Great Leap Forward instead of collapsing into civil war and assassination like other glorified regimes.

  • @fatmanjones5359
    @fatmanjones535921 күн бұрын

    Had to watch Cleetus,That Chapter then your video. Top 3 is pretty good but you hold 3 of my top 10 favorite videos to watch.

  • @RedBeardTheFirst

    @RedBeardTheFirst

    21 күн бұрын

    When you say Cleetus do you mean the Resurrection of the Fiero?

  • @seanwiley558
    @seanwiley55820 күн бұрын

    Well, I guess I am now officially part of the Simon club. You mentioned your mega projects channel.... paused this video... searched, found, and subscribed. 😂

  • @demon.shisui494
    @demon.shisui49420 күн бұрын

    Damn Simon ngl been watching you since I was but a wee lad and it’s great to see you still doing interesting videos and showing more of your personality. Been loving you’re stuff since the good ole Top 10 channel videos. Found you originally for historical videos and stayed for the extra random facts🤣😂

  • @scottmeredith3359

    @scottmeredith3359

    20 күн бұрын

    The only videos of his I’ve seen (a LOT) all date back to 2020 at the oldest. He has videos much older than that??

  • @kevoseddo4064
    @kevoseddo406418 күн бұрын

    Will you make a video about historic retail companies? For example, sears used to be huge and sell full home building kits. I wonder if there are even older companies that had a massive inventory

  • @scottjackson1420
    @scottjackson142021 күн бұрын

    Biggest mistake? Dating the hot redhead for 2 1/2 years as an undergrad. My God, were there bad long-term repercussions from THAT!

  • @Jameson1776

    @Jameson1776

    21 күн бұрын

    Do tell?

  • @gideonmele1556

    @gideonmele1556

    20 күн бұрын

    Ayyyyyyyy We all have at least one

  • @grizzlygrizzle

    @grizzlygrizzle

    20 күн бұрын

    Choosing a wife because she's good in bed is up there, too.

  • @tomriley5790

    @tomriley5790

    10 күн бұрын

    I'd love to hear the rest of this story but it doesn't sound like it was entirely without its compensations :-)!

  • @peterdollins3610
    @peterdollins361021 күн бұрын

    The crusade fro m Venice a rival of 'the City' inspired by Pope Innocent to Jerusalum stopped at Constatinoble & sacked the City in 1204? so weakening the Empire. This led to the weakness and to the end of Constantinoble. Those fleeing 'the City' took knowledge to Italy so sparking the Renaissance.

  • @azureandnoir3274
    @azureandnoir327420 күн бұрын

    leaving my high paying job to start a business with a jack ass who stole my ideas then tried to sue me is in my top 10 greatest mistakes that and messaging my ex

  • @grizzlygrizzle

    @grizzlygrizzle

    20 күн бұрын

    Idea-stealing has become quite commonplace these days.

  • @azureandnoir3274

    @azureandnoir3274

    19 күн бұрын

    @@grizzlygrizzle its frustratingly annoying and sad when you try your hardest to think outside the box just to have it ripped away from you

  • @2neetoon
    @2neetoon21 күн бұрын

    Forking over Alaska is certainly a "blunder." I guess they miss those billions every year.

  • @abrvalg321

    @abrvalg321

    21 күн бұрын

    In his casual russophobia Simon never told you that the reason was purely political and not economic.

  • @Shinzon23

    @Shinzon23

    21 күн бұрын

    ​@@abrvalg321 russophobia? I sense a Russian troll

  • @cwj2733

    @cwj2733

    21 күн бұрын

    @@abrvalg321selling alaska was purely a goofy ass choice. the slavs there had been making GOOD ass money the decades they owned it. they sold it cus they were just scared of british and were poor because of crimea. there is no russian bias. they were driven into a financial hole because they wanted crimea, and that they have obliterated the otter population in alaska. so they goofily sold alaska. the end

  • @aq5426

    @aq5426

    20 күн бұрын

    They still consider Alaska to be Russian territory, and given half a chance they'll swipe it from us.

  • @aq5426

    @aq5426

    20 күн бұрын

    @@abrvalg321 Slava Ukraini, bot.

  • @aguynamednathan
    @aguynamednathan21 күн бұрын

    Getting here this early is one of the GREATEST accomplishments of my life!

  • @clintonpangburn3698
    @clintonpangburn369821 күн бұрын

    It's the blunders rather than the success that keeps us coming back Simon!

  • @JamesOfEarth

    @JamesOfEarth

    21 күн бұрын

    Seaward

  • @samuelgarrod8327

    @samuelgarrod8327

    21 күн бұрын

    Successful missions aren't interesting. Hence all the films about the Vietnam war.

  • @Makem12
    @Makem129 күн бұрын

    So basically, #1 is don't go messing with an ecosystem until you have a very strong understanding of it and its relationships with plants and animals.

  • @Qolos
    @Qolos20 күн бұрын

    Now we know why Constantinople got the works.

  • @johncentamore1052

    @johncentamore1052

    20 күн бұрын

    That's nobody's business but the Turks

  • @obijoel4209
    @obijoel42096 күн бұрын

    Hey Simon...would be nice to see a video on the positive side of this - where we learn about historical "mistakes" that actually lead to wonderful, life-saving inventions or medicines. The discovery of penicillin was good in this video but I'd like to know more.

  • @drake6sermos665
    @drake6sermos66521 күн бұрын

    Sweet Drop, Simon

  • @rwarren58
    @rwarren5815 күн бұрын

    Thank you. As of this moment, no elephant should be safe.

  • @ferengiprofiteer9145
    @ferengiprofiteer914520 күн бұрын

    Manhattan Island was purchased for 14 billion dollars in beads. (Adjusted for today's money)

  • @MattValtezzy95
    @MattValtezzy9520 күн бұрын

    I saw the Great Chinese Famine was the first thing you were bringing up and took a swig of my cocktail

  • @starkiller578
    @starkiller57820 күн бұрын

    HOW MANY KZread CHANNELS DOES THIS MAN HOST?!??😭💀

  • @theangryotaku3361

    @theangryotaku3361

    20 күн бұрын

    yes

  • @briansimon4363
    @briansimon436317 күн бұрын

    Only in a story about Penicillin could there be a poster ‘curing gonorrhoea in 4 hours’ and a scientist called V. D. Allison. Is my mind twisted and dark?!🤣

  • @SquallLeonhartlo
    @SquallLeonhartlo15 күн бұрын

    As for Alaska, Russia felt it was in a situation where it either had to sell Alaska or someone would take it by force. Defending it, establishing the infrastructure necessary to profit from it, and sending people there to work the land were all going to be too expensive and difficult for the Russians to be seen as worthwhile. The Russians and Americans had a survey of Alaska done before the sale, and it was known that there was a lot of mineral wealth there. The Russians just weren't going to be in a position to exploit it before someone took it from them. It's comparable to if America were to sell the moon to aliens, because the aliens might take it anyway and America couldn't really exploit it effectively.

  • @maxcichon2557
    @maxcichon255719 күн бұрын

    "Casual Friday"? Stocking feet and open pantries?

  • @saiynoq6745
    @saiynoq674520 күн бұрын

    5:11 my wife had a C section an they stuffed her with a gel that had sliver in it to help with healing on a number of levels an I can see why sliver was so important way back I’m sure they could see back then how it help

  • @DenethorDurrandir
    @DenethorDurrandir20 күн бұрын

    I feel sympathetic to Constantinopole, can't even count how many times my teammates in Rust left the doors open, leaving us vulnerable to a raid.

  • @Gungnirs_revenge
    @Gungnirs_revenge20 күн бұрын

    Love the fact keeps has literally made the link Simons name

  • @Laszlo34
    @Laszlo3419 күн бұрын

    I love the ad for Keeps as read by the poster child for...Losts ;P

  • @whyjnot420
    @whyjnot42017 күн бұрын

    2200 year old Roman Empire. 753 BC (traditional date of the founding of Rome) - 1453 CE (fall of Constantinople)

  • @JordaneseTyphoon-jk6fr
    @JordaneseTyphoon-jk6fr20 сағат бұрын

    You did make one small error: Mao didn’t “step down” in 1976. He died

  • @jensphiliphohmann1876
    @jensphiliphohmann187612 күн бұрын

    12:45 Actually, the Turks called the city Konstantiniye. The name Istanbul which was increasingly adopted until it became the official name of the capital in the 19th century and was eventually confirmed as such in 1930 to make it sound more Turkish is of Greek origin. It derives from "eis tin polin" ("into the city").

  • @plaguedoct0r
    @plaguedoct0r20 күн бұрын

    One time I was born, and I've been regretting it ever since.

  • @Gator198l
    @Gator198l18 күн бұрын

    "History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men." Godzilla by Blue Oyster Cult.

  • @The_Butler_Did_It
    @The_Butler_Did_It17 күн бұрын

    Can't help thinking the sponsor of this video might have made a tiny blunder: Use Keeps and you too could have a full head of hair, just like I haven't

  • @conradbo1
    @conradbo118 күн бұрын

    The historical blunder you made Simon was to put keeps on your chin instead of your head. But still I must admit that your look works very well

  • @do6631
    @do663120 күн бұрын

    Russia never would have been able to hold onto Alaska. Selling it was the best possible option. Yeah the gold rush started in Canada, but it did spread to Alaska. And had it been a Russian holding then, it wouldn't have stopped the Americans from going in and claiming it.

  • @amethyst49ergurl
    @amethyst49ergurl21 күн бұрын

    Oooh new video 🎉

  • @billness2635
    @billness263518 күн бұрын

    Couple of corrections to the Alaska story. First one is the purchase price was $7.2 million dollars, not $17 million. Second point is the pronunciation of Seward. It’s not “Sea Ward” it’s “Soo Ward.”

  • @judyd1

    @judyd1

    15 күн бұрын

    That accent is disconcerting...my closed captioning shows he actually said seven point two million.

  • @javiermoretti1825
    @javiermoretti182518 күн бұрын

    Blunder: It wasn't "Emperor Constantinople," he was Constantine XI Palaiologos.

  • @here_we_go_again2571
    @here_we_go_again257119 күн бұрын

    As soon as British settlement in Canada reached British Columbia, Canada would have seized Alaska. The Tsar did well to sell it; the money enabled him to free the serfs and to begin building Russia's railway.

  • @Crioten
    @Crioten20 күн бұрын

    The starfishes, really, really love you ;]

  • @julianaylor4351
    @julianaylor435120 күн бұрын

    Look it another way, if we were as clever as we think we are, there would be no horrible or amazingly lucky incidents, like these events in history.

  • @grizzlygrizzle

    @grizzlygrizzle

    20 күн бұрын

    Intellectual arrogance is almost always involved when there's a catastrophe in modern times.

  • @dellseasandoval8187
    @dellseasandoval818720 күн бұрын

    I laughed my ass off when the bald dude is promoting a hair growth product but it is absolutely genius. The gentleman speaking as the host talks about how his hair journey is over and using expressions like that bald dude on the Internet just makes me laugh so much. What a brilliant advertisement. Normally I hate ads with a passion and do everything to skip them 99% of the time, but this definitely represents one of those rare one percent occasions. I hope the announcer always promotes the hair growth products because I absolutely love the way he does it. The opposite and I’m so freaking I have to shave my head & some areas of my body every month because I’m like a gorilla 🦍.

  • @parallaxnick637
    @parallaxnick63715 күн бұрын

    No love for Vortigern? Who invited the English into Britain to help fend off the Irish and Scots? And then got betrayed when they wouldn't stop coming? Imagine a world where he didn't make that mistake.

  • @-Angelscor-
    @-Angelscor-20 күн бұрын

    A little correction and humble info contribution, Mehmed II's army during the siege of Constantinople was approximately more than 100,000 men, not 60,000. The enormous giant cannons the turks had were forged by Hungarian engineer Orban who defected to the ottoman empire as a resentful Christian.

  • @tomriley5790

    @tomriley5790

    10 күн бұрын

    Resentful because the byzantines wouldn't pay what he wanted they didn't have the cash. He blew himself up with one of his guns during the siege.

  • @randypullman1155
    @randypullman115520 күн бұрын

    Alaska wasn't a bad deal. It was sell it, or it would be colonized . Defending it would be impossible. Russia did point out that sale was the same as buying the Brooklyn bridge. Bonus zero gallons of oil from Alaska goes to Americans.

  • @gtd-sq2pj
    @gtd-sq2pj20 күн бұрын

    Damn it! Simon.

  • @BLOXKAFELLARECORDS
    @BLOXKAFELLARECORDS19 күн бұрын

    👏🏽 good show.

  • @kevbis4231
    @kevbis42312 күн бұрын

    I lived in Dawson city Yukon Canada still looks the same as the gold rush!!

  • @valiant971
    @valiant97120 күн бұрын

    It isn't pronounced William "Seeward", it's "Suard".

  • @jameslong4511
    @jameslong451112 күн бұрын

    It was Bob who left the gate unlocked. Mystery solved.

  • @seandelap8587
    @seandelap858721 күн бұрын

    Where do you even start with all this

  • @JoRoWi83
    @JoRoWi837 күн бұрын

    The Alaska blunder… how much gold has been pulled from that land

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj391720 күн бұрын

    0:01 ...Oh, jeez!! Where to begin? *SO* many choices... 🤣

  • @ericdanielski4802
    @ericdanielski480221 күн бұрын

    Nice video.

  • @hewhoshallnotbenamed5168
    @hewhoshallnotbenamed516813 күн бұрын

    Russia probably curses Alexander II's name to this day for selling off Alaska after gold AND oil were discovered there, lol.

  • @tomriley5790

    @tomriley5790

    10 күн бұрын

    Not really they wouldn't have been able to hold on to it anyway..

  • @casper_z1259
    @casper_z1259Күн бұрын

    12:46 It officially became Turkish but it would not be renamed Istanbul until the 20th century.

  • @mandygershon8603
    @mandygershon860319 күн бұрын

    Nice to hear about Alaska; I live here. There are still Alaska Natives who are also part of the Siberian tribes. Russian fur traders destroyed entire Native villages here back then, too. We're not exactly anti-colonial here because of that. And yes, we have A LOT of oil. We're just not allowed to get it.