6/ What if Marshall Grouchy and his 34 000 men had arrived a little earlier at the Battle of Waterloo?
During the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon sent Marshall Grouchy with more than 30 000 men to claim victory and win the battle. Unfortunately, he arrived a little after the battle… a very costly delay!
7/ What if the Tatin mothers hadn’t upturned their apple pie?
They often say the best recipes are the most simple. Errors can be even better that simplicity as they can result in a culinary wonder! If the Tatin mothers hadn’t dropped their apple tart then the legendary tarte tatin would never have been invented. Another mistake that lead to a miraculous invention is penicillin…
8/ What if Christopher Colombus hadn’t mistaken the Continent?
We all know the story. But can you imagine what would have been the course of history if Christopher Columbus had not set foot in America?
9/ What if the Germans hadn’t given in to a rumour during the First World War?
Could the Germans have lost the war due to a simple rumour? They thought that everyone was coming! They apparently thought the Russians had landed in the United Kingdom to help them win the war. The rumor was spread by a train controller who mistook a group of Gaelic speaking Scots from the Highlands as Russians… Then there was another communication error, by radio this time, which made the Germans believe that the Soviets had arrived. After this the Germans decided to withdraw some troops from the Battle of the Marne. You know the rest …..
10/ What if the scientists in charge of the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft had taken into account the conversion?
A simple conversion error which ended up being a costly mistake! The English team in charge of propellers had not thought to warn the Americans of the metric system the used. The team had used inches instead of centimetres. NASA used the calculations without converting which meant the probe did not reach the intended orbit!
