17 Unbelievable Blunders That Left Us Scratching Our Heads
This post may contain affiliate links.
We all love a good facepalm moment, even better when it’s not our own. Throughout history, people and corporations have made decisions that make the rest of us shake our heads in disbelief. It’s not just small mistakes; we’re talking about Titanic-sized blunders (literally).
For Instance, did you know that Coca-Cola lost $30 million a few months after its ill-fated ‘New Coke’ launch in 1985? These stories will leave you saying, “How on earth did they manage to get that wrong?”
Most of the time, humans are more likely to remember failure stories than success stories. Why? We love a good laugh, lesson, and a little schadenfreude. Here are 17 of the most head-scratching, laugh-inducing, absolutely unbelievable blunders of all time.
Blockbuster Passes on Netflix
So, who would pass up the chance to control the future of entertainment? Blockbuster, that’s who. In 2000, they all laughed off Netflix’s offer to be bought for just $50 million, saying the idea wouldn’t work.
Skip forward to today, and Netflix has cultivated over 250 million subscribers worldwide, with more than $35 billion in yearly revenue—while Blockbuster is now reduced to a single nostalgic store in Bend, Oregon.
Coca-Cola’s New Coke Fiasco
The “1985 New Coke” disaster by Coca-Cola is another head-scratcher. Consumers were outraged that the company thought it would be bold to change its beloved 99-year-old formula.
Protests occurred, and within 79 days, sales plummeted. Coca-Cola sheepishly returned to the old formula, rebranding it as “Coca-Cola Classic.”
Yahoo Rejects Google
Yahoo also fumbled the bag big time. In 1998, they had the chance to buy Google for $1 million, but they passed, thinking they had a better model. Yahoo has faded into relative obscurity amid a string of missteps, and Google is worth trillions.
Imagine the regret of watching your potential acquisition go on to rule the internet.
Microsoft’s Zune Disaster
Microsoft, of course, decided to try to dethrone the iPod with the Zune in 2006. It was doomed to fail against Apple’s sleek, user-friendly juggernaut because of clunky marketing, limited features, and uninspired design.
Although Microsoft poured billions into development, the Zune was retired in 2012. It’s as if Steve Jobs smiled down somewhere, thinking, “You can’t out-Apple Apple.”
The Trojan Horse Trap
History’s greatest mistakes are sometimes so painfully obvious in hindsight. At the top of the list has to be the Trojans accepting a giant wooden horse from their enemies.
Did no one sit down for a second and ask, ‘Why would our enemies give us something this big?’ The result? The city of Troy was sacked overnight.
The Titanic’s Lifeboat Oversight
Fast forward to 1912, when the designers of the Titanic failed in a tragic oversight. They thought the ‘unsinkable’ ship was so safe it didn’t need enough lifeboats for its passengers.
More than 1,500 people died when disaster struck, and what had become a symbol of progress became a cautionary tale. Nowadays, maritime security guidelines are stricter but are at an unmentionable cost.
NASA’s Metric Mishap
Not even the space age can resist blunders. 1999 NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed when engineers used the metric system and imperial units.
A $125 million error in science served as a painful reminder. Who would have thought it was possible to forget to convert units?
Samsung’s Exploding Galaxy Note 7
There’s nothing as cringe-worthy as tech blunders. For example, take Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. In 2016, it was set to take over the smartphone market until reports broke that the phones were literally catching fire and even exploding.
In addition to scaring loyal customers away for years, Samsung lost almost $17 billion by recalling 1.9 million devices.
Google Glass Fizzles
Google Glass was the wearable tech that promised our future, but it ended up with a PR nightmare instead. Made available in 2013, the glasses were criticized for their $1,500 price tag, the privacy dangers of its camera, and lack of utility.
In 2015, it was shelved, showing that not even Google knows what we want. Whenever there was news about Glass users, everybody used to call them “Glassholes.”
Windows Vista Flop
Microsoft’s Windows Vista also deserves a mention. Launched in 2007, it was meant to revolutionize computing but was nothing short of frustrating.
Vista’s slow performance, crashes, and bad compatibility issues drove users back to reliable Windows XP. In fact, the operating system was so despised that PC sales dropped; a bad operating system can do that.
The Oscars Best Picture Mix-Up
Who can forget the envelope snafu at the 2017 Oscars? Just as La La Land cast members celebrated their Best Picture win, Moonlight was revealed to be the real winner.
Audiences cringed as the mistake was corrected on stage, and the moment became one of the most awkward live TV events in history. Many viewers blamed Hollywood chaos, while Warren Beatty blamed a mix-up in the envelope.
The Cats Movie “Cat-astrophe”
Cats (2019) is a cinematic disaster nobody asked for, but everybody poked fun at it. It’s a musical turned movie that became famous for its terrifying CGI, which transformed stars like Judi Dench and Idris Elba into creepy cat-human hybrids.
The film received a mindboggling 19 percent on the reviews site Rotten Tomatoes, and critics and audiences shredded it. Cats proved that a deeply loved Broadway production can’t always become a successful film.
Jar Jar Binks: The Phantom Menace of Fandoms
What about Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks, whom fans love to hate? His goofy antics and grating voice alienated many fans in The Phantom Menace.
He’s even alleged to have nearly derailed the franchise. The character got so much backlash that his screen time in the subsequent films dropped.
Napoleon’s Russian Winter Disaster
Napoleon’s decision to invade Russia in 1812 was one of the most disastrous military campaigns in history. The Russian winter proved too brutal for the French emperor, who saw a catastrophe cost.
Only about 50,000 of the 615,000 troops who entered Russia returned—nearly 92% of them casualties. That’s a chilling reminder that even the best tactician can make the biggest blunders.
The Bay of Pigs Fiasco
There was another epic failure: the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. That U.S.-backed operation had the goal of overthrowing Fidel Castro by having Cuban exiles invade, but it ended in humiliation.
It was all a global embarrassment for President Kennedy due to poor planning, no air support, and Castro’s strong defenses. It didn’t weaken Castro’s regime; it only strengthened it.
Mark Sanchez’s Butt Fumble
There’s a reason why sports fans love a good underdog story and a good blunder. The New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez gave us the “Butt Fumble” in 2012 when he ran into his teammate’s rear end and lost the ball.
The play became ESPN’s “Worst of the Worst” for years and became a viral sensation. Nobody knew football could be so unintentionally funny.
Steve Harvey’s Miss Universe Mistake
Next up is Steve Harvey’s 2015 Miss Universe gaffe. Harvey announced Miss Colombia as the winner, only to realize that Miss Philippines was the real winner mid-celebration.
Switching places awkwardly, the contestants and viewers worldwide cringed as they witnessed that correction play out live on stage. Harvey deserves credit for owning the mistake, but the internet never forgets.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
15 Classic Horror Movies That Are Still Terrifying Today
15 Classic Horror Movies That Are Still Terrifying Today
17 Unforgettable Movies You’ll Want to Watch Again and Again
17 Unforgettable Movies You’ll Want to Watch Again and Again
15 Actors Who Showed Up In Movies To Say One Line
