1

$125 million for a Grade-school math error

Image: Aaron Lefler

Imagine losing a hugely expensive spacecraft due to a simple mix-up between English and metric measurements . That is exactly what happened to NASA in 1999 when a Mars orbiter designed by Lockheed Martin was lost in space.

The confusion caused a malfunction on the $125 million craft, resulting in the probe’s loss. Although it was unusual for Lockheed to use English measurements for a NASA design (since NASA had stipulated using metric measurements for many years), there were still several instances where the error should have been caught but wasn’t.

2

Toys ‘R’ Us blunder

Image: Taylor Heery

If you think an action figure of a drug dealer isn’t the best idea for a toy store , you’re not alone. Yet, for some reason, Toys "R" Us decided otherwise in October 2014, possibly hoping to cash in on the massive success of the Breaking Bad TV series.

Unsurprisingly, the giant toy retailer was forced to pull from its shelves four collectible dolls based on characters from the AMC hit show, each doll featuring a detachable sack of cash and a bag of meth.

3

Apple Maps' rocky beginnings

Image: CardMapr.nl

When Apple decided to launch its own map application on iOS devices after a conflict with Google in 2012, users quickly realized that the Apple app was not nearly as launch-ready as it should have been .

Locations were mislabeled, roads were missing, and it occasionally steered people in entirely the wrong direction. The problem was eventually, though largely, resolved, but it was an embarrassing misstep for a company known for never launching a product before it was as near-perfect as possible.

4

Bank of America debit card fee

Image: Ali Mkumbwa

Back in 2011, when the backlash against the banking industry had not yet reached its boiling point, Bank of America announced it would charge customers $5 per month to use their debit cards .

It was a bad business decision. More than 300,000 people signed an online petition, and Fox Business Network’s Gerri Willis cut up her debit card on air. The bank pointed to federal regulations as the reason for the charge but ultimately capitulated to consumer demand after a month before the fees went into effect.

5

$33 airline tickets from Toronto to Cyprus

Image: Miguel Ángel Sanz

If buying a business class ticket regularly priced at $2,558 for just $33 sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Except in 2006, when an Alitalia employee accidentally forgot to input two extra zeros when pricing business-class tickets from Toronto to Cyprus.

Due to the exchange rate on that day and the blunder, hundreds of buyers managed to snag fares for just $33. The airline honored those deals, accepting the heavily discounted price for the 509 people who purchased tickets before the error was detected.

6

A $70 million comma

Image: Nattipat Vesvarute

As the folks at NASA and Alitalia have shown us, small errors can lead to costly mistakes. The following blunder comes courtesy of Lockheed Martin , which issued a contract to a customer with a missing comma in the sale price .

The astute customer held the aerospace company to the contract, costing Lockheed Martin $70 million for a C-130J Hercules aircraft in June 1999.

7

Sears misses the ship

Image: Estefania Cortes

A retail giant that faced a situation similar to the one Kodak faced—embrace the new and unknown or cling to the old, successful recipe—Sears sold everything from socks to tires via mail order, shipping across the U.S.

Choosing to stick with the old method, the company ended its catalog and delivery business in 1993 . In 1994, Amazon was founded , filling the business void that Sears had just created. The rest is history.

8

Passing on Microsoft

Image: Jaime Marrero

$60 million might seem like a lot of money to us regular folks, but for someone with very deep pockets like Texas businessman and two-time U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot, it wasn’t all that much.

In 1979, he was offered the chance to buy Microsoft for that sum. However, his final offer to the tech company was just $15 million, and as a result, the Texan missed out on the opportunity to own what would become one of the biggest companies in the world .

9

Blackberry sticks with the old

Image: Thai Nguyen

Another case of a brand sticking with the old instead of embracing the new, BlackBerry was all the rage at the start of the 21st century— until Steve Jobs came along with the Apple iPhone .

While BlackBerry Messenger was extremely popular, with over 80 million users worldwide, the device lacked the new touchscreen functionality and sleek design of the Apple product. From being a market leader, BlackBerry’s market share plummeted to 0.2% by 2016.

10

RadioShack’s downfall

Image: Jelleke Vanooteghem

Not so long ago, RadioShack was a familiar presence on the streets and the go-to place for buying batteries and electronics. But it was that same brick-and-mortar presence, coupled with a reluctance to embrace e-commerce , that ultimately led to its demise .

Eventually, poor profit margins on what they could sell, combined with a loan they couldn’t repay, brought down what was once the go-to place for electronics.

1

The Civil War began and ended on Wilmer McLean’s property

Virginia businessman Wilmer McLean tried to escape the Civil War by moving away from Manassas after the First Battle of Bull Run erupted near his home in 1861. Confederate General P.G.T. Beaugard even used McLean’s house as headquarters, and a Union cannonball crashed through his kitchen.

McLean relocated about 120 miles south to Appomattox Court House, hoping for peace. Instead, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in McLean’s parlor, effectively ending the war. McLean later joked that the war "began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."

2

A bullet links the first and last soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War

One long-circulated Civil War story claims that the bullet removed from the first Union casualty was later melted and reused years afterward, eventually ending with the life of one of the final soldiers of the conflict . Historians debate parts of the tale, but it became one of the war’s more enduring legends.

The coincidence works as a reflection on how Americans tried to make sense of the terrible human cost of the war. More than 600,000 people lost their lives in the conflict, making it the deadliest war in U.S. history.

3

A baby fell from a building twice, on the same man

In Detroit, during the 1930s, street sweeper Joseph Figlock reportedly became part of a bizarre accident when a baby fell from an apartment window and landed on him . The child survived, and so did Figlock.

About a year later, the same child allegedly fell from the same building again and once again landed on Figlock . Newspapers at the time treated the story as one of the strangest coincidences ever recorded in America. One might argue that street sweepers spend a disproportionate amount of time on the same streets, but the situation is still quite incredible.

4

Anthony Hopkins accidentally found the exact book he needed

While preparing for the 1972 film The Girl from Petrovka , actor Anthony Hopkins searched London bookstores for a rare copy of George Feifer’s novel. After failing to locate one anywhere, he sat down on the subway and noticed a forgotten copy of the tome in question lying on a bench .

Months later, Hopkins met Feifer himself and learned that the author had lent his annotated personal copy to a friend, who had lost it on the London Underground. The abandoned copy Hopkins found turned out to be that exact copy.

5

John Wilkes Booth is in one of Abraham Lincoln’s last photographs

John Wilkes Booth was already a nationally famous actor before assassinating President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. Because of that fame, photographers had captured detailed images of Booth years before the crime that made him infamous.

One especially eerie coincidence is that Booth appears in photographs connected to Lincoln’s second inauguration festivities shortly before the crime took place . Historians later realized that the future assassin had unknowingly been documented near the President before he changed history forever.

6

A woman survived all three major White Star ship disasters

Violet Jessop worked as a stewardess for the White Star Line, the company behind the Olympic-class ocean liners. In 1911, she was on board the RMS Olympic when it collided with another ship.

In 1912, she survived the sinking of the Titanic . Four years later, in 1916, during World War I, she was aboard the HMS Britannic when it struck a mine and sank in the Aegean Sea. Jessop survived all three disasters and later became known as "Miss Unsinkable."

7

Theodore Roosevelt’s speech manuscript helped stop a bullet

During the 1912 presidential campaign, former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in Milwaukee before giving a speech. The bullet first passed through a folded 50-page speech manuscript and Roosevelt’s metal eyeglass case in his breast pocket.

The thick stack of papers slowed the bullet enough that Roosevelt survived . Remarkably, he still delivered the speech, speaking for about 90 minutes (those 50 pages were no joke) before seeking medical treatment. Doctors later decided that the bullet was safer left inside his chest permanently.

8

A man unknowingly photographed his own future car accident

In the 1970s, amateur photographer Robert Landsburg reportedly took pictures of everyday traffic while experimenting with a new camera. After developing the film later, he realized one image showed the exact intersection where he would soon be involved in a collision .

The eerie coincidence became famous because the photograph captured the other vehicle that would later crash into his own car.

9

The "Jim Twins" lived nearly identical lives without knowing each other

Identical twins Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were separated at birth in Ohio in 1940 and adopted by different families. Amazingly, both adoptive families independently named the boys James. The twins did not meet again until they were 39 years old.

When reunited in 1979, they discovered a shocking number of similarities. Both had married women named Linda, later remarried women named Betty, owned dogs named Tony, drove similar cars, and even suffered from the same headaches .

10

The Wizard of Oz costume accidentally belonged to the book’s author

While filming The Wizard of Oz in 1938, costumers searched for an old-looking coat for actor Frank Morgan, who played both Professor Marvel and the title character. Costume staff reportedly bought several secondhand jackets from a thrift store in Los Angeles and picked one that looked perfect for the Marvel role.

Later, while examining the coat, the team discovered a label sewn inside with the name "L. Frank Baum", author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Baum’s widow later confirmed that the jacket had indeed belonged to her late husband.

1

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Image: Daniel Hooper 🌊

Not all great flavors match, but pizza and barbecue chicken certainly do. This delightful fusion features tangy BBQ sauce, tender grilled chicken, and often sweet onions , creating a perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Some recipes are known to include smoked bacon or sweet corn, adding an extra layer of flavor. It’s a modern, flavorful twist on traditional pizza.

2

Supreme Pizza

Image: Klara Kulikova

The name itself sets the stage for a memorable flavor, and this pizza does not disappoint. Supreme Pizza is a hearty option designed to satisfy everyone. It combines several toppings, including pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, and mushrooms .

While it can be made at home, the sheer number of ingredients might make it easier to enjoy from your local pizzeria.

3

White Sauce Pizza

Image: Ivan Torres

The omnipresent tomato sauce, which gives a noble base flavor to our pizza toppings, is set aside for this iteration and trades seats with a creamy white sauce instead.

Combine olive oil and garlic to coat the dough or make a homemade white sauce. This white pizza version can use a ricotta cheese base. Keep the toppings simple so the sauce remains the star—think mozzarella cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs.

4

Pickle Pizza

Image: SuckerPunch Gourmet

Another flavor that shouldn't work—but does—is a pizza topped with pickled cucumbers. Some pizza joints across the country offer this unique version that uses pickles and spices as its topping .

The pizza is completed with the classic tomato sauce and a light cheese, to avoid clashing too much with the vinegar from the pickles.

5

Grilled Pizza

Image: Revolve Pizza Oven

Unlike the previous versions, the distinctive flavor of this pizza comes from its unique cooking method. The stretched dough is placed directly on the grates over hot coals , cooking it on one side, flipping the dough, and topping it in reverse—cheese first, sauce second. After this, the pizza goes back to the grates in order for the other side to cook and for the cheese to melt.

The resulting pizza is a crispy, airy, well-charred delight with a smoky flavor. Grilled pizza can be topped with virtually any ingredient according to personal preferences.

6

Green Peppers Pizza

Image: Anna Evans

A healthy and popular pizza topping in America, green peppers bring a crispy and refreshing dimension to any slice. Combined with onions and maybe even mushrooms they create an extremely flavorful, crispy, and crunchy ingredient that adds a refreshing dimension to a pizza.

7

Mexican Pizza

Image: Nik Owens

Mexican food is often associated with tacos, guacamole, nachos, and other delicious treats but Mexican pizza is a force to be reckoned with, too. The main ingredients are chorizo, jalapeños, pepperoni, red onion, and cannellini beans . It’s spicy and tangy, with a satisfying texture thanks to the ground meat and beans.

If you ever see this on the menu, don’t hesitate—go for it! You won’t regret it.

8

Burrata Pizza

Image: Klara Kulikova

Burrata cheese is like the supreme version of mozzarella: creamy, soft, and utterly delicious. A good burrata pizza includes cherry tomatoes, pistachio mortadella, and, of course, burrata cheese .

It’s not often you’ll find this on your local pizzeria’s menu, so if you spot it and want to try something special, give it a shot!

9

Greek Pizza

Image: Brenna Huff

Mediterranean cuisine goes beyond Italian flavors and Greek pizza adds some interesting ingredients to the recipe. This version is characterized by its thick, slightly wet dough, greasy cheese, and tomato sauce with a strong taste of oregano .

The typical ingredients for Greek pizza include artichokes, feta cheese, and Kalamata olives.

10

Pesto Pizza

Image: Klara Kulikova

If you associate pesto with pasta rather than pizza, you are not alone. But, as a fellow Italian specialty, pizza also benefits greatly from this aromatic sauce and its ingredients. The rich flavors of cheese and pine nuts in pesto complement the basic ingredients of a cheese pizza perfectly. Topped with parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and oregano , this pizza is nothing short of amazing.