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

Construction costs that’d make your wallet faint

Image: Jaime Labra

Back in 1912, the Titanic cost $7.5 million to build, and if you're wondering what that’d be today, it’d be over $400 million. That’s more than some sports stadiums! It took nearly three years to complete and was one of the most extravagant ships ever made.

2

Yes, there were dogs

Image: Yuki Dog

As it turns out, the Titanic wasn’t just for people. At least 12 dogs came along for the ride , lounging in a special first-class kennel. There was even a dog show scheduled for the morning of April 15. Sadly, only three tiny dogs survived, all small enough to sneak onto lifeboats tucked in coats or handbags.

3

The band really did play on

Image: Parizan Studio

Wallace Hartley, the bandleader, went down in history, and with his violin! His group kept playing as chaos unfolded around them, trying to calm passengers with music, just like the movie portrays. He didn’t make it, but his violin was found intact and later sold at an auction for $1.7 million!

4

A pocket watch frozen in time

Image: Otto Hyytiälä

The violin was not the only treasure found. Sidney Sedunary was a young steward whose pocket watch stopped ticking at exactly 1:50 a.m. , just before the ship went under. He was last seen handing out lifejackets to third-class passengers. That same watch, rusted but intact, still tells his story.

5

A survivor with frostbitten legs and Olympic dreams

Image: Shep McAllister

Richard Norris Williams spent six hours in icy water, and doctors on the rescue ship wanted to amputate his legs. He refused . And you may think he was crazy to do so, but thank God he did! He went on to win a Wimbledon title and an Olympic gold medal. How crazy is that?

6

Finding the Titanic by accident

Image: Karl Callwood

In 1985, oceanographer Robert Ballard found the Titanic wreck. But that was just an accident ; he was actually sent by the Navy to look for two lost nuclear submarines and used the Titanic as a cover story.

7

Dishes still stacked neatly on the ocean floor

Image: Jannet Serhan

When explorers visited the Titanic wreck in 1986, they found plates still stacked like someone had just finished doing the dishes. Turns out, the wooden cabinet they were in rotted away , leaving the china perfectly arranged on the sea floor. It’s as eerie as fascinating, considering the many years that passed.

8

The ship is rusting away

Image: NOAA

And speaking of the amount of time the Titanic has been underwater, we have to say that nature is reclaiming the Titanic bit by bit. A newly discovered bacterium is literally eating the ship. Scientists estimate it could disappear completely in 20 to 30 years. The latest expeditions have already shown evidence that pieces that were previously there are gone. So… the clock's ticking.

9

No photos of the grand staircase?

Image: Maria Orlova

You’ve probably seen images of the Titanic’s beautiful grand staircase. We’re sorry to disappoint, but they’re not of the Titanic . They’re from her sister ship, the Olympic. No one thought to take a picture of the real deal before the maiden voyage. And they definitely didn’t think of doing it while it happened!

10

Milton Hershey almost boarded

Image: Janne Simoes

If the name rings a bell, that’s because it’s the same Hershey from the chocolate you love. The man behind Hershey’s chocolate bars almost booked a room on the Titanic . He even wrote a $300 deposit check (big money back then!). But business delayed him, and he skipped the trip. Who do we thank for that?

11

The baker who survived two hours in icy water

Image: Maxim Hopman

Here’s a fascinating fact: Charles Joughin, the Titanic’s chief baker, survived one of the worst parts of the sinking: the freezing Atlantic water. He was reportedly treading water for two hours before rescue. Wanna know how he made it? He had been sipping whiskey to face his fate, and the alcohol in his blood kept him warm enough to survive.

12

The last lunch menu went for a tasty sum

Image: Zoshua Colah

In 2015, a copy of Titanic’s last first-class lunch menu sold for $88,000 . That’s one pricey memento. The menu included grilled mutton chops, chicken à la Maryland, and corned ox tongue. Safe to say lunch on the Titanic wasn’t your average sandwich and chips.

1

It was almost completely torn down

Did you know that very little of today’s White House interior is actually original? Looking at the building now, it’s hard to imagine that it was once so unstable that it was in danger of collapsing.

By 1948, after decades of heavy use, outdated wiring, poor structural supports, and years of renovations layered over one another, the White House had become unsafe. Floors and walls cracked, and parts of the residence were literally sinking. President Harry S. Truman even joked that the place felt haunted because it made so many strange noises. Rather than abandon it, Truman launched a massive reconstruction project with Congress. Between 1948 and 1952, nearly the entire interior was gutted and rebuilt while the original exterior walls were preserved, giving America a strong and reliable White House.

2

During WWII, they built an underground bunker

Did you know there’s a fortified bunker hidden beneath the White House? A couple of years before Truman’s famous renovation, another major project was quietly built beneath the presidential residence.

In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the construction of a secure underground shelter to protect government leaders in case Washington, D.C., came under attack. Built quickly and in great secrecy, the bunker was completed within months, though it was luckily never needed during the war. Today, the facility is known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, or PEOC, and it was famously used in 2001 by President George W. Bush and again in 2020 by Donald Trump.

3

It was not originally meant to be white

Can you imagine if it were called "the Gray House"? Today, it’s impossible to picture America’s most famous home as anything other than bright white, but that wasn’t the original idea.

During construction in the 1790s, workers covered the exterior sandstone with a lime-based whitewash to protect it from moisture, cracking, and harsh winter weather. The coating gave the building a pale grayish appearance, not the brilliant white we recognize today. A long-standing myth claims the White House was painted white to hide the burn marks left after British troops set it on fire in 1814, but in reality, the building had already been whitewashed years earlier. Still, after the fire and reconstruction, the white exterior became permanent and eventually inspired the famous name "White House," though for many years people still called it the "President’s House."

4

10 people have died in the White House

Many people have lived and worked in the White House over the centuries, but, according to the White House Historical Association, only 10 people are officially recorded as having died inside the presidential residence.

Among them were two U.S. presidents. William Henry Harrison died there at age 68 in 1841 after falling seriously ill, likely from contaminated water. Zachary Taylor died at age 65 in 1850 from a severe stomach illness after attending Fourth of July celebrations in extreme heat. Three First Ladies also passed away in the White House: Letitia Tyler in 1842, Caroline Harrison in 1892, and Ellen Axson Wilson in 1914. Other deaths included presidential relatives, aides, and staff members, among them Abraham Lincoln’s son, Willie Lincoln, whose death at the age of 11 in 1862 deeply affected the family and became one of the White House’s most heartbreaking stories.

5

Presidential whims

Not every White House renovation happened due to war, damage, or urgent repairs. Some changes came simply from the personal tastes and hobbies of the presidents who lived there, and over the years, there have been quite a few memorable ones.

In 1973, Richard Nixon installed a one-lane bowling alley beneath the North Portico. Years later, in 1989, George H. W. Bush added a regulation horseshoe pit near the White House grounds, where he often relaxed and challenged visitors, including Queen Elizabeth II, to games. Then, in 2009, Barack Obama had the South Lawn tennis court modified so it could also be used for basketball, one of his favorite sports.

6

Jackie Kennedy's furniture

When the Kennedy family entered the White House in 1961, the first lady was disappointed to find that many of the historic rooms had lost much of their original character.

Determined to restore the White House’s history and elegance, Jackie Kennedy famously launched a massive restoration effort. She helped create the White House Fine Arts Committee, brought in historians and curators, and filled the residence with genuine antiques and historical pieces tied to past presidencies. On February 14, 1962, an estimated 46 to 56 million people tuned in to watch the First Lady’s televised tour of the White House, making it one of the most-watched programs of its era. She also supported a congressional act that made many of the White House’s historic furnishings official property of the nation, so future presidents could no longer sell, replace, or discard them.

7

Official name changes

As we mentioned, the building was not always white, and therefore was not always officially called the White House. For much of the 19th century, Americans usually referred to it as the "Executive Mansion" or the "President’s House." Even after its famous white exterior made the nickname popular, it still was not the building’s official name.

That finally changed in 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt began printing "The White House" on presidential stationery. According to official sources, Teddy Roosevelt preferred this name because it clearly separated the president’s residence from the many state "executive mansions" used by governors across the country.

8

It was once America's largest house

There is one thing about the White House that no one can deny: it has always been huge, even in its early days.

When the White House was first occupied in 1800, it already contained more than 100 rooms spread across three floors, making it one of the grandest homes in the United States at the time. In a time when most Americans lived in modest houses or farms, the presidential residence was seen as a palace. Many historians even consider it the largest private residence in the country during its early years. Today, the White House covers about 55,000 square feet, though modern private buildings, like the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, are now far larger.

9

President Benjamin Harrison’s fear

Among the many changes the White House has undergone over the years, few were as revolutionary as the arrival of electricity.

For nearly a century after it was built, the presidential residence relied on candles, oil lamps, and gas lighting. That finally changed in 1891, when electricity was installed during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. But, like many families in that era, the Harrisons were not exactly thrilled by this modern invention. According to White House stories passed down over the years, President Harrison and First Lady Caroline Harrison were so nervous about the possibility of electric shock that they rarely touched the light switches themselves. Instead, they often asked the house staff to turn the lights on and off for them.

10

Hillary Clinton’s special gift

Of course, Jackie Kennedy wasn’t the only First Lady to leave her mark on the White House. Hillary Clinton added her own personal touch as well, this time as a gift for her husband.

In 1996, Hillary Clinton transformed a little-used room on the White House’s third floor into a private music room for President Bill Clinton. The gift came during the year of Bill Clinton’s 50th birthday and reflected one of his best-known passions: music. Complete with space for listening to records and playing his famous saxophone, the room gave the president a quiet retreat inside the White House.