1. 9th Century: Chinese alchemists were in pursuit of the elixir of immortality.
They discovered gunpowder. (http://asianhistory.about.com/od/asianinventions/a...)
2. 1836: A building held the patent for the fire hydrant.
It caught fire and the documents inside were destroyed. To this day, no one knows who invented the fire hydrant. (http://www.lifebuzz.com/ironic-moments/4/0)
3. 1862: President Lincoln is known for freeing the slaves with his Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation was merely a military policy that helped the North win the war. It did not actually free any slaves immediately as it only applied to slaves under Southern control, of which the Federal government had no control. Moreover, while Lincoln was morally against slavery, he did not believe in equal rights for white men and black men, and was not an abolitionist. (http://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-k...)
4. 1864: Union General John Sedgwick yelled at his troops to stand up saying, “at this distance the Confederates couldn’t hit an elephant.”
Right after he said this, he was shot and killed.
5. 1920s: The New York Times scorned crosswords stating, “the craze evidently is dying out fast.”
Today, the newspaper has the most popular crosswords.
6. 1939: Hitler was more polite to Jessie Owens, the black American Olympian, than FDR was.
He was said to even wave and smile at him while FDR ignored him.
7. 1963: Martin Luther King Jr. is sitting in jail in Montgomery, Alabama. White clergymen write a thank you to the police for controlling the violence in the protests in Alabama and scorn Martin for dealing with matters that should be dealt in the courts, not in the streets.
The protests were nonviolent until the police set dogs and tear gas on the people. Furthermore, the negroes were barred from the court systems and couldn't even vote.
8. 1978: Michael Jordan is cut from his high school basketball team.
He goes on to win six NBA championships.
9. Recent: The Catholic Church preaches love.
Yet it still refuses to accept the right for a woman to love another woman or a man to love another man.
10. 2014: A tree was planted in honor of the Beatle George Harrison.
It died of Beetle infestation.
11. Recent: Brookfielders revolted when they heard Hooters was planning on moving in because they thought it would bring the wrong sort of people.
Now, the Hooters is happening with Brookfielders.
12. 2016: The two most hated politicians in America are the presidential nominees.
The irony never stops.
