The butterfly effect proposes that one tiny action or change in a system can cause massive knock-on effects down the road. But sometimes those "actions" are mistakes and those mistakes often have devastating consequences.
Here are 10 errors that might seem small in a vacuum, but quickly turned into monumental disasters.
1
The Treaty of Tordesillas
In 1494, an imprecise division of the New World between Spain and Portugal led to continued conflicts between the two powers over Brazil, which eventually went to Portugal instead of Spain.
2
Mars Climate Orbiter
In 1999, NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in the Martian atmosphere thanks to a navigational error. The culprit? A mistake between imperial and metric units in its programming. That’s middle school stuff!
3
Therac-25
Used as a radiation machine in the ‘80s, the Therac-25 contained a concurrent programming error that killed at least six patients with radiation overdoses.
4
Waterloo
Among other mistakes during 1815’s battle of Waterloo, Napoleon delayed the start of the attack, giving the Prussians time to arrive and turn the tide.
5
Y2K
The decision to program dates using only two digits caused the infamous Y2K panic. While extensive work solved the problem before any consequences arose, the potential for disaster was real.
6
Challenger
The Challenger Space Shuttle explosion killed seven astronauts on national television, but not to the surprise of some NASA engineers. Due to the launch's colder than normal temperatures, small rubber sealers called o-rings couldn’t properly stretch, resulting in a gas leak. When engineers pointed out the tiny problem to NASA brass, they dismissed the issue and ordered the launch anyway.
7
Blockbuster
Infamously, Blockbuster passed on the opportunity to buy Netflix for $50 million in 2000. That decision aged quite poorly.
8
Chernobyl
While performing a test at low power, engineers failed to take that reduced power into consideration, leading to a power surge and loss of containment. While a more safety-first design could have prevented the explosion, human error ultimately created the most infamous nuclear disaster in history.
9
Wrong Turn
After a failed assassination attempt on Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Ferdinand’s driver infamously turned down the wrong street. Coincidently, one of the assassins saw the car and decided to finish his work.
10
Belgian Air Force
In 2018, two mechanics servicing planes in the Belgian Air Force accidentally triggered an F-16’s weapons, completely destroying another nearby F-16. That’s over $40 million in damage.
