Mistakes Were Made

Mistakes Were Made

History is full of terrible decisions, epic failures, and absurd moments. Mistakes Were Made is here to celebrate them. Comedians Robert Bacon, Mike Kauffman, Bobby Smithney, and Jenna O'Brien dive into the greatest blunders in history, from the Great Molasses Flood in Boston to the rise of eccentric dictators, bizarre wars, and even the oddities of human behavior. With sharp humor, detailed storytelling, and a healthy dose of sarcasm, they teach each other, and you, how humans have screwed up throughout the ages. Expect epic fails, ridiculous mishaps, and the funniest ways people have ever accidentally changed the world.Whether it’s military disasters, political catastrophes, failed inventions, or historical oddities like Dancing Mania and the Winter War, this podcast mixes comedy with real history for a laugh-and-learn experience. If history had bloopers, this is where you’d find them. Keywords: history podcast, funny history podcast, comedy history podcast, historical mistakes, historical blunders, epic fails in history, bizarre historical events, weird history stories, military disasters, political mistakes, human folly history, educational comedy podcast

Episodes

The Great Dublin Whiskey Fire

October 13, 2025 • 58 mins
In 1875, Dublin was flooded with whiskey, literally. When a bonded warehouse in the Liberties district went up in flames, over 300,000 gallons of burning whiskey poured through the streets, turning one of Ireland’s poorest neighborhoods into a fiery river of booze. Firefighters quickly learned that water only made it worse, so they turned to an unlikely hero: horse manure.

Comedians Robert Bacon and guest host Jenna O’Brien (filling...
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Lawn Chair Larry

May 23, 2025 • 82 mins
We're back! After a 7-year break, Mistakes Were Made returns with a high-flying tale—literally. In this episode, Bacon tells Mike the bizarre history of people who tried to fly using helium balloons. From lawn chairs to church pews, it turns out some folks really took “lightheaded” to new heights.

EPISODE 31 - Lawnchair Larry
In this episode of Mistakes Were Made, we dive into the strange history of helium balloon flight attempts, in...
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Mao Zedong

September 4, 2018 • 55 mins
In the late 1960s, Chairman Mao Zedong turned a simple piece of fruit into a symbol of blind devotion—and chaos. When Mao gifted crates of mangos to Chinese factory workers, the nation erupted into a frenzy of worship, complete with parades, wax mango replicas, and (of course) executions. Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman peel back the absurd true story of how one man’s tropical obsession became a cult-like craze that mixed ...
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The Winter War Sniper

August 27, 2018 • 22 mins
n 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland in a conflict known as the Winter War. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Finnish forces put up a fierce resistance in freezing conditions. Among them was Simo Häyhä, nicknamed “The White Death,” a sniper who reportedly killed hundreds of Russian soldiers with astonishing skill. The war demonstrated Finland’s resilience, tactical ingenuity, and how one extraordinary marksman can influence...
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Franz Ferdinand

August 20, 2018 • 31 mins
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo—a single event that triggered the chain reaction leading to World War I. Ferdinand’s death exposed the tangled web of alliances, militarism, and nationalism in Europe, turning a regional conflict into a global catastrophe. His life, politics, and the assassination itself reveal how small mistakes and poor timing can spiral into unimaginable c...
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Seward's Folly (Alaska For Sale)

August 13, 2018 • 37 mins
In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million—a deal widely mocked at the time as “Seward’s Folly.” Critics believed the U.S. had bought nothing but frozen tundra, ice, and bears. History, of course, proved them spectacularly wrong. The purchase provided vast natural resources, strategic advantages, and eventually became a cornerstone of American expansion.

Comedians Robert Bacon, Mike Kauffman, and Bobby ...
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The Berlin Wall

August 5, 2018 • 39 mins
Robert Bacon, Mike Kauffman, and Bobby Smithney tackle one of the 20th century’s most infamous symbols: the Berlin Wall. Erected in 1961, the Wall didn’t just divide a city—it divided families, friends, and an entire ideology. Built almost overnight by East Germany, it was meant to stop the mass exodus of citizens fleeing to the West, but it also became a monument to political absurdity, paranoia, and human ingenuity.

The hosts expl...
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The Halifax Disaster

March 19, 2018 • 37 mins
For the first time, Mistakes Were Made welcomes a new co-host: Bobby Smithney joins Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman as they dive into one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. On December 6, 1917, the bustling harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the site of unimaginable chaos when two ships—a Norwegian vessel and a French munitions ship—collided. The resulting explosion leveled the city, killed nearly 2,000 people, and inj...
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The History of Mooning

August 8, 2017 • 29 mins
The art of showing one’s rear end has a surprisingly long and hilarious history—and it might just date back to ancient Rome. In 66 CE, tensions flared between Romans and Jews, but Emperor Caligula had bigger problems: spending money faster than the empire could make it. From building a two-mile-long floating bridge just to ride his horse across it to throwing extravagant parties, Caligula’s reign was absurd, cruel, and occasionally...
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The Leopard Hat Dictator (Mobutu Sese Seko)

July 26, 2017 • 45 mins
Mobutu Sese Seko, the flamboyant and corrupt ruler of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), earned his nickname the “Leopard Hat Dictator” for his ostentatious fashion and absolute power. Rising from a military officer to president-for-life, Mobutu transformed his country into a playground for personal gain, extravagance, and political theater, all while the nation’s infrastructure crumbled.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mi...
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The Turkmenistan Dictator (Saparmurat Niyazov)

July 17, 2017 • 31 mins
Saparmurat Niyazov, born in 1940 in the Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan, survived a childhood straight out of a tragedy. After losing his family in an earthquake and emerging from the rubble after eight days, he was sent to a harsh Soviet orphanage in the mountains. These early hardships helped shape a man who would grow up to become one of the most eccentric and authoritarian rulers of the 20th century.

Comedians Robert Bacon and M...
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German Sub Poop Party

July 11, 2017 • 22 mins
On April 6, 1945, the German U-1206 submarine set sail from Kristiansand, Norway, on a mission that would quickly go down in history as a catastrophic and hilariously tragic misadventure. This was no ordinary naval mishap—an accident with the sub’s toilets caused flooding, panic, and a disaster that left the crew scrambling for their lives.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dive into the unbelievable story of a top-secret U-b...
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The Romanian Dictator (Nicolae Ceausescu)

June 27, 2017 • 31 mins
Nicolae Ceaușescu was born into a poor Romanian peasant family in 1918, and by the end of his life, he was one of the most notorious dictators of the 20th century. From escaping an abusive father to becoming an apprentice shoemaker, young Nicolae’s early life set the stage for a rise fueled by ambition, ideology, and a shocking disregard for human rights. Introduced to communism at a young age, he quickly climbed the ranks of Roman...
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The Great Molasses Flood in Boston

June 13, 2017 • 28 mins
In 1919, Boston experienced one of the strangest disasters in American history: a massive wave of molasses barreling through the streets of the North End. When a 50-foot-tall storage tank burst, over 2 million gallons of sticky syrup surged at 35 miles per hour, destroying buildings, flattening horses, and tragically killing 21 people.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dive into this bizarre catastrophe, exploring how a poorl...
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Dancing Mania

June 6, 2017 • 20 mins
Medieval Europe wasn’t exactly a party paradise—famine, plague, and political chaos made life miserable for most people. So why, then, did groups of people suddenly start dancing uncontrollably in the streets? Known as Dancing Mania, these bizarre outbreaks saw hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people writhing, leaping, and spinning—often until they collapsed from exhaustion or worse.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dig int...
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Immortal Combat

May 30, 2017 • 34 mins
Since the dawn of recorded history, humans have been obsessed with one question: how do we live forever? From alchemists chasing the elusive elixir of life to eccentric rulers trying bizarre experiments to extend their years, history is full of people who took “forever young” a little too literally.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman explore the weird, wild, and often deadly attempts to cheat death. Some tried magic, others sc...
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Horrible Compromise

May 23, 2017 • 29 mins
Before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, America tried a different tactic: compromise. From the Missouri Compromise to the Compromise of 1850, lawmakers desperately tried to keep the Union together: slavery in, slavery out, states’ rights, federal power, a little sugar on top, and a dash of political theater. Spoiler: it didn’t work.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman break down the convoluted, often ridiculous politi...
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Prohibition

May 16, 2017 • 33 mins
“The reign of tears is over,” promised Reverend Billy Sunday when America banned booze. Spoiler: it was not over. In fact, Prohibition turned the entire country into one big underground cocktail party. Between 1920 and 1933, the so-called “Noble Experiment” tried to save America’s soul by outlawing alcohol—and instead unleashed a wave of crime, corruption, and creative smuggling that would make any bootlegger proud.

Comedians Robert...
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Vikings "Discover" America

May 9, 2017 • 26 mins
Centuries before Columbus, a group of adventurous Vikings actually made it to North America… and immediately started killing people and complaining about the food. Around the year 1000, Leif Erikson and his band of Norse explorers landed in what’s now Newfoundland, set up a tiny settlement called Vinland, and then did what Vikings do best—pick fights, steal stuff, and leave in a huff.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dig int...
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Tulip Mania

May 2, 2017 • 30 mins
In the 1630s, the Dutch Republic went completely insane for flowers. Tulip Mania was the world’s first recorded economic bubble, when a single tulip bulb could cost more than a house, fortunes were made and lost faster than you can say “floral portfolio.” But this wasn’t just about gardening. It was about greed, hype, and some truly baffling investment decisions.

Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dig into the absurdity of 17t...
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