###The Great Emu War
Western Australia, 1932 — The Australian military deployed soldiers with machine guns to stop a flock of crop-eating birds, only to suffer a humiliating defeat.
In 1932, struggling farmers in Western Australia faced a massive problem: an estimated 20,000 migrating emus had descended on their land and were gobbling up all the wheat. Desperate to save the harvest, the government agreed to send in the military to wipe out the giant birds.
Commanded by Major G.P.W. Meredith, the Royal Australian Artillery rolled in with Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. They expected a quick victory. Instead, the emus proved incredibly fast and erratic. When the shooting started, the birds scattered into small, elusive groups.
The soldiers even tried chasing the frantic flocks in military vehicles, but the bumpy terrain made it impossible to aim. Humiliated, mocked by the public, and completely outmaneuvered, the military eventually gave up and officially withdrew. The emus had won.
The Great Emu War — Western Australia, 1932
###The Exploding Whale
Florence, Oregon, 1970 — To get rid of a massive beached whale, highway engineers decided to blow it to pieces with a half-ton of dynamite.
In November 1970, a 45-foot, 8-ton sperm whale washed ashore on an Oregon beach. As it sat in the sun, the massive carcass created an unbearable, rotting stench. The Oregon State Highway Division was put in charge of the cleanup, and engineer George Thornton hatched a highly unusual plan.
Thornton decided to pack a half-ton of dynamite under the whale. The theory was that a massive blast would vaporize the beast into tiny, bite-sized snacks for local seagulls. Despite a military veteran warning them that they were using way too much explosive, the highway workers cleared the beach and pushed the plunger.
The explosion did not vaporize the whale. Instead, it launched colossal chunks of rotting blubber hundreds of feet into the air. Screaming spectators had to sprint for their lives as a disgusting rain of heavy, foul-smelling whale meat battered the town.
The Exploding Whale — Florence, Oregon, 1970
###Jack the Signalman
Uitenhage, South Africa, 1881–1890 — When a double-amputee railway guard needed help, he trained a pet baboon to perfectly operate the heavy track switches.
James "Jumper" Wide was a South African railway guard who lost both of his legs in a terrible train accident. Desperate for assistance, he went to a local marketplace and bought a clever Chacma baboon named Jack to help push his wooden wheelchair.
Jack proved incredibly smart. Soon, Wide taught the baboon to operate the station's heavy track-switching levers. Listening to specific train whistle codes while under Wide's direct visual supervision, Jack always pulled the correct levers to guide massive locomotives safely to their platforms.
When a passenger looked out her window and saw a baboon running the railway, she panicked. Government inspectors rushed to the station, fully expecting a disaster. Instead, they watched Jack perform his duties with absolute perfection.
Astounded by the baboon's flawless track record, the railway authorities decided not to fire Wide. Instead, they did something completely unprecedented: they put the animal on the payroll. Jack worked at the station for nine years, never making a single recorded mistake.
Jack the Signalman — Uitenhage, South Africa, 1881–1890
###Wojtek the Soldier Bear
Iran and Italy, 1942–1944 — When the Polish Army adopted a massive brown bear, they had to find a creative way to bring him to war.
In the spring of 1942, Polish soldiers traveling through Iran bought an orphaned Syrian brown bear cub at a train station. They named him Wojtek. The troops nursed the tiny bear with condensed milk from an old vodka bottle, and he quickly became part of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.
Wojtek didn't stay small for long. He grew into a towering 500-pound bear who mimicked his human friends. He playfully wrestled with the soldiers, learned to march alongside them, and even developed a taste for drinking beer in camp.
When it was time to sail to Europe to fight, British transport ships strictly banned all pets. To bypass the rules, the Polish Army refused to leave Wojtek behind. They simply made him a soldier.
Wojtek sailed to Italy as an official member of the military. He survived the war and eventually enjoyed a long, peaceful retirement as a major celebrity at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland.
Wojtek the Soldier Bear — Iran and Italy, 1942–1944
###The Pig War
San Juan Island, 1859 — A hungry farm animal rooting for potatoes accidentally triggered a massive, weeks-long military standoff between two world superpowers.
In 1859, the United States and Great Britain both claimed ownership of San Juan Island. Tensions between American settlers and British residents were already boiling when an American named Lyman Cutlar spotted a British-owned pig rooting through his potato garden. Cutlar shot the pig.
When British authorities threatened to arrest Cutlar, the U.S. military dispatched Captain George Pickett and a group of soldiers to protect the Americans. Refusing to back down, the British military immediately retaliated by sending heavily armed warships to the island's coast.
The situation rapidly escalated into a massive standoff. Fortunately, commanders on both sides eventually decided that starting an international war over a dead farm animal was a terrible idea. They refused to open fire, and diplomats peacefully settled the dispute. The pig was the only casualty.
The Pig War — San Juan Island, 1859
###The Monkey Selfie
Sulawesi, Indonesia, 2011 — When a curious macaque snapped a perfectly framed picture of himself, he accidentally sparked a bizarre federal lawsuit.
In 2011, British nature photographer David Slater was tracking a troop of crested macaque monkeys in an Indonesian nature reserve. Hoping for some close-up shots, Slater set up his camera on a tripod, adjusted the lighting, and briefly stepped away.
A curious six-year-old macaque named Naruto soon wandered over to investigate the strange equipment. Fascinated by the lens, Naruto reached out and pressed the shutter button repeatedly. Among the blurry outtakes was a perfectly framed, wildly grinning selfie of the monkey.
The hilarious picture quickly went viral across the internet. But the fun stopped when an animal rights group sued the photographer. They argued that because Naruto the monkey had physically pressed the button, he—not the human—legally owned the copyright to the famous photo.
The Monkey Selfie — Sulawesi, Indonesia, 2011