1. In 1788 the Austrian army accidentally attacked itself and lost 10,000 men

2. Assassinating Caesar in order to save the Republic and not realizing that the assassination would all but ensure its demise

3. Thinking that the West Indies was Southeast Asia

4. Although nobody knows who was responsible, the burning of the library of Alexandria was potentially the world's single greatest loss of knowledge ever

5. Not giving Hannibal siege equipment, which lead to Hannibal basically ignoring Rome, which led to Rome basically destroying Hannibal

6. Alexander the Great not naming an heir which led directly to the fall of his empire

No 1 is just crazy......

7The 12 book publishers that rejected Harry Potter


Twelve publishing houses rejected JK Rowling's Harry Potter manuscript before Bloomsbury finally took her on following theadvice of the company chairman'seight-year-old daughterAlice.The books were subsequently translated intoover 60 languagesand have earned Rowling a reported $1bn (£670m).

8. Faulty construction leading to the meltdown of the Chernobyl Reactor, the consequences of which are still being counted to this day

9. The Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor whennot a single US aircraft carrier was in port

10. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's driver making a wrong turn that led right to the feet of hisassassin, Gavrilo Princip. Two World Wars that could have been at least postponed bya Garmin.

okay

11. 14th century China abandoning its navy and pursuing a policy of isolationism. It arguably could have been much more influential than any European power.

12. Somebody leaving a gate open and allowing the Turks to sack Constantinople in 1453

13. Filling the Hindenburg with hydrogen

14. Although no one is sure whether or not the Trojan Horse actually existed, if it did, it was worthy of this list

15. Inca ruler Atahualpa agreeing to meet Conquistador Fransisco Pizarro during which 200 Spanish horseman ambushed and defeated 80,000 Inca warriors

16. Russia selling Alaska to the US for 2 cents an acre because they thought it was a useless tundra

Costly mistakes indeed

17. The Dutch discovering Australia 100 years before the British but ignoring it because they thought it was a useless desert

18. The Persians sending Genghis Khan's ambassador back to Genghis Khan withouta head and bringing the wrath of Mongolia down on themselves.

another explanation...
enghis Khan, the ruler of the Mongol empire had sought to open diplomatic and trade links with Ala ad-Din Muhammad, Shah of the neighbouring Khwarezmid empire (modern day Iraq/Iran) in the 13th century.However, after the offer was rejected and a Mongol diplomat beheaded, Khan reacted furiously, sending in an estimated 200,000 warriors and utterly destroying the empire

19. Hitler thinking he could do any better than Napoleon

20. Napoleon thinking he could invade Russia in winter

21.NASA loses a Mars orbiter because part of the team used metric units and the other half used English.

Make I book space. I dey come back

22. Decca Records turning down the Beatles because they weren't sellable. Enter EM.

another explanation..
In 1962, record label Decca were looking to sign an up and coming band. They auditioned two young bands at their studiosin London, deciding to sign Brian Poole andthe Tremeloes. The one they rejected? A four-piece outfit from Liverpool known as The Beatles.

Russian czars should be exhumed and burned. Imagine!!
Alaska...is American's oilfield now.

23. Not having enough life boats on the Titanicbecause it was "unsinkable"

5 more

thanks for the reach out

24. It took 177 years to build the Tower of Pisaand only 10 years for it to start leaning