Dumb History: The Stupidest Mistakes Ever Made

The responsibility of the people involved? Science can help us answer these questions. One story described a thief who broke into a house and stole a TV and later returned for the remote; another described burglars who intended to steal cell phones but instead stole GPS tracking devices that were turned on and gave police their exact location. The researchers then had a sample of university students rate each story on the responsibility of the people involved, the influence of the situation, the seriousness of the consequences, and other factors.

Or, in what is widely regarded as one of the top mascot failures in history, when Wild Wing of the Anaheim Ducks caught himself on fire attempting to leap over a burning wall cheerleaders pulled him from the flames and he returned to action later in the game, unhurt. The confidence-skill disconnect has been dubbed the Dunning-Kruger effect, after a study by social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger.

Dunning and Kruger had Cornell undergraduates perform tests of humor, logic, and grammar, and then rate how well they think they performed compared to other subjects in the study. The worst performing subjects, whose scores put them in the 12th percentile, estimated that they had performed in the 62nd percentile. As any number of political scandals illustrate, the second type of stupid mistake involves impulsive acts—when our behavior seems out of control.

In the scandal that became known as Weinergate , former U. More recently, in Michigan, state representative Todd Courser, a Tea Party conservative, admitted to sending an anonymous email to Republican Party operatives and members of the media falsely claiming that he had been caught having sex with a male prostitute, with the aim of making expected revelations that he had an affair with fellow representative Cindy Gamrat seem like part of a smear campaign. As arguably the best example from American sports history, in the Rose Bowl, University of California star Roy Riegels recovered a fumble and returned it 65 yards the wrong way.

It is, of course, unrealistic to think that we could ever eliminate human error. To err will always be human. However, this research gives us a better description of our failings and foibles, and a place to start in thinking about interventions and prescriptions to help us err less. Jun 09, Donovan Richards rated it it was ok. Mistakes Make Brilliance Everyone makes mistakes, even smart people.

To a certain extent, brilliance is a product of multiple failures. I wanted to discover the failures behind the brilliant people in history through humorous short stories. Granted, I have no previous history with Joey Green and a quick examination of his back catalog supplies evidence of Dumb History sidling up next to the rest of his canon—coffee table books high on low-brow humor and lacking substance. Dumb History contains no thesis; it meanders through short paragraph stories sharing stupidity as its only connection. In one vignette, Green writes of the stupidity in which the Red Sox engaged when they sold Babe Ruth.

However, one fact does not lead to another. Yes, Babe Ruth is a legendary player. But his absence does not guarantee a century of failure. Was it stupid to sell Babe Ruth? Does the trade explain years of failure? Such a book would inspire people to continue creativity and the pursuit of brilliance. Instead, I found a poorly reasoned coffee-table book. To a certain extent my disappointment in this book emerges from my unfounded expectations of the book. There are better coffee-table books. There are funnier takes on history. Originally published at www. Oct 19, Coby rated it it was amazing.

I read this book in my class Issues in Nonfiction, and here is what I have to say about it. I personally do not enjoy reading at all. But the door opened when I saw this book in Washington D. I had to get it. Months later, I started to read Dumb History. I really like it because it is humorous short stories that outline human stupidity. Why do I like Dumb History? This book is nonfiction and quite intriguing.

If I had to choose one book to recommend to you, it would have to be Dumb History. Readers will learn quickly that even the brightest of people make dumb decisions. So if you are looking for a book that has humorous and factual stories, then Dumb History is the book for you. The short stories were just the right length to tell to others in a few seconds. I left the book in my backpack one day with juice on the side of my backpack.

Quite annoying, but still readable. After reading Dumb History, I do not have to deal with looking at the once drenched cover again. Other than that fact, Dumb History is so far my favorite book of all time. Aug 23, Daniel Kukwa rated it did not like it Shelves: Well, that was "disposable" in every sense of the word. Apart from a few interesting anecdotes, this is a very dismal piece of work, for numerous reasons: Romulus was NOT the first Roman emperor How very 19th century imperialist I bought this at an HMV clearance table, hoping for amusement.

Instead, I feel ripped off. May 22, Victoria rated it it was ok Shelves: I'm not really sure what I was expecting from this. I received it as a gift a while ago and had been putting it off. I was hoping it would be funny, at the very least amusing. I just found myself annoyed at most of it. The worst part, in my opinion, was the lack of organization. The facts jumped from topic to topic and were all over the place. A little organization, either chronologically or by category, would have helped. I like to save 1 star ratings for the absolute worst, which this Well I like to save 1 star ratings for the absolute worst, which this is not.

What saved it from that fate was a couple tidbits that made me chuckle.

A few weeks later, Decca executive Dick Rowe rejected the Beatles in favor of Brian Poole and the Tremeloes because he felt "guitar groups are on the way out" and "the Beatles have no future in show business. Jul 24, ILoveBooks rated it really liked it. It truly is a wonder we've survived as long as we have. This book made me laugh over and over.

Dumb History: The Stupidest Mistakes Ever Made

I loved the small blurbs, they were just the right length to get the punchline across. There is not one person exempt from this kind of book, we all know we've done a few hysterical things-though maybe not funny or ironic enough to write about. The readers will learn plenty of random facts they can later tell others when searching for a random conversation topic.

The book doesn't organize the blurbs, b It truly is a wonder we've survived as long as we have. The book doesn't organize the blurbs, but that isn't too much of a detraction. This book is small, but doesn't have to be read all at once. Funny tidbits are better when read slowly There is no end to the mistakes and bad decisions that leaders, actors, singers, etc Jun 22, Max rated it it was ok Shelves: This book has some value if you need some quick talking points our if you want to wow others with your random knowledge at a party.

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Other than that, it's fairly boring. I was expecting a collection of funny facts that would keep me amused for a few hours. Unfortunately, these are just random historical facts. Some were slightly amusing, but most were just there. I also think the book could have been improved by organizing the facts, either into groups or chronologically.

From Genius to Madness

As it is, they are just r This book has some value if you need some quick talking points our if you want to wow others with your random knowledge at a party. As it is, they are just randomly written down. It makes for choppy reading. I received this book in a Goodreads Firstreads Giveaway.

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Jul 06, Keri-Lynn rated it it was ok. This book did deliver on the "Dumb" promise but not so much on the "History". Yes, I know by one definition "history" is anything that happened before today, but I was hoping for a book that delved a little deeper into the past. Well over of the individual entries were post , and many in the later part of that century, a time period I remember very well, making it an uninformative review at best.

Of the 5 two-page sections devoted to a particular person or subject, only 2 had entries This book did deliver on the "Dumb" promise but not so much on the "History". Of the 5 two-page sections devoted to a particular person or subject, only 2 had entries before In short, I'm disappointed by the lack of history in a book titled "Dumb History". Jun 06, Roy Zinder rated it it was amazing. I love this book. It's filled with short, pithy, fun, bite-sized factoids that made me laugh out loud.

This book would make a great gift for anyone, really.

I gave a copy to my nephew who just graduated from college, and he ate it up. Jun 11, Susan rated it liked it. An easy, fun read. Would have liked it better if the facts were put into categories sports, presidents, etc for easy lookup later.