Luck has always played an important role in history and I find it interesting how sheer chance alters the course of nations. Or was it divine intervention?
[1] Revolutionary War - Many years after his death the diary of a British soldier was uncovered. In it he detailed his time fighting the Americans during our Revolutionary War. In one instance he was in a tree scouting for any movements of the rag tag American army. He spotted a well-uniformed man on a white horse come into a clearing who was obviously a high ranking American officer. Though he tried several times to shoot the officer his gun would not fire. Eventually the American officer nonchalantly rode off.
Back at camp the British soldier tried his gun again, it fired just fine. He found it explainable why it would not fire earlier. Historians who examined the diary noted the dates listed in it and were able to piece together the exact time frame of the non-firing rifle. The man on the white horse was George Washington.
[2] Revolutionary War - Washington's army was on the run and a 3-pronged pincer force was devised to trap him with no escape. British General Gage was leading one of the prongs when he and his troops stopped in Philadelphia to re-supply. As it turns out a fresh crop of prostitutes happened to be in Philadelphia at that very moment. General Gage and his men enjoyed their time so much they decided to stay an extra few days figuring it wouldn't matter anyway. Washington didn't stand a chance. But that few extra days allowed Washington and his men to slip out through that open gap in the pincer movement. For years afterward Philadelphia held a parade in honor of the prostitutes for freedom.
[3] War of 1812 - Andrew Jackson was pinned down during the Battle of New Orleans and defeat was only a matter of time. One morning a heavy fog rolled in, allowing Jackson and his army to escape unnoticed under the cover of fog.
[4] Clipper Chip - In the 1990's the internet was new and access was available only by telephone dial-up connection. Al Gore and Bill Clinton thought it wise to install a secret Motorola chip in every American's phone to spy on the public's communications. What began as a secretive plot slowly gained attention, primarily due to a hacker group. In response Clinton and Gore began releasing additional information about the plot, pretending it was never intended to be secret at all. As the general public became more aware of the plot a national outcry began to develop, and the secret chip plan was abandoned. We can thank a small group of hackers existing on Cokes and Cheetos on their mom's basements for this civil rights victory.
[5] PROMIS - Two reporters for Forbes magazine were performing routine duties following up on details of public traded companies. It was standard procedure for the reporters to examine annual statements and investigate any oddities or irregularities they uncovered. As they were examining a small pink-listed company they noticed a few line items just didn't add up. As was common in their investigations, they decided to drive over to the company and sit in the parking lot. Simply examining the quality of cars driven by employees is a sure tip-off to a company's success.
But there was quite a surprise waiting for the two reporters when they arrived in the company parking lot. It was empty. As they would eventually uncover, there were no employees, no real offices of any kind and the company was nothing but a shell. Following a trail of clues for several months thereafter, the two Forbes reporters suddenly realized they had stumbled across the crime of the century.
What followed was the largest coverup in American history (depending upon your view of the Kennedy assassination).
