Historical paradox: authentic events with a rather ironic ending

There have been many impressive events in the history of mankind. Some are striking in their scale or tragedy. But there are those that look simply paradoxical and even comical so much so that the reliability of some stories can be doubted because of their irony.

1. King Louis XVI of France was a fan of carpentry. He liked it so much that during the inspection of the guillotine, he made several of his suggestions for modernizing the decapitation gadget. But the monarch hardly imagined that in a few years, during the French Revolution, he would have to test the effectiveness of his adjustments on his own head.

2. In the 50s of the last century, Alben William Barkley, famous for his piety and ability to answer for his words, was the Vice President of the United States. The story that happened on April 30, 1956, when the politician spoke before the US Senate, helped make sure of this.

During his speech, he stated, "I would rather be a servant in the house of the Lord than sit among those in power." Immediately after the 78-year-old Barkley finished his performance, he fell and died on the spot.

3. There are many stories that confirm the phrase “as you call a ship, so it will sail”, and this is one of them. In 1914, near the coast of Argentina, the British fleet defeated the German squadron led by Admiral Maximilian von Spee. In order to honor his memory, a pocket battleship was named after him, which was a big mistake.

After all, exactly 25 years later, "Admiral Count Spee" was sunk during the Allied operation near the same coast of Argentina.

4. For a long time, Marshal Jean-Baptiste-Jules Bernadotte served Napoleon faithfully. In gratitude for this, he was granted the Swedish throne and the former bride of Bonaparte Desiree Clary. By the way, the Bernadotte dynasty still rules Sweden, but something else is interesting here. After Charles XIV Johan (he took such a name during his reign) died, a tattoo was found on his body that read “Death to kings!”

So Bernadotte became a monarch with an anti-monarchist tattoo.

5. Did you know that peter I drunk the Duke of Courland Friedrich, who married his niece Anna, to death? It was just at a wedding celebration, where a lot of strong drinks were drunk. And most of all, peter insisted that his 17-year-old son-in-law drink. Refusal was a sign of ignorance, so the young man did it, and quite a lot.

What did it lead to? Two months later, the newlyweds departed for Courland, where Friedrich died. And it’s all the fault of the very alcohol that caused irreparable damage to the fragile body.

6. Well, let's finish the list with the creator of the theory of natural selection, Charles Darwin, among whose works there are works on the weakness of offspring as a result of incest. The scientist devoted a lot of time to this topic, but this did not stop him from marrying his cousin. As a result, they had 10 children, three of whom died in infancy, and the rest were distinguished by too poor health.

As a result, Darwin felt guilty for refusing to put his own scientific conclusions into practice.