Somebody had to teach Taylor Swift to play guitar, someone was going to build the first computer, and Walt Disney was eventually going to get kicked off of a carousel. In the grand scheme of things, some really dumb shit had to happen for us to get to where we are today. In that light, we sourced a post from Twitter user, Peter Manseau in which he poses the question, “What is the dumbest way a huge turning point in history began?”


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King Louis XIV wanted to see the birth process, that’s why women lay on their backs.


We get some birthing history thanks to this response from @KopanoMashishi. It wasn’t until the 1700s that women began laying on their backs during childbirth. Why the change? We have King LouisXIV to thank for that. The man who ended up having 22 children was frustrated that he couldn’t see the process for himself. So instead of allowing women to be comfortable either squatting or sitting in a booth, he forced them to lie on their backs.


9/11 caused the downfall of Ellen DeGeneres.



This epic tale comes to us from Haaniyah Angus. When the events of 9/11 occurred, Gerard Way was so moved that the New Jersey native formed the band My Chemical Romance. MCR would have a profound impact on author Stephanie Meyer. So profound in fact, that she was inspired by MCR to write the Twilight Saga.


Twilight would then inspire E.L. James to write her own fan-fiction based on the characters Bella and Edward, which after some editing would become 50 Shades of Grey. 50 shades would then become a Hollywood blockbuster starring Dakota Johnson. Johnson would later appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where Ellen states that she was never invited to Johnson’s birthday parties. Johnson replied with the now famous, “That’s not the truth, Ellen.” This would be the first of many jabs at Ellen before she was eventually canceled for good.


Walt Disney wasn’t allowed on a children’s ride, Disney Parks are now worth billions.


Thanks to the Twitter account justanoutlawfic, we can blame some carousel ride operator for the fact that we now have to pay $150 for a day pass at Disney World. It’s been said that Walt Disney would take his kids to a local park that had a carousel. When Walt tried riding the carousel, he was denied. He then went on to create one of the biggest companies in the world.


An electronics repairman who happened to know guitar ended up fixing Taylor Swift’s family computer, and now we have ‘Shake it off.’

We might not have Swifties today if a repairman didn’t teach Taylor guitar in 2002. According to dontblameklara,  a family in Pennsylvania needed their computer fixed. The repairman also happened to play guitar and began teaching the daughter (Taylor Swift) how to play. The rest is history.


A painting of Marie Antoinette in a Cotton Gown ignited the slave trade.


According to Twitter user Judy Raymond, in 1783 Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun painted a portrait of Marie Antoinette. Marie chose to be painted in a cotton dress which she enjoyed wearing around her estate, but in reality, back then it was akin to walking around in a bra and underwear. After the painting was finished, the repercussions were quick and critical. Ever the trendsetter, Marie Antoinette perhaps unintentionally created a lust for cotton. The days of silk dresses were in the past, and everybody including the French were trying to keep up with the cotton demand. The popularity was already there, so in 1794 when the cotton gin was invented you could say it was the perfect storm. All that was needed were workers to pick the cotton, and we all know how that went.


It just goes to show that sometimes in life, the smallest event can have the dumbest possible impact on our timeline.