In 1726, Mary Toft convinced doctors she had given birth to rabbits, causing a medical sensation in England before being exposed as a hoax. 

In 1904, the Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, leading to the development of national firefighting standards due to the incompatibility of fire equipment from different cities.

In 1969, the US planned a fake moon landing scenario as a contingency plan in case of mission failure, but it was never needed since Apollo 11 was successful.

In 1821, the first documented instance of a snowman was recorded in the diary of a Swiss scientist, who noted it as an unusual and creative form of expression. 

In 1979, a janitor in Los Angeles discovered a forgotten cache of Thomas Edison's early experimental recordings, shedding new light on the inventor’s work with sound.