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10 most famous bets in history
Perhaps it is easier to find a more gentlemanly occupation than betting. No wonder the British are considered the main fans and virtuosos of this business. However, funny, resourceful and impressive bets have been made since ancient times around the world, as you have the opportunity to see.
1. Pearl cocktail
One of the oldest bets in human history was made between Cleopatra and her Roman lover Mark Antony. She bet she could drink 10 million sesterces of wine in one meal. The prospects were very interesting, and Mark gladly accepted the bet. However, the insidious woman, of course, cheated. At the very beginning of the dinner, a glass of wine vinegar was put in front of her, Cleopatra took a huge black pearl from her ear, which was known for its fabulous value, and threw it into this glass. Calcium carbonate reacted with acetic acid, weakened it, and at the end of the dinner, the formed cocktail could be drunk in one spectacular sip, which the queen did. Mark Antony acknowledged her victory.
Scientists have recently proved the feasibility of this chemical experiment. Professor Prudence Jones of the University of New Jersey armed with vinegar and pearls and found that it takes about 24 hours to dissolve the average pearl in acid. He admits that the Egyptian queen soaked her earring in vinegar in advance and took it out of her ear softened. Or dinner, as it often was at the time, especially in the company of Cleopatra, smoothly flowed into breakfast.
2. Walk to the White House
Bets that cannot be won:
1. Bet a friend he can't lift his left leg for three seconds with his right shoulder and right leg leaning tightly against the wall. Even for a second, it's hard!
2. Offer to score 100 points in bowling while playing blindfolded. It will not work: a person instantly loses orientation in space.
3. Say that your opponent can't fold a piece of paper of any area more than 9 times, provided that each time the sheet folds in half.
Who, besides the current president, can open the door to the White House? This question was recently puzzled by the famous American basketball player Shaquille O’Neill and bet with one of his coaches that he could visit Obama without prior appointment, simply stopping the car at the gate and moving the guards. According to the terms of the bet, the basketball player should not call anyone (he himself admitted that he has friends in the White House security), name himself, and use force. Bet a thousand push-ups.
On his next trip to Washington, Shaquille gave the coach the phone, caught a taxi and went to storm the Obama residence. “They recognized me,” he later told reporters. - They said, "Hi, Shaq!" Good to see you, but we can't let you in.” I'm like, "OK, I get it."
The NBA star said he was not really offended. On Twitter, he tweeted: Just not allowed into the White House. Why? However, perhaps these emotions were related to a thousand push-ups, which the coach kindly allowed to break into approaches thirty times.
3. Balzac women
This story exists more like a literary tale (no official biographer Honore de Balzac confirms it), but all the prerequisites for something like this really were. It is known that Balzac considered himself a connoisseur of women and often entertained friends by writing a detailed biography of an interesting stranger met on the street.
So, one day Balzac and a friend were walking in the park. There were two ladies in front, which presented a surprising contrast. One is a blonde, a beauty with a wonderful figure and honed movements, the other is a flat, awkward brunette with an unimaginable hat on her head. Balzac announced to a friend that he was ready to bet on anything: the blonde is a native Parisian “with a truly Parisian gait”; most likely, she has several rich lovers, she is childless and leads a beautiful life. But the brunette is an Englishwoman; probably a housekeeper; she has one child, the fruit of the mistake of her youth, who lives with her grandmother; she barely makes ends meet. The friend opened his mouth in surprise and accepted a bet. We decided to have dinner at a good restaurant. If Balzac is right, a friend pays, if he is wrong, vice versa. Friends made a bet. The writer, without a shadow of embarrassment, approached the ladies and met them. But the more they answered his questions, the darker the “connoisseur of women’s souls” became. It turned out that the blonde is German, a respectable mother of two children, the wife of a famous diplomat. Well, the brunette is a native Frenchwoman; moreover, an actress of a very frivolous disposition, who does not mind "to have dinner with gentlemen." Balzac barely managed to get rid of her: he had dinner that day and so categorically unlucky.
4. Moon bet
At the moment when Neil Armstrong made his giant step in the history of mankind, sincerely rejoiced not only the whole of America, but also one quite modest Briton. His name was David Trelfol and he was incredibly lucky. Nine years before, in 1960, he came to a bookmaker with 10 pounds in his pocket and the idea of betting on something crazy. Of the proposed list, he liked the man’s trip to the moon in the next 10 years. Bets were accepted 1 in 1000. Ten pounds was not such a small sum at the time: the monthly salary of a worker was 30–40 pounds. However, David took the risk and, as we know, won! In 1969, less than a year before the end of the bet, the Americans made the landing. And Trelfol then bought a luxury sports car. However, the smile of fortune turned into a sarcastic grin: in the first year, David died in his car.
5. He or she?
Probably, in the diplomatic practice of past centuries, there were many cases in the style of Madame Butterfly, when a beautiful foreigner was actually a monsieur. Some of them became widely known, but none was the subject of so much bets as the story of the Chevalier d’Eon de Beaumont. This man spent part of his life as a man, part as a woman.
At the end of the XVIII century he lived in London in the form of a famous French aristocrat, an emancipated fencer, a rider and a visitor to all secular salons. But despite women's clothing, lack of facial hair and incredibly thin hands, all London was still overpowered by doubts. What are the British doing in this case? Of course they make a bet! It is known that in 1774, the total amount that the British put on the stake to establish the sex of de Beaumont, reached 120 thousand pounds. However, no one dared to ask the question on the merits: several curious Chevalier has already laid in duels. There was not a single gentleman who could boast of admission to the boudoir of a mysterious lady.
The issue was resolved only in 1810, when d'Eon died. Conclusions about his death were awaited with more eagerness than reports about the results of the races. And here it is in the papers! The doctors ruled that “despite the unusual roundness of the legs and arms, as well as the swelling of the chest, Mr. Beaumont has fully formed male organs, and therefore is recognized as a man.” Tens of thousands of pounds have changed owners with this news! It was later confirmed that Beaumont had transmitted information to King Louis XV of France.
6. Around the world for...
The most famous in world literature bet by Phileas Fogg (“Around the world in 80 days”) has generated many imitators. The first person to break Fogg’s record in real life was American journalist Nellie Bly. In 1888, she suggested to her editor at the News of the World (by the way, it was Pulitzer himself) to send her on a business trip along the route of the Jules Verne character with a small suitcase and 200 pounds in his pocket.
While Nelly was preparing for the trip, Cosmopolitan magazine also became interested in the question and exhibited its correspondent: she was going around the globe, moving in the opposite direction. In the end, a bet was made which of the girls will be the first to return to the point of departure.
On November 14, 1889, Nelly boarded the transatlantic liner Augusta Victoria and set sail. Of course, in real life she was waiting for much less adventure than in the book, but there were lost trains, and a visit to a leper colony in China, and the purchase of a tame monkey in Singapore, and even a meeting with Jules Verne himself. Nelly wrote telegrams to her magazine. Pulitzer still opened the sweepstakes for readers: bets were taken on when Nelly would get to the next destination. On January 21, after being two days late due to a storm in the Pacific Ocean, Nelly arrived back in the United States. However, she had to move to another coast. If she had been on a regular train, she wouldn't have made it to 80 days, but Pulitzer sent a personal train to pick her up, so Nelly arrived eight days early! Her Cosmopolitan rival was still crisscrossing the Atlantic at this point, losing a hopeless bet.
7. Butcher race
The following story took place in England in the eighteenth century and can rightly be considered one of the most witty bets. In the city of Brighton lived a butcher named Bullock, he was known throughout the city for his thickness and resourcefulness: this gentleman never got into his pocket. In the same area was the estate of the Earl of Barrymore, a young brilliant aristocrat interested in athletics. Graf rightly considered himself one of the best athletes in the country. History is silent about whether Barrymore was a client of Bullock, but it is known that the butcher once offered the count an unusual bet. The fat man announced that he would overtake the young athlete at a hundred meters, but on two conditions: he reserves the right to choose a place and asks for a head start of 35 meters. The winner receives from the defeated an impressive sum, comparable to the value of the entire business of Mr. Bullock. The count amused himself by this impudent offer, and he agreed. The runners began to prepare for the competition.
Only a few hours before the race, the butcher revealed the cards: he chose Black Lyon Lane - one of the narrowest in the UK. Immediately after the start, Barrymore caught up with his opponent, but ... he could not squeeze past him to reach the finish line first. It is said that the Earl admitted himself a loser and honestly paid Bullock everything he owed.
8. Movie in 10 seconds
Famous Italian writer Tonino Guerra (writer of scripts for Tarkovsky, Antonioni, Fellini) wrote the plot of “the shortest film in the history of cinema”. It is said that one of the friends made a bet with Guerra that he would not come up with a full-length film that is only 10 seconds long. The next day, the writer brought this sketch: "Woman watching TV." On the screen is a broadcast of the rocket launch. Countdown: 10...9...8...7... 6. 5. 4. We see her face, which reflects the storm of experiences. In the last seconds, she picks up the phone, dials the number, and as the rocket launches, she says to the phone, "He's gone."
9. Fashion betting
British aristocrat Lord Spencer at the very beginning of the XIX century was the undisputed trendsetter in London salons. He was so confident that he once made an absurd bet. Lord offered to do something wild with his coat - for example, to trim the palds. After that, he promised to appear at the ball in this form, assuring that everyone would consider it an absolutely decent outfit.
I must say, Spencer not only won the bet - he introduced the fashion for shortened jackets at the waist, which were worn not only by men, but also by women. Jackets have rightly come to be called (and still so called) "Spencers". They are worn as an alternative to the tuxedo.
10. People and holes
The famous physicist Stephen Hawking (by the way, also British) also did not escape the national passion. During his lifetime, he made several bets, mostly about black holes. As you know, black holes are very disturbing great scientist. The first time Stephen argued with his colleague that the source Cygnus X-1 does not contain a black hole. The bet was a one-year subscription to Pen*house (for Hawking's opponent) against a four-year subscription to the satirical magazine Private Eye. Alas, Stephen was not destined to enjoy the satire: the hole was in place and the bet was won by a lover of er*tica. The next time, Professor Hawking argued that the hole absorbs information without a trace. I'm wrong again! This time, the professor spoke more modestly: only a baseball encyclopedia was offered as a bet. The thing is, of course, much less useful than a satirical or er*tic magazine.
1. Pearl cocktail
One of the oldest bets in human history was made between Cleopatra and her Roman lover Mark Antony. She bet she could drink 10 million sesterces of wine in one meal. The prospects were very interesting, and Mark gladly accepted the bet. However, the insidious woman, of course, cheated. At the very beginning of the dinner, a glass of wine vinegar was put in front of her, Cleopatra took a huge black pearl from her ear, which was known for its fabulous value, and threw it into this glass. Calcium carbonate reacted with acetic acid, weakened it, and at the end of the dinner, the formed cocktail could be drunk in one spectacular sip, which the queen did. Mark Antony acknowledged her victory.
Scientists have recently proved the feasibility of this chemical experiment. Professor Prudence Jones of the University of New Jersey armed with vinegar and pearls and found that it takes about 24 hours to dissolve the average pearl in acid. He admits that the Egyptian queen soaked her earring in vinegar in advance and took it out of her ear softened. Or dinner, as it often was at the time, especially in the company of Cleopatra, smoothly flowed into breakfast.
2. Walk to the White House
Bets that cannot be won:
1. Bet a friend he can't lift his left leg for three seconds with his right shoulder and right leg leaning tightly against the wall. Even for a second, it's hard!
2. Offer to score 100 points in bowling while playing blindfolded. It will not work: a person instantly loses orientation in space.
3. Say that your opponent can't fold a piece of paper of any area more than 9 times, provided that each time the sheet folds in half.
Who, besides the current president, can open the door to the White House? This question was recently puzzled by the famous American basketball player Shaquille O’Neill and bet with one of his coaches that he could visit Obama without prior appointment, simply stopping the car at the gate and moving the guards. According to the terms of the bet, the basketball player should not call anyone (he himself admitted that he has friends in the White House security), name himself, and use force. Bet a thousand push-ups.
On his next trip to Washington, Shaquille gave the coach the phone, caught a taxi and went to storm the Obama residence. “They recognized me,” he later told reporters. - They said, "Hi, Shaq!" Good to see you, but we can't let you in.” I'm like, "OK, I get it."
The NBA star said he was not really offended. On Twitter, he tweeted: Just not allowed into the White House. Why? However, perhaps these emotions were related to a thousand push-ups, which the coach kindly allowed to break into approaches thirty times.
3. Balzac women
This story exists more like a literary tale (no official biographer Honore de Balzac confirms it), but all the prerequisites for something like this really were. It is known that Balzac considered himself a connoisseur of women and often entertained friends by writing a detailed biography of an interesting stranger met on the street.
So, one day Balzac and a friend were walking in the park. There were two ladies in front, which presented a surprising contrast. One is a blonde, a beauty with a wonderful figure and honed movements, the other is a flat, awkward brunette with an unimaginable hat on her head. Balzac announced to a friend that he was ready to bet on anything: the blonde is a native Parisian “with a truly Parisian gait”; most likely, she has several rich lovers, she is childless and leads a beautiful life. But the brunette is an Englishwoman; probably a housekeeper; she has one child, the fruit of the mistake of her youth, who lives with her grandmother; she barely makes ends meet. The friend opened his mouth in surprise and accepted a bet. We decided to have dinner at a good restaurant. If Balzac is right, a friend pays, if he is wrong, vice versa. Friends made a bet. The writer, without a shadow of embarrassment, approached the ladies and met them. But the more they answered his questions, the darker the “connoisseur of women’s souls” became. It turned out that the blonde is German, a respectable mother of two children, the wife of a famous diplomat. Well, the brunette is a native Frenchwoman; moreover, an actress of a very frivolous disposition, who does not mind "to have dinner with gentlemen." Balzac barely managed to get rid of her: he had dinner that day and so categorically unlucky.
4. Moon bet
At the moment when Neil Armstrong made his giant step in the history of mankind, sincerely rejoiced not only the whole of America, but also one quite modest Briton. His name was David Trelfol and he was incredibly lucky. Nine years before, in 1960, he came to a bookmaker with 10 pounds in his pocket and the idea of betting on something crazy. Of the proposed list, he liked the man’s trip to the moon in the next 10 years. Bets were accepted 1 in 1000. Ten pounds was not such a small sum at the time: the monthly salary of a worker was 30–40 pounds. However, David took the risk and, as we know, won! In 1969, less than a year before the end of the bet, the Americans made the landing. And Trelfol then bought a luxury sports car. However, the smile of fortune turned into a sarcastic grin: in the first year, David died in his car.
5. He or she?
Probably, in the diplomatic practice of past centuries, there were many cases in the style of Madame Butterfly, when a beautiful foreigner was actually a monsieur. Some of them became widely known, but none was the subject of so much bets as the story of the Chevalier d’Eon de Beaumont. This man spent part of his life as a man, part as a woman.
At the end of the XVIII century he lived in London in the form of a famous French aristocrat, an emancipated fencer, a rider and a visitor to all secular salons. But despite women's clothing, lack of facial hair and incredibly thin hands, all London was still overpowered by doubts. What are the British doing in this case? Of course they make a bet! It is known that in 1774, the total amount that the British put on the stake to establish the sex of de Beaumont, reached 120 thousand pounds. However, no one dared to ask the question on the merits: several curious Chevalier has already laid in duels. There was not a single gentleman who could boast of admission to the boudoir of a mysterious lady.
The issue was resolved only in 1810, when d'Eon died. Conclusions about his death were awaited with more eagerness than reports about the results of the races. And here it is in the papers! The doctors ruled that “despite the unusual roundness of the legs and arms, as well as the swelling of the chest, Mr. Beaumont has fully formed male organs, and therefore is recognized as a man.” Tens of thousands of pounds have changed owners with this news! It was later confirmed that Beaumont had transmitted information to King Louis XV of France.
6. Around the world for...
The most famous in world literature bet by Phileas Fogg (“Around the world in 80 days”) has generated many imitators. The first person to break Fogg’s record in real life was American journalist Nellie Bly. In 1888, she suggested to her editor at the News of the World (by the way, it was Pulitzer himself) to send her on a business trip along the route of the Jules Verne character with a small suitcase and 200 pounds in his pocket.
While Nelly was preparing for the trip, Cosmopolitan magazine also became interested in the question and exhibited its correspondent: she was going around the globe, moving in the opposite direction. In the end, a bet was made which of the girls will be the first to return to the point of departure.
On November 14, 1889, Nelly boarded the transatlantic liner Augusta Victoria and set sail. Of course, in real life she was waiting for much less adventure than in the book, but there were lost trains, and a visit to a leper colony in China, and the purchase of a tame monkey in Singapore, and even a meeting with Jules Verne himself. Nelly wrote telegrams to her magazine. Pulitzer still opened the sweepstakes for readers: bets were taken on when Nelly would get to the next destination. On January 21, after being two days late due to a storm in the Pacific Ocean, Nelly arrived back in the United States. However, she had to move to another coast. If she had been on a regular train, she wouldn't have made it to 80 days, but Pulitzer sent a personal train to pick her up, so Nelly arrived eight days early! Her Cosmopolitan rival was still crisscrossing the Atlantic at this point, losing a hopeless bet.
7. Butcher race
The following story took place in England in the eighteenth century and can rightly be considered one of the most witty bets. In the city of Brighton lived a butcher named Bullock, he was known throughout the city for his thickness and resourcefulness: this gentleman never got into his pocket. In the same area was the estate of the Earl of Barrymore, a young brilliant aristocrat interested in athletics. Graf rightly considered himself one of the best athletes in the country. History is silent about whether Barrymore was a client of Bullock, but it is known that the butcher once offered the count an unusual bet. The fat man announced that he would overtake the young athlete at a hundred meters, but on two conditions: he reserves the right to choose a place and asks for a head start of 35 meters. The winner receives from the defeated an impressive sum, comparable to the value of the entire business of Mr. Bullock. The count amused himself by this impudent offer, and he agreed. The runners began to prepare for the competition.
Only a few hours before the race, the butcher revealed the cards: he chose Black Lyon Lane - one of the narrowest in the UK. Immediately after the start, Barrymore caught up with his opponent, but ... he could not squeeze past him to reach the finish line first. It is said that the Earl admitted himself a loser and honestly paid Bullock everything he owed.
8. Movie in 10 seconds
Famous Italian writer Tonino Guerra (writer of scripts for Tarkovsky, Antonioni, Fellini) wrote the plot of “the shortest film in the history of cinema”. It is said that one of the friends made a bet with Guerra that he would not come up with a full-length film that is only 10 seconds long. The next day, the writer brought this sketch: "Woman watching TV." On the screen is a broadcast of the rocket launch. Countdown: 10...9...8...7... 6. 5. 4. We see her face, which reflects the storm of experiences. In the last seconds, she picks up the phone, dials the number, and as the rocket launches, she says to the phone, "He's gone."
9. Fashion betting
British aristocrat Lord Spencer at the very beginning of the XIX century was the undisputed trendsetter in London salons. He was so confident that he once made an absurd bet. Lord offered to do something wild with his coat - for example, to trim the palds. After that, he promised to appear at the ball in this form, assuring that everyone would consider it an absolutely decent outfit.
I must say, Spencer not only won the bet - he introduced the fashion for shortened jackets at the waist, which were worn not only by men, but also by women. Jackets have rightly come to be called (and still so called) "Spencers". They are worn as an alternative to the tuxedo.
10. People and holes
The famous physicist Stephen Hawking (by the way, also British) also did not escape the national passion. During his lifetime, he made several bets, mostly about black holes. As you know, black holes are very disturbing great scientist. The first time Stephen argued with his colleague that the source Cygnus X-1 does not contain a black hole. The bet was a one-year subscription to Pen*house (for Hawking's opponent) against a four-year subscription to the satirical magazine Private Eye. Alas, Stephen was not destined to enjoy the satire: the hole was in place and the bet was won by a lover of er*tica. The next time, Professor Hawking argued that the hole absorbs information without a trace. I'm wrong again! This time, the professor spoke more modestly: only a baseball encyclopedia was offered as a bet. The thing is, of course, much less useful than a satirical or er*tic magazine.
