15 of the Strangest Things That Have Caused International Incidents
When we think about international incidents, Hollywood movies and conspiratorial superstition drives us to think about spies, wars, or everything in between. And yet, these conflicts involve people like any of us, meaning that they can spark from seemingly innocuous things.
We’re going to look at some of the weirdest catalysts for international incidents, from a pig that nearly started a war between the U.S. and Britain to a debate over whether lobsters crawl or swim that involved warships. A lot of them might seem silly, but they were all serious for the people involved.
A Teddy Bear Named Muhammad Causes an Uproar
In November 2007, British teacher Gillian Gibbons was arrested in Sudan after her class of 7-year-olds voted to name a teddy bear Muhammad. The incident sparked protests and an international outcry before she was eventually pardoned and released.
Throwing Men from a Window Starts a War
In a 1618 event known as the Defenestration of Prague, angry Protestant officials threw two Catholic governors and a secretary from a window of Hradčany Castle. The act was a direct trigger for the Thirty Years’ War.
A US-UK Dispute Over the San Juan Islands
An American farmer shot a British-owned pig, escalating a border dispute over the San Juan Islands. Both sides sent warships before a peaceful arbitration finally settled things in 1872.That pig ended up being the only casualty.
The Axe Incident in the DMZ
On August 18, 1976, an attempt to prune a poplar tree in the Korean Demilitarized Zone turned violent. North Korean soldiers attacked the work party, killing two U.S. Army officers with axes and drastically increasing regional tensions.
Arresting Diplomats on a British Ship
On June 22, 1807, the British warship HMS Leopard fired upon and boarded the USS Chesapeake, looking for deserters. The incident, which killed 3 American sailors, caused outrage in the U.S. and helped push the two nations toward the War of 1812.
The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
On July 10, 1985, French intelligence agents bombed and sank the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland, New Zealand. The ship was preparing to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific, and the attack killed one photographer onboard.
The Iowa-Missouri Honey War
This 1839 border dispute between two states got its name after Missouri tax collectors destroyed beehives in the disputed territory. Both Iowa and Missouri mobilized their militias, although no shots were fired before the Supreme Court settled it.
Competing Claims Spark the Nootka Crisis
In the 1790s, Spain and Great Britain nearly went to war over a remote trading post on Canada’s west coast. Spain claimed the whole Pacific Ocean, but the crisis eventually forced them to accept that other nations could trade there.
The Russian Navy Mistakes Trawlers for Warships
During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Russian fleet sailed through the North Sea and opened fire on British fishing boats, mistaking them for enemy ships. The incident killed 2 fishermen and almost started a war with Britain.
The Brazil-France Lobster War
From 1961 to 1963, a dispute over whether lobsters “crawl” along Brazil’s continental shelf or “swim” in open waters escalated to a military level. Both nations deployed naval vessels before a diplomatic agreement was finally reached in 1964.
The US-China Hainan Island Spy Plane Incident
On April 1, 2001, a U.S. Navy surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided. The damaged U.S. plane made an emergency landing on China’s Hainan Island, where its 24 crew members were detained for 11 days.
The Panay Incident in China
In 1937, Japanese aircraft attacked and sank the American gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze River in China. The attack killed 3 Americans, and it happened despite the ship clearly displaying large American flags to show its neutrality.
A Spying Pigeon Captured in India
A pigeon was held in an Indian animal hospital for 8 months on suspicion of being a spy. It was later cleared when authorities discovered it was just a lost racing pigeon from Taiwan. This wasn’t the first such incident.
The Havana Syndrome Mystery
Starting in 2016, U.S. diplomats in Cuba reported strange symptoms like headaches and dizziness. While an official 2023 report said a foreign weapon was “highly unlikely” to be the cause, recent investigations suggest a possible sonic weapon link.
The Dahala Khagrabari Enclave Dispute
This tiny piece of land was a geographical nightmare: a patch of India inside a patch of Bangladesh, inside a patch of India, inside Bangladesh. This bizarre “counter-counter-enclave” was finally ceded to Bangladesh in 2015, ending the confusion.