On October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette, the former Queen of France, was executed by guillotine in Paris. Once celebrated for her beauty and charm, she became a symbol of royal excess during the French Revolution. Her reputation suffered as France descended into chaos, and rumors of her saying “Let them eat cake” (which she never actually said) cemented her as a hated figure among the starving masses. After her husband, King Louis XVI, was executed earlier that year, her own fate was sealed.

Marie Antoinette faced a swift and cruel trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal, accused of treason, theft, and even incest, the last being a slander meant to humiliate her. Despite the lies, she remained composed. On the morning of her death, she was taken from her cell in the Conciergerie, dressed simply in white.

As she climbed the scaffold at the Place de la Révolution, witnesses said she showed remarkable courage. After accidentally stepping on the executioner’s foot, she quietly said, “Pardon me, sir, I did not mean to do it.” Moments later, the blade fell.

Marie Antoinette was 37 years old. Her death marked the final collapse of the French monarchy and became one of the Revolution’s most defining moments.

On October 16, 1946, ten Nazi war criminals were executed in Nuremberg, Germany, after being convicted at the Nuremberg Trials. These trials, conducted by the Allied powers, brought 22 top Nazi leaders to justice for war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity following World War II.

Those hanged included Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, and Alfred Jodl, key figures in Hitler’s regime. The executions took place just after midnight in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison. Hermann Göring, Hitler’s former deputy, escaped hanging by taking cyanide hours before his sentence.

Afterward, the bodies were cremated and their ashes scattered in the Isar River, preventing any future memorials. For many survivors of Nazi terror, this moment brought long-awaited justice.

The Nuremberg executions symbolized a turning point in world history—proof that even the most powerful could be held accountable. They also laid the foundation for modern international law and the principle that “just following orders” is no defense for crimes against humanity.

The Milgram Experiment⚡️
The Milgram Experiment proved 65% of people would torture someone to death if ordered by an authority figure. In 1961, Stanley Milgram had volunteers administer what they thought were lethal electric shocks to screaming victims - most people kept "shocking" even when the victim went silent, proving ordinary people will commit atrocities when told to by someone in charge.

Shirtwaist Factory🔥
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 workers because management locked exit doors to prevent theft. In 1911, factory girls jumped from 10-story windows to escape flames because bosses had locked doors to stop workers from stealing or taking breaks - bodies piled on the sidewalk as spectators watched workers choose between burning or jumping

Not So Nobel Prize🏆
The inventor of the lobotomy won the Nobel Prize despite his "surgery" turning patients into vegetables. António Egas Moniz won the 1949 Nobel Prize for hammering ice picks through eye sockets into brains - the procedure destroyed 40,000+ Americans' personalities, including Rosemary Kennedy who was left unable to walk or talk after JFK's father had her lobotomized at age 23.

Radiated Water☢️
Radithor was radioactive water marketed as health tonic that killed wealthy Americans by dissolving their bones. In the 1920s, people drank radium-laced water daily believing it cured everything - steel magnate Eben Byers drank 1,400 bottles and died when his jaw fell off and holes formed in his skull.

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