Unusual bets that went down in history

In the olden days, people often made bets. The winner of the bet received a handsome prize.

Historians know of some very unusual bets. We are going to tell you about such uncommon bets.

Forwarding of letters

This bet was made by Lord William Douglas, who lived in the 18th century. The Briton made a bet with a friend that he would be able to arrange for the super-fast forwarding of letters.

Douglas promised that the message would be delivered to the addressee at 50 miles an hour. William Douglas’s idea was simple. He enlisted the help of cricket players. The Briton placed them along the road that led to the addressee’s house. Douglas then wrapped the cricket ball in the very letter.

Then William let the sportsmen start the game. They took turns hitting the ball with the cricket bats. This is how the letter ended up in the hands of the addressee. Douglas won the bet and his opponent paid him 1000 guineas.

The shortest work

It was written by American writer Ernest Hemingway. He wrote it after making a bet with a colleague.

The bet was as follows. Hemingway’s friend argued that it was impossible to write a short story that would interest a reader. The literary genius contradicted him. Then Hemingway’s colleague suggested a bet.

He agreed and set about writing the world’s shortest story. This work consisted of 6 words and told about the sale of children’s shoes. The writer’s colleague was forced to admit that Hemingway did win the bet.

Cocktail for millions

The legendary Cleopatra also liked to argue. She once made an unusual wager with her lover Mark Antony. Cleopatra claimed she could drink as much wine as she valued at several million silver coins.

Mark Antony laughed back. Said a frail woman like Cleopatra wouldn’t drink that much alcohol. She furrowed her brows and promised to fulfil the terms of the bet.

To win the bet with her lover, the queen of Egypt resorted to cunning. So Cleopatra put a huge pearl in her goblet, which she dissolved in vinegar.

Cleopatra drank this “cocktail” in one gulp and won the bet. The value of the pearl was estimated at several million sestercii. That’s what they called silver coins in ancient Egypt.

Moonlight dispute

It is known that the Americans visited the Moon in 1969. This unique event made Briton David Trelfil fabulously rich. Now it’s all in order.

In 1960, David was in urgent need of money. He only had £10 left. Then the man decided to try his luck and go to a bookmaker’s office. There he was offered to bet on the fact that in the next 10 years a man will not fly to the moon. If he won, Trelfil was to receive £10,000.

In July 1969, the Americans landed on the moon and our hero David became rich.

Most successful short film

Was made from a script by Italian Tonino Guerra. The film lasted just 10 seconds. The screen showed a countdown to the launch of a space rocket.

Guerra wrote the script after making a bet with a pal. His friend suggested that he come up with an interesting plot for a motion picture. The only condition – that the film lasted no longer than 10 seconds. By the way, Tonino coped with the task in just twenty-four hours.

A wager on longevity

It was made by two gerontological scientists Steven Osted and Jay Olshansky in 2000. The essence of the bet was that people could live up to 150 years. Whoever wins the bet would receive $500 million. The initiator of the bet was Osted.

The scientists realise that they are unlikely to live long enough to decide the winner. So Stephen and Jay bequeath their winnings to posterity.