Life is full of irony. When we expect one thing to happen but the opposite of it happens in an entirely unexpected way we are left with an interesting mixture of wry surprise and denial. Every one of us has experienced such situations that leave us in a place where we are left absolutely out of words to say. But there are some incidents that are far more ironic and defy human imagination. It’s almost as if mysterious powers are having fun at our expense. Here are some totally ironic facts and incidents, for your amusement, that are just too unbelievable, but true nonetheless.
1. A Canadian university was promoting safe sex by handing out condoms with safe notes. The condoms were recalled because the staples punctured holes into the condoms.
2. The city of Orlando placed a statue of a homeless Jesus sleeping on a bench. The homeless people of Orlando are banned from sleeping on benches.
3. A dying man who received a heart transplant ended up marrying the donors widow. In a twist of fate, he took his own life in exactly the same way as the donor.
4. The building holding the patent to the fire hydrant burned down in 1836.
5. John Morales, an actor who played McGruff The Crime Dog, was imprisoned for possessing 1,000 pot plants and a grenade launcher.
6. A New Orleans pool facility was celebrating one year without a drowning. It was attended by 100 lifeguards. Unfortunately a man drowned at this event.
7. The New York Times in the 1920’s was dismissive of crossword puzzles. In fact the paper made the statement, “the craze evidently is dying out fast.” Today, the New York Times Sunday edition has the most recognized crossword puzzle.
8. Gary Kremen, the founder of match.com, lost his girlfriend to a man she met on match.com.
9. “ Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia ” is the fear of long words.
10. In 2014, a Los Angeles memorial tree dedicated to George Harrison was killed by an infestation of beetles. For the uninitiated, George Harrison played in The Beatles.
11. Union General John Sedgwick told his men to stand up because Confederate soldiers “couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Moments after he uttered those words, he was shot and killed.
12. The kudzu vine was planted in the United States in the 1930’s after the government insisted it would help preserve nature. Instead, this vine actually kills neighboring trees and plants as it grows.
13. In 1974, 80,000 lapel buttons created by the government to promote toy safety were recalled as their edges were too sharp.
14. Barry Manilow’s 1976 hit ‘I Write The Songs,’ was written by Bruce Johnson.
15. Charles Darwin, infamous for his theory of evolution and survival of the fittest, married his cousin.
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