This Video About Mistakes Will Make You Feel Better About Screwing Up

We all make mistakes. In fact, in the time it takes you to read this entire article, it’s possible you’ve made a few of your own. (I am not discounting myself, of course. Even after re-writing and editing this story, there’s more than likely an errant comma or spelling error I missed along the way, which you can happily point out for me in the comments below.) Anyway, my point is, we screw up because we’re all human. But, if that doesn’t make you feel better about your previous mess-ups in life, than perhaps this new video making the rounds will.

From YouTube channel Vsauce comes a fascinating nine-minute clip detailing some of the biggest mistakes in human history. And oh boy, do humans have a history of accidentally screwing things up. So, what qualifies as a mistake? Well, how about what Sergio Martinez did, after getting lost in the woods outside San Diego? Martinez, who had gone out hunting, eventually couldn’t find his way back, so he started a small fire to alert someone where he was. The good news? He succeeded in getting someone’s attention. The bad news? He only succeeded because the fire he originally set grew completely out of control; it eventually killed 15 people and destroyed 300,000 acres of land. That makes you feel bad about beating yourself up over missing test questions in high school, doesn't it?

Then there’s the mistake made by British soldier Henry Tandey during World War I. During patrol one day, he caught a wounded German soldier in his gun sights. However, taking pity on the soldier’s current state, Tandey decided to let him go. The name of that German? One Adolf Hitler. Yikes. Then again, you can’t blame Tandey completely; it’s not like he knew this guy was going to end up being one of the biggest mass murderers in history.

Thankfully, not all mistakes are part of some grand life-or-death scenario, otherwise we would be walking on eggshells all day. The video also points out some of the more trivial historical mistakes over the years, like someone taping over the original footage of Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon with clips of other NASA test missions. Pop music has had its own mishaps over the years, too (insert Black Eyed Peas Joke here). Example: In Buffalo Springfield’s song “For What It’s Worth,” the “B” in the word “beware” is clipped at the 26-second mark. Even the Beatles weren’t immune from messing up on their album. During “Hey Jude,” Paul McCartney misses a chord at the 2:58 mark, after which you can hear him say “f*cking hell.”

If you think those are nuts, there are plenty more where they came from in the full video. Now go ahead and watch the clip above and take comfort in the fact that being a few minutes late to a meeting or missing your dental appointment isn’t really that big of a deal, or you can continue the V Sauce-related excitement by checking out more of the channel's work. Below is a fascinating take on why humans love games...