Bonus Episode 2: Your Unintended Consequences

Flashback listeners send us examples of the unexpected results of some historical events -- from two World Wars to an unfortunate landscaping trend. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This past season of Flashback, we covered stories about unintended
consequences in history, and we asked you, our loyal listeners,
to send in some of your own stories on that theme,
and you responded, so we wanted to devote a special
bonus episode in order to share some of your wonderful submissions.

(00:21):
One of the landmark historical events that came up in
several of our stories this season, from tales of Hitler's
drug habits to the dangerous effects of phosphorus, was World
War Two, and several of you pointed to some other
interesting unintended consequences tied to that war. Alicia Downs, a
history and anthropology major, wrote in to say she was
in fact working on a scholarly paper on two of

(00:43):
the biggest The first a major strategic blunder on the
part of the Nazis. At midday on June twenty two,
the peoples of the U. S s I heard the
news of fabled at warm in Germany. As Alicia writes,
Germany made a vital error in invading Russia. As strong
as Britain was, it wouldn't have survived a full scale

(01:04):
invasion from Germany. Instead, Alicia says that by attacking one
of the most populated countries Germany allowed Britain to regain
its strength. The second was another big strategic blunder, this
time by Germany's ally Japan. Yesterday, the Sumba some nineteen one,

(01:28):
a date which will live in infamy. United States of
America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by nabal on their
coasces of the Empire of Japan. Before the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor, the United States had resisted getting involved

(01:50):
in the war Japan provoked a sleeping tiger. I believe
that I interpret the will of the Congress and of
the people when I said, but we will not only
defend ourselves to the uttermost, but we'll make it very
certain that this form of treachery shall never again and

(02:16):
dangerous and as Ray Joseph points out, there were several
other consequences of America's participation in that war. He writes,
America exited World War Two with its infrastructure not only
intact but expanded well. Europe, Russia, and Asia were rebuilding
their cities. America became an industrial powerhouse. It took these

(02:39):
other countries decades to catch up. Thanks to the war
America was able to make a massive technology grab, including
grabbing some of the world's top scientists, especially from Germany,
scientists who would help the US get to the Moon
and more. And it doesn't stop there. That Stephen Martinez shares.
There were their unintended consequences of some of the projects

(03:02):
launched by American scientists after the war. One of them
was Project m k Ultra, the CIA program that used
human subjects to experiment with mind control. Many of these
unwitting subjects were found in prisons, asylums, and even top universities.
One of the most famous victims of these experiments was
reportedly a seventeen year old Harvard student named Ted Kazinski,

(03:24):
who would later become famous for something else. Federal agents
have taken into custody a man they suspect as the
UNI Bomber. Long before he became the unibomber, Kazinski volunteered
for psychological study run by Dr Henry Murray, a Harvard
professor employed by the CIA. Kazinski and other students were
subjected to aggressive psychological interrogations designed to test their responses

(03:47):
to stress. Following the experiment, Kazinski became withdrawn and many
scholars argue that this traumatic experience contributed to his alienation
from society and ultimately his crimes. World War two was

(04:07):
not the only war in which American involvement triggered some
unexpected consequences. Neil Stevens points out that US participation in
World War One did as well, For example, the nine
eighteen flu pandemic, which is believed to have been brought
by American soldiers from Kansas to Europe, where the local
outbreak was transmitted worldwide. This season on Flashback, we also

(04:31):
told the stories of invasive species like kat zoo and
the gypsy moth. We learned how introducing such species into
new environments had unleashed a torrent of unexpected consequences. One
of our listeners, Phantom Writer five six three, points out
another ecological introduction whose effects we are still living with,
especially during allergy season. For decades, American urban planners have

(04:53):
engaged in a form of botanical sexism, the decision to
plan only male trees along public streets and parks. Initially,
this appears to have been an effort to avoid the seeds, pods,
and other droppings from female trees, but of course male
trees make something else pollen so now the male dominated
city tree escape is one of the main reasons why

(05:14):
pollen and paullen allergies have gotten so bad in recent decades.
Thanks again for listening and for sharing your thoughts, feedback
and idea this past season, and you can continue to

(05:36):
do so by emailing us at Flashback at AUSSI dot com.
That's Flashback at oz y dot com. Please stay tuned
to this feed for more bonus episodes on fateful moments
from history in the weeks ahead. Flashback is written and
hosted by me Sean Braswell, Senior writer and Executive producer
at AUSSI. He was edited by Mayeve mcgorren and produced

(05:59):
by Tracy Murray in Chris haff engineered our show. Make
sure to subscribe to Flashback on the I Heart Radio
app or listen wherever you get your podcasts. M