Wacky history

When a kettle went to war and 9 other bizarre conflicts in history

Image: Museums Victoria

Not all conflicts are fought for power or territory—some "wars" erupted over pies, buckets, and even unsuspecting animals. Human history, it seems, can be incredibly unpredictable. From bizarre misunderstandings to centuries-long stalemates over trivial disputes, here are 10 of the strangest "wars" ever fought.

Image: The Now Time

In 1838, French pastry chef Remontel demanded compensation after his shop in Mexico was looted by soldiers. France sent warships to collect, escalating into an all-out war.

When Mexico refused to pay, France blockaded Veracruz and bombarded the city. The war only ended when Britain mediated, leading to Mexico paying 600,000 pesos to avoid further conflict.

Image: Alex Boyd

A land dispute over a strip of land called the Toledo Strip caused Ohio and Michigan to nearly go to war in the 1830s. The states armed militias but only exchanged minor skirmishes.

The conflict only ended when the federal government intervened, awarding Ohio the disputed land and giving Michigan the Upper Peninsula as compensation.

Image: Alexandra Mirgheș

In 1925, a Greek soldier chased his stray dog across the Bulgarian border and was shot, sparking hostilities. In response, Greece invaded, capturing several villages before the League of Nations intervened.

Greece was ordered to withdraw and pay reparations to Bulgaria. Despite its absurd start, the conflict helped prove the effectiveness of international diplomacy in averting larger wars.

Image: Ricardo Resende

A 20th-century conflict, the Cod Wars were disputes between Iceland and the UK over fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Iceland extended its fishing boundaries several times, angering British trawlers.

Despite no deaths, the confrontations involved ramming ships and cutting nets. Iceland eventually prevailed, asserting control over its waters and reshaping international fishing agreements.

Image: Sharon Co Images

In 1932, Australia deployed soldiers to manage an emu overpopulation wreaking havoc on crops. Using machine guns, they expected an easy victory but were surprisingly outwitted by the agile birds, accomplishing nothing.

The campaign failed spectacularly, and emus remains a humorous symbol of nature’s resistance to human efforts, even to its military might! The government later turned to fencing to manage the problem without making fools of themselves.

Image: Pavlo Semeniuk

In 1325, rival Italian city-states Bologna and Modena clashed when Modenese soldiers stole a bucket from Bologna's city well. A large battle ensued, resulting in well over 2,000 deaths.

Eventually, Modena triumphed, and the bucket is still displayed as a trophy in the city. While the origins of the conflict might seem bizarre, it highlights the intense (and sometimes absurd) rivalries between independent cities in medieval Italy.

Image: Christopher Carson

In 1859, on the still undefined U.S.-Canada border, a stray pig innocently crossed the border to eat vegetables from a neighboring farm, prompting an angry farmer to shoot it. This led to a feud with his neighbor that escalated into a military standoff between American and British forces, which lasted months.

The "war" only ended when the border issue was peacefully resolved through international arbitration. Fortunately, there were no casualties, except for the poor pig.

Image: Clark Young

This conflict between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly began during the English Civil War. According to local historians, the small archipelago declared war on the Netherlands but never bothered to sign a peace treaty afterward.

Despite no fighting, it technically lasted over 300 years due to the forgotten declaration of war. In 1986, a peace treaty was finally signed, bringing an end to one of history’s most prolonged and bloodless "wars."

Image: martin bennie

Since the 1970s, Denmark and Canada have engaged in a playful "war" over Hans Island, with each side leaving flags and bottles of whisky or schnapps during their visits.

The dispute was finally resolved in 2022, with the island being split between the two nations. This resolution also resulted in Canada and Denmark sharing a land border, meaning neither country borders just one other—the United States in the case of Canada, and Germany in the case of Denmark.

Image: Maria Angelova

In 1784, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic clashed over trade rights, with the Dutch winning the conflict by firing only one shot. The only casualty? A kettle of soup.

Apparently, when the bullet ricocheted off the metal container, the captain became so nervous that he immediately surrendered. While this incident wasn’t the last conflict between the two states, it remains a humorous example of history’s quirks.

Getting acquainted with your food

Deciphering food labels: are these things good or bad for you?

Image: Jon Tyson

Food labels carry useful information for the informed reader. That may sound like a joke but it’s not. Most of us have casually tried to decipher the meaning of all those strange words and numbers on the back of a processed food item but gave up with little to show for it.

Most packaged foods are required to have a label with all sorts of information, including their ingredients, nutritional value, weights and measures, date, directions for use and storage, allergens, and more. Scroll down and learn more about these valuable details!

Image: Shannon VanDenHeuvel

Foods with a shelf life of less than two years must have a best-before or use-by date. But, while it sounds similar, these terms mean different things. The best-before date refers to food quality: food stored in the recommended way will remain of good quality until that date. Once the best-before date has passed, the food may still be safe to consume, but it may have lost some quality and nutritional value.

On the other hand, products with a use-by date on food labels should not be consumed after a certain date for health and safety reasons must-have a use-by date. This means they cannot be sold after that date.

Image: Dan Gold

Every label worth its salt must have its ingredients listed in descending order by weight, including added water. The first ingredient listed is present in the largest amount by weight, and the last one listed is present in the least amount by weight.

If an ingredient makes up less than 5% of the food, it does not have to be listed. However, this 5% rule does not apply to any additive or allergen. These must be listed no matter how small the amount.

Image: Joshua Fernandez

Food additives can be used to improve the quality of a food or improve the flavour or appearance of a food. They must be used in the lowest possible quantity to achieve their purpose. These substances are included in the ingredient list according to their class and purpose (for example, anti-caking agent).

In most cases, a chemical name or food additive number will be listed after the class. For example, enzymes and most flavourings only need to list their class name or number. Luckily, the same food additive numbering system is used throughout the world.

Image: Benjamin Cheng

The nutrition information panel tells the quantity of various nutrients a food contains per serve, as well as per 100 g or 100 ml. That serving size is determined by the manufacturer and will often vary among products.

This panel lists the energy content, proteins, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, and sodium. Very small packages and foods like herbs, spices, salt, tea and coffee, or single-ingredient foods don´t need to show this information.

Image: Mockup Free

This one is tricky. The terms used by manufacturers present their products in a very positive light, even when there is no real value to be found.

For example, the term ‘light’ or ‘lite’ doesn’t necessarily mean that the product is low in fat, but it may refer to the texture, colour or taste of the product. If an item claims to be 93% fat-free, it contains 7% fat, but it looks so much better the other way. ‘Baked not fried’ sounds healthier, but it may still have just as much fat.

Image: Eric Prouzet

Percentage Daily Intake (%DI) symbols display a product’s nutrient amount as one serving, and the percentage of an average adult’s requirements that it provides.

These symbols display energy, and other nutrients, like fat, sugars, sodium, carbohydrates, protein and a vitamin or mineral.

Keep in mind that %DI is based on serving size and, since serving sizes vary as they are set by manufacturers, it can be difficult to use when comparing products.

Image: YesMore Content

Perhaps the most important item on this list is the information about food allergies or intolerance. Foods or ingredients that may cause severe adverse reactions must be declared on the label no matter how small the amount.

Common foods that may cause allergies are peanuts and other nuts, fish and shellfish, milk, eggs, wheat, sesame seeds and soy, among others. Gluten-containing cereals also need to be declared on food labels for people with conditions like celiac disease.

Image: P. L.

This type of labelling details where the product was grown, produced, made or packaged. Most packaged food must have a country of origin label if it's sold in a retail setting, such as a supermarket, local store or market, online or from a vending machine.

Image: Shayna Douglas

Different types of sugar have different names. Food manufacturers may use this to their advantage by purposely adding many different types of sugar to their products to hide the actual amount and, by doing so, they can list a healthier ingredient at the top, mentioning sugar further down. So even though a product may be loaded with sugar, it doesn’t necessarily appear as one of the first three ingredients.

To avoid inadvertently consuming a lot of sugar, watch out for any ingredients with the word "sugar", or "syrup", on their composed names.

Image: Mockup Free

In the same way it happens with sugar, sodium also can be disguised under many different names. For example, there’s salt, sodium benzoate, disodium or monosodium glutamate, to name a few.

This is important to know because too much sodium can raise blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day.