Real-life has so many stories to tell. Heartfelt stories of joy. Gripping tales of terror. Accounts of heartache, grief, and sorrow. The best movies, too, are often rooted in reality, such as Apocalypse Now, The Theory of Everything, A Beautiful Mind, among so many others.
Some of the greatest stories in real life are just so good they need to have a movie based on it. And would you believe it? The following stories haven’t been adapted yet to the silver screen.
Washington’s Runaway Slave
Aside from being known for leading the American Revolution and having wooden teeth (he didn’t; he had dentures), the first President is also known for being a slaver. George Washington supported actions that supported slavery in Congress, as well.
So, it wouldn’t be a surprise that they were relentless in trying to capture On a Judge, a woman “owned” by his wife, the First Lady Martha Washington. Judge was to be a “wedding present” to the first lady’s granddaughter when she escaped the Washingtons’ clutches with the aid of Philadelphia’s free black community. She became a fugitive afterward and settled down in New Hampshire.
Dyatlov Pass Incident
Last February, the Russian Government have revived a 60-year-old investigation into the fate of a trekking group from the Ural Polytechnic Institute who mysteriously died on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl during a blizzard. The area, Dyatlov Pass, is named after the leader of the group, Igor Dyatlov. Officially, Dyatlov and his crew died of hypothermia and physical trauma.
However, the story gets more bizarre from there. From their campsite, it was discovered that the group fled their campsite partially clothed and barefoot. The tents were sliced open. Some were found with brutal head injuries. Some were stripped to their underwear despite the cold weather conditions. Four were even found only after the snow had melted.
Tesla v. Edison
The War of the Currents, as it’s now known, is the rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Tesla and Edison used to work together but clashed until the former left. Railroad airbrake inventor George Westinghouse then recognized Tesla’s talents and bought his patents, including the one for alternating current, which is currently used today.
The Tesla-Edison rivalry has been a war of slander and misinformation, with Edison attempting to discredit the eccentric Tesla with every chance he got.
The Capture of Saddam Hussein
Almost 16 years ago, December 13, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was finally captured by US troops. He went in hiding after the American invasion of Iraq nine months prior. They were no close to finding him; they already carried out 12 unsuccessful raids and about 300 interrogations in between July and December.
They were looking for Mohammed Ibrahim Omar al-Muslit, Hussein’s bodyguard. Eric Maddox, an Army interrogator, used empathy to extract information from his driver. And when al-Muslit was captured on the 13th, he did the same, thus, Hussein was captured. Later on, he became a consultant and trainer after his stint at the military. If you’re interested in Eric Maddox, check out his website.
The War Magician
One of the most ridiculous-yet-true stories of war centers around the illusionist Jasper Maskelyne. A stage magician by trade, his career came to a halt during the outbreak of World War II. He then used and adapted his magic tricks for espionage and deception.
Some of these deceptions include making a “sun shield” to hide tanks from German planes and the concealment of a whole naval harbor. His team devised a decoy harbor to trick German planes that they bombed the right place. He also deceived the German army in Africa by using tank-disguised trucks to misdirect them while the real tanks attack another location.
If these stories get the Hollywood treatment, would you see them?
