25 Of The Biggest Trolls In History

Posted by , Updated on March 22, 2024

Trolls can indeed be entertaining to observe, as long as you are not at the receiving end of their antics. Watching their exploits on YouTube or reading about them online can be a fun experience. That’s precisely what our focus for today is. It is quite possible that you have been a victim of trolling, or you could become one, or you might even be a troll yourself! Regardless, owing to human nature, trolls are not going anywhere. Today, in the comfort of your computer, you’ll read about trolls at work. Some trolls were harmless, while others not so much. They all, however, shared a deep-rooted spirit of mischief. Well, not all. Some instances were genuine accidents. Such an incident can occur when you unintentionally troll someone out of ignorance. Though not intentionally done, any bystander would label you a troll. These stories are not about your average trolls, nor petty YouTube commentators. These are tales of the troll elite. These are the 25 biggest trolls in history!

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Featured Image: pixabay

25

Pablo Escobar

Pablo EscobarSource: reddit, Image: wikipedia

He took his son to see the White House while the DEA and Interpol were looking for him

24

Oliver "Porky" Bickar

Oliver "Porky" BickarSource: hoaxes.org, Image: wikipedia

A resident of Alaska, Oliver decided to “ignite” Mt. Edgecumbe, a dormant volcano. He pulled it off on April Fools 1974 by dropping 70 tires on the summit and lighting them on fire. The prank worked like a charm and news of the rumbling volcano spread around the world.

23

Count Victor Lustig

Count Victor LustigSource: reddit, Image: wikipedia

One of the most successful con men in history, Victor tried selling the Eiffel Tower twice by posing as a government official and he actually managed to get some money for it! Furthermore, “lustig” means “comical” in German!

22

Diogenes of Sinope

Diogenes of SinopeSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

When Plato once defended a man as being a “featherless biped”, Diogenes left a plucked chicken on his doorstep with a note – “Behold! I have brought you a man!”. It is also said that Diogenes died from holding his breath.

21

John Titor

John TitorSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

John Titor was a name used on several forums in 2000 and 2001 by someone claiming to be a time traveler from 2036. He made several “predictions” about the future and the crazy thing is that lots of people believed him!

20

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan SwiftSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Jonathan is well known for publishing “A Modest Proposal” in 1729, a satirical piece in which he suggested for poor Irish families to sell their children to rich families as a source of food. It went over the heads of many people though, and Jonathan was slammed in the press for suggesting that babies would make a good source of food.

19

Mark Gubin

AirportSource: reddit, Image: wikipedia

A resident of Milwaukee that lives near the airport, Mark wrote “Welcome to Cleveland” in huge letters on the roof of his house.

18

Austria

AustriaSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

That’s right, the entire country. Why? Because they managed to convince the world that Hitler was German and Beethoven was Austrian!

17

Zhuge Liang

Zhuge LiangSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

A Chinese general nearly 2,000 years ago, Zhuge needed to defend his village with only a ragtag army. He decided to sit outside the gates sipping tea until the enemy arrived. Fearing an ambush, the enemy retreated.

16

Andy Warhol

Andy WarholSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

He once pointed a camera at the Empire State Building for several days and released it as a movie called “Empire”.

15

Basil Zaharoff

Basil ZaharoffSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

A Greek arms dealer, he once sold a submarine to the Greek government. He then told the Turks that the Greeks had a submarine and sold them 2 submarines. Lastly, he went to the Russians and told them the Turks had 2 submarines so he sold them 2 as well. None of the submarines actually worked.

14

Orson Wells

Orson WellsSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Although it was unintentional, when Orson’s War of the World’s was broadcast on the radio, many people thought that Martians were actually invading.

13

Marcel Duchamp

Marcel DuchampSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

A French American artist, Marcel hated the modern/high art scene and so he once submitted a signed urinal to an art exhibit.

12

Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen PoeSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

While at West Point, Edgar was expelled becasue his drill instructor told him to put on his NCO belt and show up to formation. He showed with only his NCO belt.

11

Machiavelli

MachiavelliSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

He wrote the Prince and the Discourses, both of which elaborated on his political ideas. The issue? They contradict each other. Only recently have people come to the possible conclusion that the Prince was a troll piece.

10

The United Kingdom

United KingdomSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

During World War II Britain didn’t want Germany to know that they had radar and were using it to detect their bombers so they came out with a public service announcement claiming that their pilots had superior vision because they ate lots of carrots. Everybody, including Germany, believed them.

9

Abbie Hoffman

Abbie HoffmanSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

He took a tour of the FBI headquarters while being wanted by the FBI

8

Ben Franklin

Ben FranklinSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

He was allegedly such a troll that the other founding fathers had to proofread the constitution to make sure he didn’t include any jokes.

7

James Randi

James RandiSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

A retired Canadian magician, James would follow psychics around and expose them on national TV.

6

Penn and Teller

Penn and TellerSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Like James Randi, these two American magicians have entire TV shows dedicated to exposing psychics, paranormal activists, conspiracy theorists, and others. Moreover, other magicians hate them because quite often they tell the audience how they do their tricks.

5

Piltdown Man

Piltdown ManSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

So the troll wasn’t actually the Piltdown Man. The Piltdown Man was the cave man that was found in a pit in England. For years scientists thought the cave man was the key to understanding human evolution until it was exposed as a hoax nearly 40 years later.

4

Frank Abagnale Junior

Frank Abagnale JuniorSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Possibly one of history’s greatest con men and the subject of the movie Catch Me If You Can, by the age of 21 Frank had used fake credentials to work as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer. He also wrote enough bad checks to go to jail for over a decade. He ended up serving only part of his sentence though when the FBI offered him a job in spotting forgeries. Today he is a millionaire.

3

Iceland and Greenland

Iceland and GreenlandSource: wikipedia

Or rather the person that named them. Greenland is covered in Ice and Iceland is…well, also covered in ice but its definitely greener than Greenland!

2

Juan Pujol Garcia

Juan Pujol GarciaSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Possibly one of the primary reasons for the Allies succeeding at Normandy, Juan was a double agent for both the Germans and the British. He managed to be awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for convincing the Germans that Normandy was a distraction to the real invasion. In spite of this, he was also awarded the Iron Cross from the Germans for his valiant efforts during the war.

1

The Greeks

The GreeksSource: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

For taking over the city of Troy using a huge horse.