People riot for all sorts of reasons. Often they don’t make sense. Well, in some ways they do, but not in a burning tires and throwing molitov cocktails kind of way. But riots aren’t about sitting down at a table and reasoning things out. That is what politicians do, and they usually do it in response to riots. So that is why people riot. They are emotional and they want to be heard. And these days, with social media, they will be heard. It is almost a fact. In this day, riots have the potential to change the world. With twitter and facebook, news of any disturbance can quickly garner attention and receive coverage from media outlets around the world. Unfortunately, this is a tactic adopted by many terrorist organizations as well. They know and recognize the power of social media to shape world events and public opinion and they take full advantage of that fact. Either way though, riots don’t always have to be about such bad things. Many of our greatest institutions were established in the midst of civil unrest. So, for better or for worse, these are the 25 Crazy Things You Might Not Know About Riots!
Featured Image: wikipedia
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In 532 AD a sport riot destroyed half of Constantinople and killed tens of thousands of people. It lasted several days and was called the Nika riot.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 24
Zoot Suit Riot wasn't just a metaphor for dancing. It was a real riot.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 23
In 1355 two students at Oxford University incited a riot because their beer tasted poorly. The matter was settled in favor of the students and for the next 470 years the town council had to march bareheaded through the streets every year (until one of the mayors finally refused in 1825).
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay 22
Fred Durst, the lead singer of Limp Bizkit, started a riot at Woodstock '99 with the song Break Stuff. Several fires were even started.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 21
In 2005, there was a large riot in North Korea when the North Korean football team lost to Iran.
Source: chosun.com, Image: pixabay 20
During the American Civil War, Lincoln passed legislation that allowed people to pay $300 to get out of the draft. Since only the upper class could afford this, the New York City draft riots followed. These were the largest civil insurrection in American history next to the Civil War itself.
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay 19
The first recorded "mooning" happened in 66 AD when a Roman soldier mooned Jewish pilgrims. This led to a riot, which led to a military response, and when the dust had settled thousands of people had lost their lives.
Source: Josephus' Jewish War and Its Slavonic Version, Image: pixabay 18
In Nevada, any disturbance with two or more people is considered a riot while in the United States as a whole, it takes at least three people to be considered a riot.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 17
In the UK, a civil disturbance must involve at least 12 people in order to be labeled as a riot.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 16
Singapore was a state in Malaysia for less than two years before racial riots forced it to become independent.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 15
As a result of these riots, Singapore is the only country to have ever gained its independence against its will (it was thrown out of Malaysia).
Source: wikipedia, Image: picserver.org 14
In 1974 the Cleveland Indians held a Ten Cent Beer Night as a promotion. Fans got so drunk and rowdy that the game had to be called off early.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 13
In 2006 protestors in Hungary hot-wired a Soviet tank that was on display at a memorial and drove it into a group of riot police
Source: scotsman.com, Image: wikipedia 12
During the New Mexico State Penitentiary riots, prison gangs took over and then took five hours to cut through the bars of the protective custody unit (which housed snitches and sex offenders). After five hours they dragged their fellow prisoners out and brutally tortured, beheaded, and burned them. Although the police could have let them out through a back door they didn't because negotiations between the prisoners and the police had been stalled.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 11
In 1896, at the coronation of Czar Nicholas II, nearly 1,400 people died because of riots started due to rumors about the free beer having run out.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 10
When the Smithsonian opened a controversial new museum in a primarily black part of Washington DC many people said it would be vandalized and destroyed. During the 1968 riots it was one of the few buildings left untouched
Source: Museums and Social Activism: Engaged Protest by Kylie Message, Image: wikipedia 9
In 1826, cadets at West Point held a Christmas party that turned into a beer induced riot ending with 20 courtmartials. It has since been labeled the Eggnog Riot.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 8
Tulsa, Oklahoma used to have something called "Black Wall Street". It was the most prosperous minority neighborhood in the US and in 1921 it was burned down when a black man accidentally stepped on the foot of a white woman.
Source: sfbayview.com, Image: wikipedia 7
During the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992, Korean shop owners banned together and stood on the roofs of their buildings with assault rifles to protect Koreatown.
Source: bearingarms.com, Image: wikipedia 6
A police officer defused a riot in Northern Ireland in 2010 by playing ice cream van music.
Source: guardian.co.uk, Image: wikipedia 5
In 1933, a baseball game in Toronto broke into a race riot when Nazi supporters started waving a huge swastika to protest Jewish players.
Source: cbc.ca, Image: wikipedia 4
During the Toronto Circus Riot in 1855 clowns got in a fight with firefighters.
Source: spacing.ca, Image: wikipedia 3
In 1922 there were riots in New York over weather or not people should be allowed to wear straw hats past the socially acceptable date of September 15. The Straw Hat Riots lasted over a week and led to numerous arrests and hospitalizations.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 2
During the London Riots in 2011, bookshops were nearly unaffected and even stayed open. One owner was quoted as saying "if they steal some books they might even learn something".
Source: yahoo.com, Image: wikipedia 1
In 2008, police were called on to defend emo kids in Mexico City against violent anti-emo riots.
Source: wired.com, Image: wikipedia Lists Going Viral Right Now
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