The day the clowns cried

The Hartford circus fire is one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the U.S. On July 6, 1944 in Hartford, CT, the Ringling Brothers Circus tent caught on fire. Long story short: people panicked, tried to rush through an exit but couldn't, and in the end 168 of the almost 7,000 attendees died, all in a matter of six minutes.

Ringling management accepted responsibility for the financial damages and paid for the suits filed by the families of the victims, which totaled over $4 million. That decision seriously helped them save face -- they survived as one of the world's most famous circuses.

And it turned out that some dumb pyromaniac started the fire.