Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. And sometimes, it’s a whole lot more terrifying. History’s Most Shocking returns Monday, February 24, with a fresh batch of stories guaranteed to make you double-check your smoke detectors, inspect your attic for pythons, and maybe reconsider that cycling trip through the train tunnel.
This week’s installment focuses on a particularly misguided soul who thought crashing his plane in Los Padres National Forest would be a great way to achieve internet fame. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. Tony Harris and his team break down the, shall we say, questionable decision-making that led to this fiery social media misfire.
But wait, there’s wildlife-related terror, too. Imagine the horror of giant snakes slithering through your ceiling and then, yes, falling into your living room. It happened. Most Shocking revisits this reptile-infested nightmare, complete with first-hand accounts from the understandably traumatized family.
And if plummeting pythons aren’t enough to get your pulse racing, how about a near-miss with a speeding train? Two cyclists get a little too close for comfort in a dark tunnel, and the footage is, frankly, terrifying. Harris and the gang examine the physics of this close call, exploring just how narrowly these bikers dodged a gruesome fate.
Beyond these contemporary calamities, Most Shocking takes us back to 1971 for a look at the tragic crash of the Tupolev Tu-144, the Soviet Union’s supersonic jet, at the Paris Air Show. The episode aims to provide some insight into the factors that contributed to this aviation disaster.
Tune in to History on Monday, February 24, at 10:03 p.m. ET.
