How a Sandwich Led to the Great War

By: A. Hemnani

As most people have certainly learned in history classes, Franz Ferdinand's assassination marked the beginning of the "great war." Correct? What if I told you that a sandwich was the only reason a murder occurred? 

A sandwich? Yes, a sandwich!

Franz chose the worst day to travel to Bosnia because it was Saint Vitus' Day, and a big festival for Slavic nationalists. Terrorists made the decision to murder Franz Ferdinand in order to celebrate. 

The terrorist organization "black hand" had so far been unable to carry out its plans to assassinate the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The grenade that was supposed to hit the archduke's car instead struck the car next to him. 

The victim would receive a visit from the Australian-Hungarian archduke. He noted that the driver was deviating from the predetermined path on the trip to the hospital. 

One of the terrorists sent to kill him, Gavrilo Princip, happened to be getting a sandwich at the intersection where the automobile carrying the Archduke coincidentally stopped. Princip killed the Archduke and his wife, starting a four-year war that claimed millions of lives.

​Here is just one of the many examples of what is known as ‘The Butterfly Effect’. It shows that if even one minor detail had been changed somewhere in history, our lives would not have been the same as they are today.