"Oops, I've made a terrible error!" (part 3)

Throughout history there have been many examples of people making foolish predictions which ultimately proved to be completely false. Here are a few more such predictions...

"I ain't nothing but a hound dog! Woof!"

1) Truck driving singer

When Elvis was 16, rockabilly singer Eddie Bond told him, "Stick to driving a truck, because you'll never make it as a singer."

Elvis Presley went on to become the best selling solo artist of all time, with his estimated record sales totalling somewhere between a staggering 600 million and 1 billion. I think it's fair to say therefore that Eddie Bond was just a little bit off with his prediction regarding Elvis' musical career.

"Oops, I've made another terrible error!"

Previously on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog I've taken a look at high profile mistakes made in the world of movies, books, music and sport. Here are a few more examples of notable mistakes throughout history, this time from the world of science and technology, starting with an example which highlights the importance of being ambitious and dreaming big...

Tonight's official party attendance: 5
Figures courtesy of Thomas J. Watson.

1) Dream Big

Back in 1943 Thomas J. Watson, the former chairman of IBM, thought he was being extremely ambitious when he revealed he had big expansion plans for his computer company.  He famously predicted...

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

As it turned out, Thomas was slightly out with his prediction.  In fact as of today there are estimated to be more than two billion computers in use in the world! Given his inaccuracy with figures, I wonder if Thomas would like to lend me a fiver?

It just goes to show how reality can sometimes massively exceed expectations, so if you're going to dream, then you might as well dream big.

"Oops, I've made a terrible error."

The Charles Fudgemuffin blog takes a look at mistakes made in the spotlight...

This week saw the release of an exciting new trailer for the forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and advance ticket sales for the new movie were already breaking records within a day of going on sale. However, despite the massive success of the Star Wars movies, at one stage it looked as if the original film might not even get made. Incredibly, some movie studios actually turned Star Wars down, but they can console themselves with the fact that they're not the first people, and they won't be the last, to make a big mistake in the spotlight.

Here's a round-up of some notable mistakes over the years...

Characters from Star Wars pictured a long time ago
at a shopping mall far, far away.

1) A long time ago...

When George Lucas first conceived the idea of a Star Wars movie, not all movie studios shared his enthusiasm for the project, and the movie was rejected by Universal and United Artists due to budgetary concerns.

Thankfully, Alan Ladd at 20th Century Fox believed in George Lucas, if not the actual movie, and Star Wars went on to become one of the biggest movie success stories of all time.