Stranger Than Fiction: The Most Bizarre Bets Ever Placed

Betting isn’t just about online sportsbooks, casinos, and lotteries. Some wagers are so outlandish that they seem like they belong in a novel rather than real life. Here’s a look at some of the most bizarre bets ever placed.

The Man Who Ate a Bicycle

Frenchman Michel Lotito, also known as ‘Monsieur Mangetout’ (‘Mr. Eat-All’), was famous for consuming non-edible objects. In 1978, he bet that he could eat an entire bicycle.

Over two years, he gradually ingested the bike piece by piece, proving his extraordinary (and bizarre) eating abilities.

The End of the World Bet

In 1998, two men in Las Vegas placed a $1,000 bet on the end of the world. They agreed that if the apocalypse occurred before 2000, the winner would collect the money from the loser in heaven (or wherever they ended up).

Needless to say, neither collected the winnings.

The Alien Contact Wager

Physicist Stephen Hawking once bet fellow scientist Kip Thorne that no evidence of black holes would be found. Hawking lost that bet but later made another peculiar wager: that alien life would not be discovered within the next 20 years.

This speculative and quirky bet showed that even renowned scientists enjoy a bit of fun speculation.

The Tattoo Bet

In 2005, Ashley Revell sold all his possessions, including his clothes, to place a single bet on roulette. He went to Las Vegas and bet everything - a whopping $135,300 - on red. The ball landed on red 7, doubling his money.

Revell’s story didn’t end there. He later started a poker company named ‘Poker UTD’ and got a tattoo of the winning number on his arm to commemorate his audacious gamble.

The Royal Bet

In 1980, a bookmaker took a bet from a customer who wagered that his grandson would become the King of England by 2020. While the outcome was a long shot, the oddity of betting on royal succession captured the public’s imagination.

This bet highlights the peculiar lengths some will go to in the hope of a monumental payout

The Frozen Undies Wager

A man once bet his friend $100 that he could endure an hour wearing nothing but frozen underwear. After bravely sticking it out for the full 60 minutes, he won the bet and a very cold $100.

This quirky wager exemplifies how some people are willing to endure discomfort for the sake of a bet.

The Blind Aeroplane Landing Bet

In 1986, Russian pilot Alexander Kliuyev was piloting Aeroflot Flight 6502. During the flight, Kliuyev and his co-pilot started arguing about whether it was possible to land the plane without any visual aids, essentially blind, by drawing the cockpit curtains.

Overconfident, Kliuyev attempted to land the plane without reducing speed adequately. This reckless action caused the plane to flip over, resulting in a catastrophic crash that claimed the lives of more than 60 passengers.

Kliuyev survived the crash and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, later reduced to six years.

This tragic bet highlights the extreme and dangerous lengths to which some people will go to prove a point.