The Battle of Napoleon Versus Bunnies
In July of 1807, Napoleon had just signed the Treaties of Tilsit, which marked the end of the war between France and Russia. To celebrate, he suggested that he and his men should have a good old fashioned rabbit hunt. His chief of staff, Alexandre Berthier, gathered over 3,000 rabbits and set their cages around a large field. When it was time to release the rabbits, they all began hopping, as bunnies do. There was just one problem. Instead of running away, the rabbits started hopping towards the men. It turns out that these rabbits were raised by humans, and expected to receive food from their new masters. Some of the rabbits actually jumped into Napoleon’s coach. This took all the fun out of the hunt, and it was a major flop.