They went to war for this?

To think that people go to war for such diverse reasons...



The War of the Oaken Bucket (Italy), 1325-37 - When a group
of soldiers from the city of Modena in northern Italy
invaded nearby Bologna to steal a brown oak bucket,
thousands of citizens were killed. Bologna became angry and
went to war with Modena to take back their bucket and
restore their pride. The two cities fought for 12 years and
thousands of lives were lost. Modena won the war; the people
of Bologna never got their bucket back.

***

The War of Jenkins’ Ear (Great Britain vs. Spain), 1739-43 -
War was declared after Captain Robert Jenkins appeared in
Parliament holding the remains of his ear in his hand. He
claimed that the Spanish had cut it off after boarding his
ship in the West Indies, for they did not want English
traders doing business in their American colonies. The war
went on for four years, because of Jenkins and his ear.
There was no clear winner; it ended in a draw.

***

The War of the Fleeing Wife (Africa vs. Great Britain), 1879 -
Umblana, the wife of the Zulu chief Sitlay, left him and
hid in British territory. When the Zulus found her, they
shot her. England declared war on the Zulus for crossing
into their territory. The Zulu forces were crushed by the
British.

***

The War of the Stray Dog (Greece vs. Bulgaria), 1925 - When
the dog of a Greek soldier wandered across the border into
Macedonia, the soldier ran after it and was shot by a
Bulgarian guard. The Greek troops became so angry that they
invaded Bulgaria. More than 50 men were killed before the
League of Nations intervened and stopped the war.



One thing I'll have learned from this is: don't stay too close to the border! :P

(trivia courtesy of Trivia Today)