Only the stakes were much higher
On Friday, we played a game of deal-or-no-deal with headlines about the US-China trade war. The past two days have been the same kind seesaw with Brexit headlines.
Here's a reminder that the stakes could be much higher.
On Nov 7, 1918 the United Press wire service reported that World War I was over. The news was immediately picked up and printed in North America, sending the continent into jubilation as the noontime news hit.
A day later it was all revealed to be a mistake; eventually blamed on a game or broken telephone between US and French officials.
Germany eventually capitulated on Nov 10 but at that point Germany was still holding out for something better than unconditional surrender. However Germanys situation quickly became desperate with the sailors revolt in Wilhelmshaven and the proclamation of a republic on Nov 9.
A German delegation arrived to negotiate an armistice at the same time and was given a list of allied demands and 72 hours to agree. Aside from some token changes, they did and the Kaiser abdicated with the agreement going into effect Nov 11.
I don't know what markets looked like at the time, but I imagine they were wild. In any case, I'm sure most people had much more important things on their minds at the time.
Read more about the false armistice at the Toronto Star.
