This is long lead.

We're supposed to learn from our own mistakes that other people's errors can be instructive too.

From efforts to control the weather that went disastrously awry,

to the untimely death of the Segway boss,

history is a treasure trobe of mishaps and meltdowns that can teach us all. I'm Tim

Harford, host of Cautionary Tales, the podcast that minds the greatest fiascos of the past for

their most valuable lessons. Listen to Cautionary Tales wherever you get your podcasts.

I... wherever you get your podcasts. I truly admired the courage and idealism of these kids, of these activists.

I was so inspired by their bravery and their vision for their country, but I never thought

they would topple the government, that they would change the world.

And then they did.

In the summer of 2008, journalist David Woolman traveled to Egypt to report a story about a group of activists known as the April 6 youth movement.

These young people had just started making international headlines for using Facebook.

But unlike everyone else at that time, they weren't using it to post wedding photos or

plan a barbecue. They were using it to organize and rebel against the oppressive regime

of Hosti Mubarak, Egypt's president.

We made a plan that I would shadow them during an attempted protest gathering on the beach in Alexandria.

So we gathered on the beach, it was sweltering.

The group wanted to hand out some pamphlets.

They wanted to fly a kite painted like the Egyptian flag.

And they wanted to get people talking about democracy

and corruption and human rights.

...