imagine waking up one morning and realizing the United States almost lost its capital sounds unbelievable right well let me take you back to 1814 when Washington DC was just a match stick away from being wiped off the map this isn't just a wild story it really happened during the War of 1812 the British invaded DC and set fire to the capital the White House and nearly every public building in sight but here's the part nobody talks about the city wasn't saved by soldiers or strategy it was saved by the weather yep a freak tornado tore through the city ripping apart the British forces extinguishing the fires and forcing them to retreat think about it a random act of nature stopped the destruction of Washington DC and potentially change the course of American History without that tornado the city could have been completely destroyed and the future of the United States might look very different today crazy right a natural disaster might be the only reason we still have a capital today so next time you hear about a tornado warning remember it once saved an entire nation