"A gentle tongue can break a bone." - Proverbs 25:15

The Berlin Wall was one of the most oppressive structures in history and was one of the last vestiges of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall had divided Berlin for almost thirty years. Rising up to fifteen feet high, it extended for 91 miles. The Wall was made of concrete, topped with barbed wire, and guarded by watchtowers, mines, and a special police force. The final generation of the Wall was lined with a smooth pipe at the top, intended to make it more difficult for escapees to scale it. It was reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, over 116 watchtowers which were strategically located to provide their marksmen with clear lines of fire, and 20 bunkers. According to official figures from the former East German government, 125 East Germans had been killed trying to cross it and escape into the West. However, prominent victims' groups claimed that 1,245 East Germans were killed in their attempt to breach the Wall. Thousands of others were captured in the attempt to escape East Germany via the Wall.

In the 1980s, East Germans began getting a taste of freedom by traveling abroad. Hungary's decision to open its borders to the West allowed East Germans to escape via Hungary. When Czechoslovakia opened its borders, thousands used this shorter route in a mass exodus for West Germany. Ronald Reagan's throwing down the gauntlet to Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" on June 12, 1987 further invigorated the East Germans to clamor for freedom.

The Berlin Wall was not destroyed as a result of military might or the detonation of overwhelming explosive force. Rather the Berlin Wall was vanquished as a result of rumor, wishful thinking, a rashly delivered speech and flawed interpretation. It was the imprudent use of words that triggered a wave of humanity to overwhelm the East German border guards and make a thoroughfare of the Wall.

Gerd Gigerenzer summarized the events that immediately led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall in Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious:

On November 9, 1989, the East German government announced new guidelines for traveling outside of the country. The new guidelines only promised that the process of applying for a passport and then a visa would be accelerated. At 6:00 p.m., Gunter Schabowski, the new secretary of the East German Central Committee for Media Politics, held an hour-long press conference, only mentioning the new guidelines at the very end. An Italian journalist asked when the new regulations would be effective. Schabowski missed the government meeting where these issues had been discussed and did not know. He looked at his sheet of paper and then said "right now", immediately. At 7:00 p.m., he ended the conference.

Whereas most reporters saw little reason for excitement, an Italian journalist rushed out and, shortly afterward, his agency spread the news that "the Wall fell." This report had no backing from what Schabowski said. Simultaneously, an American reporter who did not understand German interpreted the translation of the conference as meaning that the Wall was now open, and NBC broadcast that from tomorrow morning on, East Germans could traverse the Berlin Wall without any restrictions. At 8:00 p.m., the West German TV news, under time pressure, summarized the press conference in their own words, and Schabowski was shown saying "right now, immediately." At the end of the report, the headline "East Germany Opens Border" was added. Other news agencies entered this contest in wishful thinking and mistakenly reported that the border was already open.

The rumor spread to the West German parliament in Bonn, which happened to be meeting at that time. Deeply moved, the representatives stood up and began to sing the German national anthem. The East Germans who were watching West German television were more than willing to engage in the wishful thinking seeded by the news. Thousands and soon tens of thousands of East Berliners jumped into their cars or walked to the border crossings to the West. Yet the guards had, of course, no orders to open the border. Angry citizens demanded what they believed was their new right of way and the guards first refused. Yet in the face of an avalanche of citizens physically pushing them, an officer at one crossing eventually opened the barriers, fearing that his men would otherwise be trampled to death. Soon all the crossings were open. Despite the East German government having prepared thousands of body bags and make shift concentration camps for the leaders of the freedom movement, not a shot was fired, no blood spilled.