I like to imagine this is the type of stuff people were up to prior to mass media culture. People used to riot over the strangest things. You can even see it lingering now with sporting events.

Take for example the Rte of the Spring Riot

It’s hard to imagine classical music leading to violence, but that’s precisely what happened on May 29, 1913, when composer Igor Stravinsky’s avant-garde ballet “The Rite of Spring” debuted at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Eyewitness accounts differ, but most suggest the uproar began shortly after the curtain rose and the piece’s first notes rang out. Audience members hissed and jeered at the performers, and some hurled objects at the stage. As the orchestra struggled to continue playing over the din, fights broke out between rival factions of spectators. One of the musicians would later write, “Many a gentleman’s shiny top hat or soft fedora was pulled down by an opponent over his eyes and ears, and canes were brandished like menacing implements of combat.” According to some accounts, the scuffles eventually poured out onto the streets, and one man challenged another to a duel before the police arrived and made arrests. It’s still not entirely clear what triggered the melee. Some argue the crowd was simply jarred by the dissonant sounds and unusual dance choreography, but others suggest the disturbance was pre-planned by enemies of Stravinsky and ballet choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky.

Or nationwide riots over nylon availability during and after WW2

In August 1945, just 8 days after Japan’s surrender, Du Pont announced that it would move back to producing stockings and newspaper headlines cheered “Peace, It’s Here! Nylons on Sale!” Du Pont’s announcement indicated that nylons would be available in September and the motto “Nylons by Christmas” was sung everywhere. Du Pont originally forecasted that it would be able to produce 360 million pairs per year but this estimate turned out to be over-aggressive. The resulting production delays led to shortage and as a result, riots broke out.

The first riot occurred in September when a small post-war shipment of stockings went on limited sale around the country. Stores were flooded with mobs of women, clamoring to get their hands on a pair of nylons. The riots then grew in severity. In November, 30,000 women reportedly lined up in New York; 40,000 women in Pittsburgh queued up for a mere 13,000 pairs. A headline in Augusta, Georgia read “Women Risk Life and Limb in Bitter Battle for Nylons” and went on to detail how crowds clamored into the store, knocking down shelves and displays along the way.

News of the riots was all over the papers and magazines. It was declared that no other commodity had ever received as much free advertising in the history of the newspaper industry. The press reported outrageous instances of hair-pulling, hysterical women fighting tooth and nail for a pair of the prized stockings. The shortage persisted into 1946 but by March, Du Pont was finally able to ramp up production and began churning out 30 million pairs of stockings a month. Widespread availability of the stockings ended the period of ‘Nylon Riots’.

or The two month riot over theater ticket prices in the early 19th century. Otherwise know as the OP riots

Back in Georgian-era England, the theatre (note the backward, freedom-hating spelling; that's how you tell it's fancy) was all the rage. Sometimes literally, as the theaters transformed into raging infernos when their old-timey special effects -- "hey, let's fire this actual cannon on the stage" -- went awry. When London's Covent Garden burned down in 1808, its owners rebuilt the theater with more private boxes for the richer patrons and less gallery space for the play-loving peasants. Not only that, but to help finance all those lavish accommodations, they also jacked up ticket prices. In response, audiences did what you fantasize about every time you fork over half a paycheck for movie tickets: They rioted.

Then they took it way farther than even your bloody Transformers-based revenge dreams could imagine. They kept right on rioting ... for 62 days.

A faction formed called the "Old Pricers" or "OPs." On the day the Covent reopened, the OPs booed, sang, hollered, banged on pots and pans, and generally behaved like Facebook commenters after a minor site change. The management called in magistrates to subdue the crowd, but because the rioters were paying customers, they just shrugged their shoulders and allowed them to carry on.

And the OPs' plan totally worked. After a full two months of unruliness, the Old Price Riots achieved its one and only goal: slightly cheaper theater tickets. You gotta respect the OP's dedication. We doubt we've done two months of work at our actual work, and some sucker pays us to be there.

Like, can you imagine the 2015 Reddit community issues but 100 years ago and applied to a local city club? Half of the town would be burnt down by now.