Like any story that involves a Disney park, there are plenty of side stories and interesting details that I couldn’t quite fit into the video. Here are two of them…
The basketball court
From the ride’s opening in 1959 until around 1970, guests could often see an...
2023-04-11 10:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The death of Charles Havlat on the final day of World War II is all the more tragic when you look at the incredible things he survived during the war. He trained all over America, entered Europe via Scotland, crossed into the warzone via Omaha Beach, and battled tanks in the hedgerows of Normandy...
2023-04-07 10:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are a couple of details I came across while reading that didn’t quite fit in the video.
Disposing of merchandise
A huge amount of merchandise was burned during the fire. While it was nothing compared to the loss of human life, it was estimated to be of around $...
2023-04-04 10:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
It's always fun watching a classic disaster movie... and I've been wanting an excuse to rewatch The Poseidon Adventure for a while now. It's part of a rash of excellent disaster films from the 1970s. If you enjoy this, I'd also highly recommend The Towering Inferno (1974).
In this short I mention that there have been several office chair explosions in China. It’s a problem that gained a lot of media attention, and has even been covered in a Chinese TV program called Seeking Truth.
Here are a few extra notes that I wanted to include in this story, but couldn’t quite find space for in the video.
Sergeant Daniel E Price
Because so many people experienced the crash, there are dozens of accounts of it to be found online. There was one, however, th...
2023-03-28 10:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
For as long as I can remember I’ve been told that it’s a bad idea to put your head under the water in a hot tub. I’d always wondered why… and it turns out this is one of the reasons. Even if a hot tub is infected with Naegleria fowleri, the only way it can do you harm is if it gets into y...
2023-03-24 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are a couple of other parachute-related stories I came across while researching Reichelt.
Frederick Law
Just a couple of days before Reichelt’s fateful jump, another parachute test took place in America… and this one was much more successful. Steeple...
2023-03-21 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hiroo Onoda was a relatively famous Japanese holdout… but he wasn’t the only one, by any means. For a variety of reasons dozens of soldiers refused to surrender for many years after the end of the war. On Wikipedia you can find 2023-03-17 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Whenever a disaster takes place at a sporting or music event, there are always a lot of side stories and tangents to follow up on. Here are two of them from this story…
Football during the war
It was extremely interesting reading about how football changed during th...
2023-03-14 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
To this day Helen Duncan remains a controversial figure. She has many supporters who have tried repeatedly to have her conviction posthumously overturned – most recently in 2012. So far they have been unsuccessful; there’s abundant documentation of her manifestations being fraudulent – incl...
2023-03-10 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
There’s a lot to this story – here are some of the more interesting tangents that I couldn’t find space for in the video
John Landis and Eddie Murphy
After the trial, John Landis’s career was in serious trouble. Nobody wanted to hire him as a director (quite r...
2023-03-07 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/68NBcjxRN8U
When putting together a story about an ejector seat, I have to mention the 2023-03-03 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are a few tangents from this week’s story. And a recommendation: if you find the Grand Canyon as fascinating as me, I’d definitely grab a copy of Over the Edge: Death in the ...
2023-02-28 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GjBvvhIPJ-c
Only a few thousand BEANO T-13s were ever manufactured, and very few survived the war. Some were used. Some were lost. Some were ...
2023-02-24 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are a few side stories I came across while researching this disaster.
The marshmallow factory
The Kidd Marshmallow Factory was one of two industrial facilities (other than the PEPCON plant itself) that were destroyed in the explosion. Fortunately their staff were...
2023-02-21 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-ZaTzk0uCTM
One thing I didn’t mention in this video is how this poisonous frog got its name. For a very long time the indigenous peoples o...
2023-02-17 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
So many interesting, incredible and terrible stories came out of the Peshtigo Fire. Here are a couple that I couldn’t find space for in the video…
Father Pernin’s warning signs
In this video I mention the priest Peter Pernin, who wrote a book about the fire and ...
2023-02-14 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cRnS8EJ-Gz8
Bentham's auto-icon is topped with a wax replica of his head... which isn't quite what he wanted. His original instructi...
2023-02-10 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This particular disaster had a long legacy. Here’s a little more detail on some of the things that happened in the aftermath…
The fate of the drivers involved
Arguments about whose actions had caused the crash went on for many years after 1955, and the discussion ...
2023-02-07 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xrqr3VRNjqg
As I say in this video, chainsaws are rarely used in operating theatres these days... but the same doesn't hold true for all powe...
2023-02-03 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are a few notes of interest from this story that didn’t find a place in the main video.
Passenger emergency brakes
Since the time of this accident, passenger emergency brakes on trains have changed a lot. Now it’s relatively rare that a passenger pulling an e...
2023-01-31 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fbrmabU5X_0
Want to read (or at least, look at) the Voynich Manuscript yourself? You can do so online courtesy of The Internet Archi...
2023-01-27 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
In my notes this week I wanted to offer a little more detail about some of the people mentioned in this story.
Governor Dixy Lee Ray
Governor Dixy Lee Ray was both criticised and praised for her response to the disaster. On the one hand, she established the Red Zone, ...
2023-01-24 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vwohmAj4xP8
While researching this story, I came across the poem "2023-01-20 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are a few extra notes and sources I found while researching the story of the Princess Victoria.
"On her beam ends"
In many accounts of the sinking, I came across the phrase “on her beam ends” in reference to the ship just before she sank. At first I didn’t ...
2023-01-17 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R2GUBfHB85c
I first heard this story back when I was in school. My science teacher told us an abridged version of it, to illustrate why it wa...
2023-01-13 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Here are some extra notes on things that I discovered while researching, but simply couldn't fit in to the video.
The hot beverage rumour
For quite some time it was thought that the source of ignition had been a passenger attempting to use a camping stove to prepare a...
2023-01-10 11:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iRekVEPP9uU
Route 666 isn't the only road to suffer from sign theft - in fact, it's something that's an issue all over the world. In many cou...
2023-01-06 11:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's some interesting further reading on this story.
The survivors now
I found this article, which collects photographs and stories of survivors of the ...
2023-01-03 11:16:00 +0000 UTC View Post