1 00:00:15,370 --> 00:00:28,650 Speaker 1: Pushkin the most marvelous and thrilling spectacle ever produced, Introducing 2 00:00:29,010 --> 00:00:37,530 Speaker 1: Majesty the Handsomest Lion in Captivity. Dear is nineteen oh 3 00:00:37,570 --> 00:00:40,930 Speaker 1: one and the owner of the Handsomest Lion in Captivity 4 00:00:41,370 --> 00:00:44,610 Speaker 1: is a man built by the theater as the world's 5 00:00:44,730 --> 00:00:49,850 Speaker 1: greatest entertainer, A Great Lafayette. That was his actual name, 6 00:00:49,890 --> 00:00:53,050 Speaker 1: by the way, he had it legally changed. He signed 7 00:00:53,090 --> 00:00:57,690 Speaker 1: his letters T. G. Lafayette and the World's Greatest Entertainer. 8 00:00:58,090 --> 00:01:00,770 Speaker 1: It sounds like hyperbole, but it might have been true. 9 00:01:01,370 --> 00:01:04,810 Speaker 1: He certainly became one of the wealthiest as Ian Robertson 10 00:01:04,850 --> 00:01:07,930 Speaker 1: and Gordon Rutter describe in their book The Death and 11 00:01:08,130 --> 00:01:12,530 Speaker 1: Life of the Lafayette. By his life's end, Lafayette was 12 00:01:12,610 --> 00:01:16,250 Speaker 1: pulling in the equivalent of something like twenty million dollars 13 00:01:16,290 --> 00:01:21,610 Speaker 1: a year. A conjurer, painter, sculptor, actor, mimic, an illusionist, 14 00:01:21,610 --> 00:01:25,850 Speaker 1: and a pantomimist, said one newspaper, audience has certainly got 15 00:01:25,890 --> 00:01:29,250 Speaker 1: their money's worth when they caught his act. The Great 16 00:01:29,330 --> 00:01:34,330 Speaker 1: Lafayette's signature performance was The Lion's Bride, a twenty five 17 00:01:34,370 --> 00:01:38,770 Speaker 1: minute extravaganza with a cast and crew of dozens. The 18 00:01:38,810 --> 00:01:42,570 Speaker 1: most wonderful spectacle that the vaudeville stage has ever seen. 19 00:01:44,010 --> 00:01:47,050 Speaker 1: The Lion's Bride told the story of a beautiful young 20 00:01:47,130 --> 00:01:51,250 Speaker 1: woman captured by a wealthy sultan and given a terrible 21 00:01:51,370 --> 00:01:56,450 Speaker 1: choice marry him or be fed to the lion. Write 22 00:01:56,490 --> 00:02:00,490 Speaker 1: on que. The lion roars angrily, so would you if 23 00:02:00,490 --> 00:02:03,970 Speaker 1: you were getting electric shocks to your paws? Feed me 24 00:02:04,050 --> 00:02:06,930 Speaker 1: to the lion, then says the woman, encouraged by her 25 00:02:07,010 --> 00:02:12,810 Speaker 1: dashing lover Lafayette. I'll save you, he vows. The sultan 26 00:02:13,010 --> 00:02:16,130 Speaker 1: throws from woman into the cage, and here comes the lion, 27 00:02:16,370 --> 00:02:20,210 Speaker 1: leaping on her, but somehow unnoticed by the audience, the 28 00:02:20,250 --> 00:02:23,770 Speaker 1: real lion has been swapped out. It's Lafayette now in 29 00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:28,770 Speaker 1: a lion costume. The magician reveals himself and rescues his sweetheart. 30 00:02:30,770 --> 00:02:34,330 Speaker 1: The show is a huge hit. In nineteen o three, 31 00:02:34,410 --> 00:02:38,090 Speaker 1: Lafayette takes it to London and then around the provincial 32 00:02:38,130 --> 00:02:43,010 Speaker 1: theaters of the UK. In Birmingham, England, one of the 33 00:02:43,130 --> 00:02:47,850 Speaker 1: bars the lion's cage rates, the lion slips through the 34 00:02:47,890 --> 00:02:52,050 Speaker 1: gap onto the stage. Lafayette leaps in front of the lion, 35 00:02:52,130 --> 00:02:56,570 Speaker 1: holding up a chair. The audience lap it up. It 36 00:02:56,650 --> 00:02:59,410 Speaker 1: does look like there's an angry lion loose on the 37 00:02:59,450 --> 00:03:01,850 Speaker 1: stage right in front of them. But this is an 38 00:03:01,890 --> 00:03:07,130 Speaker 1: illusionists act. It's all part of the show, isn't it. 39 00:03:07,130 --> 00:03:10,650 Speaker 1: It is not all part of the show. The cast 40 00:03:10,690 --> 00:03:15,650 Speaker 1: and crew know this. They're quietly backing off. Lafayette moves 41 00:03:15,650 --> 00:03:21,410 Speaker 1: slowly forward, brandishing the chair. The lion hesitates. He's confused 42 00:03:21,450 --> 00:03:25,930 Speaker 1: by this unaccustomed freedom. He backs up slowly through the 43 00:03:25,930 --> 00:03:30,610 Speaker 1: gap back into his cage. Lafayette reaches for a nearby 44 00:03:30,650 --> 00:03:34,890 Speaker 1: table and quickly wedges it between the bars. Then he 45 00:03:35,090 --> 00:03:42,490 Speaker 1: carries on with the performance. The consummate professional disaster averted. Undeterred, 46 00:03:42,690 --> 00:03:47,370 Speaker 1: the showman keeps performing the Lion's Bride, until once again, 47 00:03:47,930 --> 00:03:52,610 Speaker 1: the spectacle disastrously departs from the script without the audience 48 00:03:52,690 --> 00:03:57,250 Speaker 1: catching on. And this time it won't work out so 49 00:03:57,290 --> 00:04:02,930 Speaker 1: well for the Great Lafayette. I'm Tim Harford, and you're 50 00:04:02,930 --> 00:04:30,090 Speaker 1: listening to cautionary tales. The Great Lafayette began his performing 51 00:04:30,130 --> 00:04:34,250 Speaker 1: career with a crack shot archery act. It wasn't popular. 52 00:04:34,730 --> 00:04:37,450 Speaker 1: He got a job painting scenery so he could get 53 00:04:37,450 --> 00:04:40,330 Speaker 1: a close up look at other kinds of act and 54 00:04:40,410 --> 00:04:44,130 Speaker 1: see what ideas He might borrow. In vaudeville. At the 55 00:04:44,130 --> 00:04:47,290 Speaker 1: turn of the century, any popular act was sure to 56 00:04:47,330 --> 00:04:52,250 Speaker 1: be copied. Take the Chinese magician ching Ling Foo. He 57 00:04:52,450 --> 00:04:56,810 Speaker 1: was so popular one struggling Western magician decided to reinvent 58 00:04:56,930 --> 00:05:02,330 Speaker 1: himself as Chung Ling Sue, complete with Chinese dress and haircut. 59 00:05:02,810 --> 00:05:07,090 Speaker 1: He became just as famous as the original. For years, 60 00:05:07,250 --> 00:05:10,210 Speaker 1: he kept up the discipline of only ever speaking a 61 00:05:10,250 --> 00:05:15,210 Speaker 1: few phrases in broken English. His audiences never guessed he 62 00:05:15,290 --> 00:05:20,170 Speaker 1: was really a New Yorker called William the Great. Lafayette meanwhile, 63 00:05:20,530 --> 00:05:25,410 Speaker 1: talked through his options with his friend, the escapologist Harry Houdini. 64 00:05:25,970 --> 00:05:29,330 Speaker 1: Chinese magicians seemed to do well, said Houdini, Maybe try 65 00:05:29,330 --> 00:05:34,250 Speaker 1: being one of those. Lafayette bought tickets to ching Ling 66 00:05:34,370 --> 00:05:38,770 Speaker 1: Foo's show night after night, and eventually figured out how 67 00:05:38,810 --> 00:05:43,210 Speaker 1: he performed his signature trick conjuring up a porcelain bowl 68 00:05:43,250 --> 00:05:48,010 Speaker 1: of water from behind an empty cloth. Lafayette pitched himself 69 00:05:48,010 --> 00:05:52,290 Speaker 1: as another ching Ling food tribute act. It ignited his career, 70 00:05:53,610 --> 00:05:56,930 Speaker 1: but that wasn't the most life changing thing Harry Houdini 71 00:05:57,010 --> 00:06:01,010 Speaker 1: did for the Great Lafayette. Houdini bought his friend a gift, 72 00:06:01,890 --> 00:06:07,130 Speaker 1: a dog he called her Beauty. As luck would have it, 73 00:06:07,490 --> 00:06:10,210 Speaker 1: Beauty turned out to be a Will trainee. As a 74 00:06:10,250 --> 00:06:14,770 Speaker 1: magician's assistant, she starred with Lafayette in lots of his productions. 75 00:06:15,290 --> 00:06:19,010 Speaker 1: The Magic Dog, for instance, started with nothing on stage 76 00:06:19,050 --> 00:06:23,090 Speaker 1: but an empty cardboard box, a chair at a table. 77 00:06:24,210 --> 00:06:28,050 Speaker 1: Onto the stage walks Beauty. She pushes over the cardboard 78 00:06:28,050 --> 00:06:31,170 Speaker 1: box with her nose. She jumps on the chair and 79 00:06:31,290 --> 00:06:33,970 Speaker 1: takes in her mouth a magic wand from the table. 80 00:06:34,690 --> 00:06:37,490 Speaker 1: She trots back to the box and shakes her head 81 00:06:37,650 --> 00:06:42,170 Speaker 1: to wave the wand out of the box. Climbs of 82 00:06:42,450 --> 00:06:48,010 Speaker 1: Great Lafayette. It would be a stretch to call Lafayette 83 00:06:48,010 --> 00:06:51,970 Speaker 1: an animal lover when he routinely gave his lion electric shocks, 84 00:06:52,570 --> 00:06:56,690 Speaker 1: But Lafayette loved his dog Beauty. In the drawing room 85 00:06:56,730 --> 00:06:59,530 Speaker 1: of his lavish London townhouse, he put up a sign 86 00:06:59,570 --> 00:07:02,970 Speaker 1: for guests. You may eat my food, you may command 87 00:07:03,050 --> 00:07:07,330 Speaker 1: my servants, but you must respect my dog. What did 88 00:07:07,370 --> 00:07:11,370 Speaker 1: Lafayette's guests make of his hospit fatality? Eccentric to the 89 00:07:11,450 --> 00:07:18,090 Speaker 1: point of insanity was the judgment of one one night 90 00:07:18,490 --> 00:07:24,050 Speaker 1: mid performance, Beauty started barking she had discovered an intruder 91 00:07:24,730 --> 00:07:27,490 Speaker 1: It was common enough for rival magicians to sit in 92 00:07:27,530 --> 00:07:30,650 Speaker 1: the audience and try to decipher how tricks worked, as 93 00:07:30,770 --> 00:07:34,690 Speaker 1: Lafayette had done with jingling food, but this time someone 94 00:07:34,730 --> 00:07:37,730 Speaker 1: had sneaked in through a backstage door to get a 95 00:07:37,730 --> 00:07:41,890 Speaker 1: look at the props from the other side. Alerted by Beauty, 96 00:07:42,170 --> 00:07:47,970 Speaker 1: Lafayette chased him out. The magician insisted that from now on, 97 00:07:48,410 --> 00:07:51,610 Speaker 1: wherever he performed, all the doors at the back of 98 00:07:51,610 --> 00:07:56,410 Speaker 1: the stage would be locked. She's the guardian of my life, 99 00:07:56,730 --> 00:08:00,130 Speaker 1: he supposedly said once of Beauty. If I lost her, 100 00:08:00,370 --> 00:08:05,970 Speaker 1: I would not live a week. In nineteen eleven, Lafayette 101 00:08:05,970 --> 00:08:08,930 Speaker 1: took his show to Edinburgh. They stayed at the city 102 00:08:09,250 --> 00:08:13,890 Speaker 1: grandest hotel, adjoining rooms, one for him, one for Beauty. 103 00:08:14,530 --> 00:08:18,010 Speaker 1: They dined together the same food from the hotel menu. 104 00:08:19,130 --> 00:08:23,450 Speaker 1: Lafayette was forty years old. He'd never been more popular. 105 00:08:24,170 --> 00:08:27,770 Speaker 1: His show was booked up for years ahead, but Beauty 106 00:08:27,930 --> 00:08:31,490 Speaker 1: was getting on a bit still. It came as a 107 00:08:31,570 --> 00:08:35,210 Speaker 1: shock to Lafayette when the dog fell ill. He brought 108 00:08:35,210 --> 00:08:37,770 Speaker 1: a doctor and nurses to the hotel for round the 109 00:08:37,810 --> 00:08:45,250 Speaker 1: clock care, but Beauty died. Lafayette was inconsolable. He engaged 110 00:08:45,290 --> 00:08:47,930 Speaker 1: a firm of undertakers to find a plot at an 111 00:08:48,130 --> 00:08:51,650 Speaker 1: Edinburgh cemetery where he could build her a memorial. Most 112 00:08:51,730 --> 00:08:57,050 Speaker 1: said no, we very only humans. One said yes, on 113 00:08:57,050 --> 00:09:01,370 Speaker 1: one condition that Lafayette be interred with her when his 114 00:09:01,450 --> 00:09:07,770 Speaker 1: time came. The day before Beauty's Funeral was the very 115 00:09:07,850 --> 00:09:11,730 Speaker 1: last show of the On at Edinburgh's Empire Palace Theater. 116 00:09:12,770 --> 00:09:16,970 Speaker 1: As The Lion's Bride approached its climax, an electrical connection 117 00:09:17,010 --> 00:09:21,450 Speaker 1: to a light bulb fused above the stage. The Chinese 118 00:09:21,530 --> 00:09:26,130 Speaker 1: lantern around the bulb caught fire. One audience member described 119 00:09:26,290 --> 00:09:31,330 Speaker 1: golden sparks raining down on the stage. It was rather pretty. 120 00:09:31,370 --> 00:09:33,770 Speaker 1: It seemed like it might be part of the spectacle. 121 00:09:34,930 --> 00:09:39,930 Speaker 1: The Carston crew knew it wasn't. They also knew that Lafayette, 122 00:09:39,930 --> 00:09:44,050 Speaker 1: as usual, had ordered all the backstage doors to be locked, 123 00:09:44,450 --> 00:09:47,730 Speaker 1: although perhaps not all of them remembered that. In the moment, 124 00:09:48,890 --> 00:09:51,930 Speaker 1: as the falling sparks began to set light to drakes 125 00:09:52,010 --> 00:09:55,810 Speaker 1: and props, one of Lafayette's assistants gave the signal to 126 00:09:55,890 --> 00:09:59,890 Speaker 1: bring down the fire curtain that should have sealed off 127 00:09:59,890 --> 00:10:03,330 Speaker 1: the stage area from the audience. But the fire curtain 128 00:10:03,450 --> 00:10:06,770 Speaker 1: came a neute part of the way down then got stuck. 129 00:10:08,090 --> 00:10:11,650 Speaker 1: Lafayette se not to realize what was happening. The assistant 130 00:10:11,690 --> 00:10:14,490 Speaker 1: later said, the last I saw of him, he was 131 00:10:14,530 --> 00:10:19,090 Speaker 1: in the lions cage, wearing the lion costume. The manager 132 00:10:19,130 --> 00:10:21,730 Speaker 1: of the theater was sitting in the front row, and 133 00:10:21,850 --> 00:10:24,970 Speaker 1: now he had a decision to make. He knew too, 134 00:10:25,050 --> 00:10:28,210 Speaker 1: of course, this wasn't in the script. He knew he 135 00:10:28,330 --> 00:10:31,930 Speaker 1: had three thousand people in the audience sitting behind him, 136 00:10:32,330 --> 00:10:36,130 Speaker 1: and he knew that panic in a crowded theater could 137 00:10:36,170 --> 00:10:41,850 Speaker 1: be deadly. A generation earlier, in eighteen seventy six, at 138 00:10:41,850 --> 00:10:45,730 Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Theater, New York, an actress called Kate Claxton 139 00:10:45,930 --> 00:10:48,290 Speaker 1: was starring in a play when a fire broke out. 140 00:10:48,850 --> 00:10:52,650 Speaker 1: Some painted canvas scenery had come loose, touched the flame 141 00:10:52,690 --> 00:10:55,610 Speaker 1: of a gas lamp and caught a light. As the 142 00:10:55,690 --> 00:10:59,770 Speaker 1: stage hands tried to extinguish the growing fire, Kate Claxton 143 00:11:00,050 --> 00:11:05,330 Speaker 1: gamely continued with her lines. The audience grew restive. Claxton 144 00:11:05,410 --> 00:11:08,610 Speaker 1: thought she ought to try to keep them calm. There 145 00:11:08,690 --> 00:11:11,530 Speaker 1: is no doubt the flames are part of the play. 146 00:11:12,650 --> 00:11:15,810 Speaker 1: Then a lump of burning wood fell at her feet, 147 00:11:15,850 --> 00:11:21,890 Speaker 1: and she shrieked. The result was a sudden pandemonia. Claxton 148 00:11:22,010 --> 00:11:26,730 Speaker 1: described a frantic, struggling mass of human beings trampling each 149 00:11:26,770 --> 00:11:30,610 Speaker 1: other to death like wild beasts. Between the crush and 150 00:11:30,730 --> 00:11:37,410 Speaker 1: the fire, nearly three hundred people lost their lives. So yes, 151 00:11:38,050 --> 00:11:43,250 Speaker 1: panic could kill. The manager of Edinburgh's Empire Palace Theater 152 00:11:43,410 --> 00:11:45,850 Speaker 1: knew that as he sat in his front row seat, 153 00:11:46,130 --> 00:11:49,370 Speaker 1: watching the shower of sparks above the Great Lafayette in 154 00:11:49,450 --> 00:11:52,730 Speaker 1: his lion costume and the props beginning to catch light, 155 00:11:53,450 --> 00:11:56,930 Speaker 1: he had to get the audience out in an orderly manner. 156 00:11:57,890 --> 00:12:03,650 Speaker 1: But how cautionary tales will be back after the break. 157 00:12:16,650 --> 00:12:22,810 Speaker 1: November nineteen eighty seven, King's Cross Station in London, just 158 00:12:22,930 --> 00:12:27,050 Speaker 1: before half past seven on a Wednesday evening, Philip's squire 159 00:12:27,290 --> 00:12:30,130 Speaker 1: is going to meet his girlfriend. He gets off the 160 00:12:30,210 --> 00:12:34,370 Speaker 1: underground train and makes his way onto the escalator. About 161 00:12:34,450 --> 00:12:37,450 Speaker 1: two thirds of the way up, he notices a wisp 162 00:12:37,490 --> 00:12:41,650 Speaker 1: of smoke coming from under the escalator. Someone must have 163 00:12:41,730 --> 00:12:45,890 Speaker 1: dropped a cigarette, he thinks, but no. As the escalator 164 00:12:45,930 --> 00:12:49,530 Speaker 1: takes him past the smoke, he looks down. There's a 165 00:12:49,570 --> 00:12:52,970 Speaker 1: gap between the steps and the side panel. Through the gap, 166 00:12:53,570 --> 00:12:59,490 Speaker 1: he sees a glow. Something's burning. The escalator deposits squire 167 00:12:59,530 --> 00:13:02,730 Speaker 1: in the ticket hall just below ground level. He walks 168 00:13:02,810 --> 00:13:06,530 Speaker 1: up to a booking office window. Excuse me, I think 169 00:13:06,530 --> 00:13:10,170 Speaker 1: there's a fire starting on the escalator. The clerk comes 170 00:13:10,210 --> 00:13:12,890 Speaker 1: out of his office and walks with squire to the 171 00:13:12,930 --> 00:13:16,050 Speaker 1: top of the escalator. The squire points out the smoke. 172 00:13:16,890 --> 00:13:20,250 Speaker 1: The clerk walks back to his office, phones the station's 173 00:13:20,290 --> 00:13:26,170 Speaker 1: safety inspector and gets back to selling tickets. Soon another 174 00:13:26,210 --> 00:13:30,410 Speaker 1: passenger comes up to his window. Excuse me, I think 175 00:13:30,410 --> 00:13:35,010 Speaker 1: there's a fire. The clerk glances towards the escalator. There's 176 00:13:35,010 --> 00:13:38,450 Speaker 1: no more smoke than there was before. He shrugs, it's 177 00:13:38,490 --> 00:13:45,410 Speaker 1: probably fine. London Undergrounds management took a surprisingly relaxed approach 178 00:13:45,490 --> 00:13:49,850 Speaker 1: to fires on escalators. They saw it as inevitable that 179 00:13:50,010 --> 00:13:53,010 Speaker 1: fires would break out from time to time. The escalator 180 00:13:53,050 --> 00:13:57,370 Speaker 1: steps and balustrades were made partly from wood, maple, oak, 181 00:13:57,690 --> 00:14:02,090 Speaker 1: and ply. Passengers dropped litter, which was often flammable, and 182 00:14:02,370 --> 00:14:07,090 Speaker 1: passengers smoked that often drop burning cigarette ends and lit matches. 183 00:14:07,850 --> 00:14:11,250 Speaker 1: Over the last few decades, the Underground had averaged roughly 184 00:14:11,330 --> 00:14:16,250 Speaker 1: one escalator fire a month. Hundreds of fires in total. 185 00:14:16,890 --> 00:14:21,970 Speaker 1: They had never spread fire. Nobody had died. The underground's 186 00:14:22,010 --> 00:14:24,770 Speaker 1: rule book said that staff should try to put out 187 00:14:24,810 --> 00:14:28,090 Speaker 1: fires on their own and call the fire department only 188 00:14:28,130 --> 00:14:31,970 Speaker 1: if the fire got beyond their control. The managers didn't 189 00:14:32,010 --> 00:14:36,970 Speaker 1: even like to use the word fire. They talked about smolderings. 190 00:14:37,970 --> 00:14:40,770 Speaker 1: The safety inspector put down the phone and went to 191 00:14:40,810 --> 00:14:45,530 Speaker 1: investigate the smoldering, but he had misunderstood which escalator to check. 192 00:14:46,490 --> 00:14:49,370 Speaker 1: There are many in King's Cross. At the time, it 193 00:14:49,410 --> 00:14:54,890 Speaker 1: was London's busiest underground station. It serves five lines. It's 194 00:14:54,930 --> 00:15:00,450 Speaker 1: built across five levels, all connected by a labyrinth of escalators, passageways, 195 00:15:00,530 --> 00:15:07,250 Speaker 1: staircases and service ducts. The fire is slowly growing. Another 196 00:15:07,290 --> 00:15:10,330 Speaker 1: passenger sees it as the escalator takes him past, and 197 00:15:10,490 --> 00:15:14,130 Speaker 1: he presses the emergency stop button. He shouts down to 198 00:15:14,170 --> 00:15:19,170 Speaker 1: warm the passengers below. Most ignore him and keep walking upwards. 199 00:15:19,730 --> 00:15:23,290 Speaker 1: The shouting draws the attention of two nearby constables from 200 00:15:23,290 --> 00:15:27,690 Speaker 1: the British Transport Police. They see the smoke and by 201 00:15:27,730 --> 00:15:32,810 Speaker 1: now the flame two it's about three inches high. Their 202 00:15:32,930 --> 00:15:36,730 Speaker 1: radios don't work underground one runs up to street level 203 00:15:36,770 --> 00:15:39,930 Speaker 1: to get a message to his boss. Call the fire department. 204 00:15:40,370 --> 00:15:43,010 Speaker 1: The other makes his way to the bottom of the escalator, 205 00:15:43,410 --> 00:15:47,930 Speaker 1: where weary commuters keep piling on, heads down, annoyed that 206 00:15:47,970 --> 00:15:50,410 Speaker 1: the steps aren't moving and they've got to trudge their 207 00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:53,930 Speaker 1: own way up instead. It makes their journey that little 208 00:15:53,930 --> 00:15:57,490 Speaker 1: bit more tiring. A few look up and see the 209 00:15:57,530 --> 00:16:00,890 Speaker 1: smoke ahead. Don't get on this thing. Who've got to 210 00:16:00,890 --> 00:16:04,170 Speaker 1: get out. One woman starts to tug at the sleeves 211 00:16:04,170 --> 00:16:08,050 Speaker 1: of her fellow passengers. Don't go up there. Most push 212 00:16:08,130 --> 00:16:13,570 Speaker 1: past her. They just want to get home. By now, 213 00:16:13,650 --> 00:16:17,450 Speaker 1: the safety inspector has found the right escalator and realized 214 00:16:17,490 --> 00:16:19,690 Speaker 1: that he can't get to the source of the flames 215 00:16:19,690 --> 00:16:23,290 Speaker 1: with a fire extinguisher. What's burning is all the grease, 216 00:16:23,530 --> 00:16:26,650 Speaker 1: dust and debris that's built up over the years underneath 217 00:16:26,690 --> 00:16:30,570 Speaker 1: the escalator. It never gets properly cleaned because you'd have 218 00:16:30,690 --> 00:16:34,090 Speaker 1: to dismantle the escalator to do it. Cleats at the 219 00:16:34,250 --> 00:16:37,690 Speaker 1: edge of the escalator steps should stop lit matches from 220 00:16:37,690 --> 00:16:40,690 Speaker 1: falling under the escalator. That quite a few of the 221 00:16:40,730 --> 00:16:44,970 Speaker 1: cleats are missing, so you can't reach the base of 222 00:16:45,010 --> 00:16:49,330 Speaker 1: the fire with an extinguisher. What else there is a 223 00:16:49,410 --> 00:16:53,370 Speaker 1: water sprinkler system. It's not automatic. There's no heat or 224 00:16:53,370 --> 00:16:56,010 Speaker 1: smoke sensor. You have to go to the machine room 225 00:16:56,010 --> 00:17:00,090 Speaker 1: and turn it on by hand. The safety inspector has 226 00:17:00,210 --> 00:17:04,450 Speaker 1: totally forgotten that this system exists. Nobody else on the 227 00:17:04,490 --> 00:17:07,810 Speaker 1: staff from members. Either they haven't been well enough trained 228 00:17:07,850 --> 00:17:12,010 Speaker 1: in fire safety. There's something else they haven't been trained 229 00:17:12,050 --> 00:17:16,330 Speaker 1: in how to evacuate the station. The staff and police 230 00:17:16,370 --> 00:17:18,890 Speaker 1: try to figure it out as they go. At last, 231 00:17:18,930 --> 00:17:21,730 Speaker 1: they succeed in roping off the bottom of the escalator 232 00:17:22,050 --> 00:17:25,890 Speaker 1: and directing passengers to walk through various tunnels until they 233 00:17:25,890 --> 00:17:30,650 Speaker 1: get to another escalator. It's not ideal. The alternative route 234 00:17:30,770 --> 00:17:33,930 Speaker 1: also brings people into the ticket hall close to the 235 00:17:34,010 --> 00:17:37,570 Speaker 1: escalator that's burning, but the staff can't think what else 236 00:17:37,610 --> 00:17:42,850 Speaker 1: to do. In the ticket hall is now a definite 237 00:17:42,890 --> 00:17:46,450 Speaker 1: smell of smoke. The Transport police have told the booking 238 00:17:46,490 --> 00:17:50,410 Speaker 1: office clerks to stop selling tickets. People queue up at 239 00:17:50,450 --> 00:17:54,690 Speaker 1: the automatic ticket machines. Instead, the police try to herd 240 00:17:54,730 --> 00:17:57,210 Speaker 1: them out of the hall, up the stairs towards the 241 00:17:57,250 --> 00:18:00,890 Speaker 1: street that others are pushing past in the opposite direction. 242 00:18:01,450 --> 00:18:03,770 Speaker 1: Never mind the smell of smoke. They want to get 243 00:18:03,810 --> 00:18:10,170 Speaker 1: their train, and down below trains are still running. Passenger 244 00:18:10,210 --> 00:18:13,970 Speaker 1: Marks Silver gets off. One smells burning rubber and thinks 245 00:18:14,650 --> 00:18:16,730 Speaker 1: maybe I'll get back on the train and get off 246 00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:20,450 Speaker 1: at the next station instead, he turns round. The train 247 00:18:20,530 --> 00:18:23,330 Speaker 1: doors have closed. He bangs on them, trying to get 248 00:18:23,330 --> 00:18:27,330 Speaker 1: the driver's attention. So do others along the platform. The 249 00:18:27,330 --> 00:18:33,770 Speaker 1: train moves off. One woman even jumps onto the track 250 00:18:33,850 --> 00:18:36,690 Speaker 1: and runs after the train down the tunnel, shouting, let 251 00:18:36,690 --> 00:18:41,130 Speaker 1: me in. Mark Silver spots a police officer directing people. 252 00:18:41,690 --> 00:18:46,730 Speaker 1: He follows the throng onto the alternative escalator. The smell 253 00:18:47,050 --> 00:18:51,570 Speaker 1: is overpowering now and soon he also starts to feel 254 00:18:51,570 --> 00:18:55,410 Speaker 1: the heat. As the escalator takes him upwards towards the 255 00:18:55,450 --> 00:18:59,290 Speaker 1: ticket hall. It passes close by where the fire is raging. 256 00:19:00,250 --> 00:19:03,450 Speaker 1: Silver can't see the fire he's in an adjacent tunnel, 257 00:19:03,970 --> 00:19:06,570 Speaker 1: but he sees that the walls of the tunnel are sizzling. 258 00:19:07,290 --> 00:19:11,290 Speaker 1: He feels his legs starting to her Some people push 259 00:19:11,330 --> 00:19:14,170 Speaker 1: their weight past him up the escalator steps, hurrying to 260 00:19:14,210 --> 00:19:19,170 Speaker 1: get out, but Silver, like most just stands there and 261 00:19:19,330 --> 00:19:23,330 Speaker 1: lets the escalators slowly take him up. People are still 262 00:19:23,370 --> 00:19:26,250 Speaker 1: descending on the down escalator as if there's nothing wrong. 263 00:19:27,290 --> 00:19:31,570 Speaker 1: He steps off at the top. There's smoke everywhere, a 264 00:19:31,650 --> 00:19:36,010 Speaker 1: few shouts and screams that Silver later recalls passengers he 265 00:19:36,130 --> 00:19:39,450 Speaker 1: saw calmly queuing at the ticket machines. I can still 266 00:19:39,450 --> 00:19:42,930 Speaker 1: see six of them now. Three were young lads with jeans, 267 00:19:43,370 --> 00:19:46,210 Speaker 1: Two were businessmen in suits who as a young girl 268 00:19:46,250 --> 00:19:49,970 Speaker 1: with brown hair, Silver dashes past them, hurries through the 269 00:19:49,970 --> 00:19:53,130 Speaker 1: ticket barriers, runs up the stairs into the cool, fresh 270 00:19:53,210 --> 00:19:56,450 Speaker 1: air of the November night, and collapses on the ground, 271 00:19:57,010 --> 00:20:08,410 Speaker 1: gulping in breath. He's got out just in time. A 272 00:20:08,530 --> 00:20:12,530 Speaker 1: century it was common to assume that panic was the 273 00:20:12,570 --> 00:20:16,930 Speaker 1: biggest threat in emergencies in a crowded place, and panic 274 00:20:16,970 --> 00:20:20,850 Speaker 1: does happen, But over the years researchers have come to 275 00:20:20,970 --> 00:20:23,810 Speaker 1: understand that it's not as common as you might expect. 276 00:20:24,410 --> 00:20:28,730 Speaker 1: You'll get individuals who shout or scream, or run and push, 277 00:20:28,770 --> 00:20:33,850 Speaker 1: but usually their panic doesn't spread. Much More often, crowds 278 00:20:33,850 --> 00:20:38,130 Speaker 1: in emergencies behave in a structured, an orderly way. Even 279 00:20:38,170 --> 00:20:42,130 Speaker 1: crowds of strangers tend to help each other out. In fact, 280 00:20:42,490 --> 00:20:47,050 Speaker 1: a bigger problem than panic is its opposite. People don't 281 00:20:47,130 --> 00:20:52,130 Speaker 1: grasp how serious a situation is. A too calm, they 282 00:20:52,130 --> 00:20:55,570 Speaker 1: don't react in time. As Mark silvero is making his 283 00:20:55,650 --> 00:20:59,450 Speaker 1: way out of King's Cross station. The first firefighters are 284 00:20:59,490 --> 00:21:03,410 Speaker 1: running in. One heads straight to the escalator to assess 285 00:21:03,530 --> 00:21:08,210 Speaker 1: the situation. It looks bad, but manageable. He describes the 286 00:21:08,250 --> 00:21:11,330 Speaker 1: fire as about the size of a big cardboard box. 287 00:21:12,210 --> 00:21:15,810 Speaker 1: That fires can be hard to predict, and this fire 288 00:21:16,130 --> 00:21:19,570 Speaker 1: is about to do something nobody has ever seen before. 289 00:21:25,130 --> 00:21:28,450 Speaker 1: Scientists later figured out what had happened and gave it 290 00:21:28,490 --> 00:21:33,370 Speaker 1: a name, the trench effect. It's a combination of two things, 291 00:21:33,410 --> 00:21:37,570 Speaker 1: each well understood on its own, that fast moving gases 292 00:21:37,610 --> 00:21:41,410 Speaker 1: tend to cling to steeply rising surfaces, and the phenomenon 293 00:21:41,410 --> 00:21:45,290 Speaker 1: of flashover when materials heat up and give off flammable 294 00:21:45,330 --> 00:21:49,970 Speaker 1: gases that eventually ignite on their own. Flammable gases were 295 00:21:50,090 --> 00:21:52,610 Speaker 1: racing up the sides and the steps of the escalator, 296 00:21:53,050 --> 00:21:58,770 Speaker 1: and now all at once they caught A sudden explosion 297 00:21:58,850 --> 00:22:02,410 Speaker 1: of flame shot up the escalator and into the ticket hall. 298 00:22:02,890 --> 00:22:07,690 Speaker 1: In an instant, the whole hall was ablaze. Thirty one 299 00:22:07,810 --> 00:22:13,330 Speaker 1: people lost their lives, nineteen more were badly injured. But 300 00:22:13,890 --> 00:22:18,250 Speaker 1: why had so many people still been there? Eighteen minutes 301 00:22:18,330 --> 00:22:21,250 Speaker 1: had passed since Philip Squire went up to the booking 302 00:22:21,290 --> 00:22:24,250 Speaker 1: Clark's window. Excuse me, but I think there's a fire 303 00:22:24,250 --> 00:22:27,730 Speaker 1: starting on the escalator. Time enough you might think to 304 00:22:27,810 --> 00:22:31,810 Speaker 1: have cleared the station if only the evacuation had been 305 00:22:31,850 --> 00:22:36,850 Speaker 1: handled smoothly, But it wasn't. The staff did their best, 306 00:22:36,970 --> 00:22:40,610 Speaker 1: but they had no training, no plan to follow. Just 307 00:22:40,690 --> 00:22:43,490 Speaker 1: as they forgot to use the sprinkler system, they forgot 308 00:22:43,490 --> 00:22:48,090 Speaker 1: something else too, the public address system. Nobody thought to 309 00:22:48,130 --> 00:22:53,850 Speaker 1: make any announcements at all. Might that have help researchers 310 00:22:53,930 --> 00:22:58,650 Speaker 1: decided to investigate. We'll hear what they found after the break. 311 00:23:13,050 --> 00:23:16,650 Speaker 1: If you worry about people panicking in an emergency, you 312 00:23:16,770 --> 00:23:20,610 Speaker 1: might try to pretend that there's nothing wrong. If you 313 00:23:20,650 --> 00:23:24,130 Speaker 1: worry that people won't take the threat seriously, you might 314 00:23:24,170 --> 00:23:28,490 Speaker 1: instead want to communicate clearly and honestly about what's going on. 315 00:23:29,970 --> 00:23:33,250 Speaker 1: After the tragedy at King's Cross in nineteen eighty seven, 316 00:23:33,770 --> 00:23:38,690 Speaker 1: researchers gathered in Newcastle, Northern England, at Monument metro station. 317 00:23:39,530 --> 00:23:43,010 Speaker 1: They chose Monument because it resembles a simplified version of 318 00:23:43,090 --> 00:23:48,290 Speaker 1: King's Cross. Two sets of escalators that each disgorge passengers 319 00:23:48,290 --> 00:23:52,250 Speaker 1: into the same central concourse. If one is blocked, the 320 00:23:52,290 --> 00:23:54,890 Speaker 1: bottom of the other can be reached by a staircase. 321 00:23:55,850 --> 00:23:59,090 Speaker 1: The researchers wanted to test how quickly the public would 322 00:23:59,090 --> 00:24:03,170 Speaker 1: evacuate the station in case of fire. Of course, there's 323 00:24:03,210 --> 00:24:05,450 Speaker 1: a limit to how realistic you can make this kind 324 00:24:05,450 --> 00:24:09,690 Speaker 1: of study. You can't actually light a fire. Instead, on 325 00:24:09,770 --> 00:24:13,810 Speaker 1: five different days, they tried five different ways of warning people, 326 00:24:14,410 --> 00:24:18,130 Speaker 1: and they watched the station's CCTV cameras to see how 327 00:24:18,130 --> 00:24:26,810 Speaker 1: people reacted. One day, a simple fire alarm. People ignored it, 328 00:24:27,530 --> 00:24:30,410 Speaker 1: of course they did. How many times has it been 329 00:24:30,450 --> 00:24:36,330 Speaker 1: a genuine emergency? What about a generic announcement, please evacuate 330 00:24:36,370 --> 00:24:41,570 Speaker 1: the station better. The passengers on the concourse left, but 331 00:24:41,690 --> 00:24:44,490 Speaker 1: those at the bottom of the closed off escalator didn't 332 00:24:44,490 --> 00:24:48,370 Speaker 1: try to find an alternative way out. They just hung around, 333 00:24:48,370 --> 00:24:51,570 Speaker 1: waiting to see if the escalator would open again. When 334 00:24:51,610 --> 00:24:55,210 Speaker 1: the researchers asked them afterwards, most said they didn't believe 335 00:24:55,250 --> 00:24:59,170 Speaker 1: there was an actual problem. The researchers tried recreating the 336 00:24:59,250 --> 00:25:04,170 Speaker 1: situation at King's Cross. No announcements, but they told two 337 00:25:04,250 --> 00:25:07,850 Speaker 1: staff members to expect a fire drill. We'll tell you 338 00:25:07,890 --> 00:25:10,890 Speaker 1: where the imagined fire is, they said, and you'll have 339 00:25:10,930 --> 00:25:13,370 Speaker 1: to figure out for yourself how to get people out. 340 00:25:15,450 --> 00:25:19,650 Speaker 1: The drill starts the fires on the North South escalators. 341 00:25:19,730 --> 00:25:24,090 Speaker 1: The staff members are told. They enthusiastically set about herding 342 00:25:24,170 --> 00:25:28,050 Speaker 1: passengers out of the station, but watching on the CCTV, 343 00:25:28,650 --> 00:25:32,090 Speaker 1: the researchers can see that they're not always making themselves clear. 344 00:25:32,730 --> 00:25:38,090 Speaker 1: Some passengers looked confused. Worse still, the staff members send 345 00:25:38,170 --> 00:25:42,290 Speaker 1: the passengers up the staircase to the other escalator, which 346 00:25:42,450 --> 00:25:46,490 Speaker 1: brings them out onto the concourse, the place of maximum danger. 347 00:25:47,330 --> 00:25:50,530 Speaker 1: That's what their counterparts at King's Cross had done too. 348 00:25:51,170 --> 00:25:54,530 Speaker 1: It seems logical, but we know from King's Cross that 349 00:25:54,570 --> 00:25:57,650 Speaker 1: there would have been a better way keep the passengers 350 00:25:57,650 --> 00:26:00,250 Speaker 1: on the platforms and get them out on the next 351 00:26:00,370 --> 00:26:03,370 Speaker 1: passing train. It goes to show the need for training 352 00:26:03,530 --> 00:26:10,330 Speaker 1: and a plan. So how about an on the PA 353 00:26:10,410 --> 00:26:15,890 Speaker 1: system that tells passengers exactly what to do. Please evacuate 354 00:26:15,930 --> 00:26:19,370 Speaker 1: the station if you're on a platform, board the next train. 355 00:26:19,810 --> 00:26:22,650 Speaker 1: If you're in the concourse, leave by the nearest exit. 356 00:26:23,570 --> 00:26:29,130 Speaker 1: Much better, The station clears quickly and efficiently. On the 357 00:26:29,130 --> 00:26:33,130 Speaker 1: fifth and final day, the researchers try something else, the 358 00:26:33,210 --> 00:26:38,170 Speaker 1: same announcement, but giving a reason. There is a suspected 359 00:26:38,210 --> 00:26:42,130 Speaker 1: fire on the North South escalators. Not only do the 360 00:26:42,170 --> 00:26:46,730 Speaker 1: researchers give people a clear evacuation plan, they also, for 361 00:26:46,770 --> 00:26:50,930 Speaker 1: the first time, actually use the PA system to tell 362 00:26:51,090 --> 00:26:55,450 Speaker 1: everyone that there was a fire. The metro's managers had 363 00:26:55,450 --> 00:26:58,850 Speaker 1: been nervous about letting the researchers do that. What if 364 00:26:58,890 --> 00:27:03,850 Speaker 1: people panicked? People didn't. They got out calmly and quickly 365 00:27:04,410 --> 00:27:07,730 Speaker 1: when the researchers asked them afterwards. This was the only 366 00:27:07,770 --> 00:27:11,290 Speaker 1: announcement that had made a majority convinced that there probably 367 00:27:11,450 --> 00:27:17,130 Speaker 1: was a real threat. Still, there'd been no smoke, there 368 00:27:17,290 --> 00:27:21,090 Speaker 1: was no fire. Drills like this can take us only 369 00:27:21,130 --> 00:27:24,850 Speaker 1: so far. What about the real world when people are 370 00:27:24,890 --> 00:27:29,330 Speaker 1: not only told there's an emergency but see it. One 371 00:27:29,410 --> 00:27:33,450 Speaker 1: way to study that question is interviewing survivors of emergencies, 372 00:27:33,690 --> 00:27:38,730 Speaker 1: But memories aren't always reliable. In twenty twenty one, another 373 00:27:38,770 --> 00:27:41,850 Speaker 1: team of researchers came up with an ingenious way to 374 00:27:41,930 --> 00:27:45,010 Speaker 1: solve that problem. In the age of the smartphone. They 375 00:27:45,050 --> 00:27:48,610 Speaker 1: reasoned there must be lots of YouTube footage of crowds 376 00:27:48,610 --> 00:27:52,370 Speaker 1: in emergencies. They could watch that footage and draw their 377 00:27:52,370 --> 00:27:58,370 Speaker 1: own objective conclusions. They found over a hundred videos. Some 378 00:27:58,530 --> 00:28:02,370 Speaker 1: showed people panicking and running, Some showed them being far 379 00:28:02,450 --> 00:28:07,130 Speaker 1: too blaze. One big problem, ironically, was the very thing 380 00:28:07,210 --> 00:28:10,610 Speaker 1: that made the study possible. People stopping to film on 381 00:28:10,650 --> 00:28:15,170 Speaker 1: their phones, and they should have been getting out instead. Running. 382 00:28:15,290 --> 00:28:19,330 Speaker 1: It seemed was more likely when people perceived a threat themselves, 383 00:28:19,610 --> 00:28:23,330 Speaker 1: but it wasn't being acknowledged. Any kind of alarm or 384 00:28:23,370 --> 00:28:30,130 Speaker 1: announcement to evacuate calmed them down. Remember the tragedy at 385 00:28:30,170 --> 00:28:34,450 Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Theater in eighteen seventy six, when nearly three 386 00:28:34,490 --> 00:28:39,130 Speaker 1: hundred people died. The actress Kate Claxton thought she should 387 00:28:39,170 --> 00:28:42,610 Speaker 1: pretend that everything was fine, there is no danger. The 388 00:28:42,690 --> 00:28:46,410 Speaker 1: flames a part of the play. She wanted to help, 389 00:28:46,930 --> 00:28:50,690 Speaker 1: But this research suggests she did the worst thing possible. 390 00:28:51,410 --> 00:28:55,770 Speaker 1: By trying to deny the increasingly obvious danger, she was 391 00:28:55,850 --> 00:29:03,690 Speaker 1: making panic more likely, not less. So. What's the most 392 00:29:03,730 --> 00:29:08,250 Speaker 1: effective way to get people out quickly and safely? Not 393 00:29:08,450 --> 00:29:14,370 Speaker 1: generical arms, but distinct instructions. What you need, say the researchers, 394 00:29:14,970 --> 00:29:19,450 Speaker 1: is communication from humans that is clearly tailored to that 395 00:29:19,730 --> 00:29:28,490 Speaker 1: specific situation. At the Empire Palace Theater in Edinburgh in 396 00:29:28,610 --> 00:29:33,250 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven, the Great Lafayette was in his lion's costume, 397 00:29:33,570 --> 00:29:37,770 Speaker 1: in the lions cage. Sparks were raining from the faulty 398 00:29:37,810 --> 00:29:42,170 Speaker 1: electrical connection above the stage. Crops were catching fire. The 399 00:29:42,330 --> 00:29:46,730 Speaker 1: fire curtain was stuck. The blaze began to grow and grow. 400 00:29:47,210 --> 00:29:50,610 Speaker 1: The city's firefighters were called. He had to battle for 401 00:29:50,810 --> 00:29:58,530 Speaker 1: three hours to bring it under control. At last, in 402 00:29:58,610 --> 00:30:02,130 Speaker 1: the early hours of the morning, they could safely investigate 403 00:30:02,250 --> 00:30:08,450 Speaker 1: the theater's charred and smoldering ruins. Nobody had seen the 404 00:30:08,450 --> 00:30:12,130 Speaker 1: Great Lafaye, his co star and the Lion's bride, The 405 00:30:12,170 --> 00:30:16,370 Speaker 1: beautiful young woman, had been desperately searching the city's hospitals. 406 00:30:17,130 --> 00:30:20,890 Speaker 1: He wasn't there, had the friend of Houdini somehow pulled 407 00:30:20,890 --> 00:30:27,530 Speaker 1: off a miraculous escape. No News soon spread that rescuers 408 00:30:27,530 --> 00:30:32,890 Speaker 1: had found Lafayette's body, or so it seemed. It was 409 00:30:32,970 --> 00:30:39,690 Speaker 1: badly burned, but recognizably him, though where were his diamond rings? 410 00:30:40,610 --> 00:30:47,690 Speaker 1: Had somebody stolen them from the dead man's fingers. The 411 00:30:47,810 --> 00:30:52,770 Speaker 1: body was cremated and the funeral announced. The magician's ashes 412 00:30:52,770 --> 00:30:56,610 Speaker 1: would be laid to rest alongside the embalmed remains of Beauty, 413 00:30:57,050 --> 00:31:02,730 Speaker 1: his beloved dog. Then two days later, rescuers found another 414 00:31:02,810 --> 00:31:08,730 Speaker 1: body under the stage. It was the Great lafayette diamond 415 00:31:08,810 --> 00:31:13,610 Speaker 1: ring on his fingers, So whose ashes had they been 416 00:31:13,690 --> 00:31:17,530 Speaker 1: just about to bury? It turned out that Lafayette's quick 417 00:31:17,610 --> 00:31:22,490 Speaker 1: change illusions relied on a look alike who had also perished. 418 00:31:25,770 --> 00:31:29,050 Speaker 1: Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Edinburgh 419 00:31:29,130 --> 00:31:33,770 Speaker 1: for the Great Lafayette's funeral parade. Hundreds of police kept order. 420 00:31:34,290 --> 00:31:37,930 Speaker 1: The King, George the Fifth, sent a message of condolence. 421 00:31:38,370 --> 00:31:43,090 Speaker 1: Harry Houdini sent a floral tribute Forget Me Nots in 422 00:31:43,170 --> 00:31:47,410 Speaker 1: the shape of a dog's head. The urn containing Lafayette's 423 00:31:47,450 --> 00:31:55,170 Speaker 1: ashes was solemnly placed between Beauty's paws. Nine other bodies 424 00:31:55,210 --> 00:32:00,410 Speaker 1: were found backstage, not counting the lion. Had someone tried 425 00:32:00,410 --> 00:32:03,690 Speaker 1: to get out through the doors that Lafayette had ordered locked, 426 00:32:04,370 --> 00:32:08,490 Speaker 1: it seemed possible. One survivor told the press that he 427 00:32:08,530 --> 00:32:11,330 Speaker 1: had only made it because he happened to remember where 428 00:32:11,410 --> 00:32:15,490 Speaker 1: the nearest open door would be. I bolted right upstairs. 429 00:32:15,690 --> 00:32:17,690 Speaker 1: I shouted to all who were near me to run, 430 00:32:17,810 --> 00:32:20,810 Speaker 1: and I firmly believe that had they remembered about the doors, 431 00:32:21,210 --> 00:32:23,970 Speaker 1: those who were found suffocated in the dressing rooms would 432 00:32:23,970 --> 00:32:30,850 Speaker 1: have escaped. Again. Evacuations need a plan, But what about 433 00:32:30,890 --> 00:32:39,250 Speaker 1: the audience. Remember the dilemma faced by the manager of 434 00:32:39,370 --> 00:32:42,930 Speaker 1: the Edinburgh Palace Theater. He's sitting in the front row 435 00:32:43,170 --> 00:32:46,530 Speaker 1: as bits of the scenery start to catch fire. He 436 00:32:46,610 --> 00:32:50,610 Speaker 1: knows there are three thousand people in the theater. They're 437 00:32:50,650 --> 00:32:53,970 Speaker 1: watching an illusionist. They haven't yet realized that the sparks 438 00:32:53,970 --> 00:32:57,810 Speaker 1: and the flames aren't part of the show. He doesn't 439 00:32:57,810 --> 00:33:00,610 Speaker 1: have access to all this modern research about the best 440 00:33:00,650 --> 00:33:04,330 Speaker 1: way to communicate in evacuations. He's got a decision to 441 00:33:04,410 --> 00:33:09,210 Speaker 1: make and quickly does he risk panic by urging we 442 00:33:09,250 --> 00:33:13,250 Speaker 1: want to flee, or risk disaster by delaying in the 443 00:33:13,290 --> 00:33:18,570 Speaker 1: hope that the fire won't spread. His solution is inspire 444 00:33:19,250 --> 00:33:23,850 Speaker 1: between the audience and the stage sit the theaters orchestra. 445 00:33:24,450 --> 00:33:30,930 Speaker 1: He calls over to the orchestra leader, the King. It 446 00:33:31,050 --> 00:33:34,890 Speaker 1: was customary at the time for every evening's entertainment to 447 00:33:34,930 --> 00:33:38,970 Speaker 1: finish with a rendition of the national anthem, God Save 448 00:33:39,130 --> 00:33:43,490 Speaker 1: the King. The orchestra strikes up the tune. The audience 449 00:33:43,530 --> 00:33:46,370 Speaker 1: gets straight to their feet, which the national anthem, and 450 00:33:46,490 --> 00:33:50,730 Speaker 1: they get the message too. The anthem means the evening's over, 451 00:33:51,530 --> 00:33:55,610 Speaker 1: it's time to go. As the orchestra plays and the 452 00:33:55,690 --> 00:33:59,690 Speaker 1: stage starts to blaze and smoke billows out from under 453 00:33:59,690 --> 00:34:04,610 Speaker 1: the stuck fire curtain. Three thousand people calmly file out 454 00:34:04,650 --> 00:34:07,730 Speaker 1: of their rows of seats and form an orderly queue 455 00:34:07,970 --> 00:34:11,610 Speaker 1: for the exits. In a couple of minutes, they're all 456 00:34:11,810 --> 00:34:16,890 Speaker 1: safely outside. Not a single member of the audience is hurt. 457 00:34:17,850 --> 00:34:20,890 Speaker 1: The orchestra put down their instruments and head for the 458 00:34:20,930 --> 00:34:26,490 Speaker 1: exits too. What does it take to evacuate safely? Communication 459 00:34:26,730 --> 00:34:31,690 Speaker 1: from humans that is clearly tailored to that specific situation. 460 00:34:32,410 --> 00:34:36,170 Speaker 1: Communication doesn't have to be words in the heat of 461 00:34:36,250 --> 00:34:40,490 Speaker 1: the moment. The theater manager couldn't have played it better. 462 00:35:09,610 --> 00:35:12,770 Speaker 1: An important source for this episode was The Death and 463 00:35:12,930 --> 00:35:17,330 Speaker 1: Life of the Great Lafayette by Ian Robertson and Gordon Rutter. 464 00:35:17,930 --> 00:35:20,010 Speaker 1: For a full list of our sources, please see the 465 00:35:20,010 --> 00:35:26,210 Speaker 1: show notes at Tim Harford dot com. Cautionary Tales is 466 00:35:26,250 --> 00:35:30,850 Speaker 1: written by me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright. It's produced 467 00:35:30,850 --> 00:35:35,250 Speaker 1: by Alice Fines with support from Edith Russolow. The sound 468 00:35:35,250 --> 00:35:38,570 Speaker 1: design and original music is the work of Pascal Wise. 469 00:35:39,570 --> 00:35:42,170 Speaker 1: The show wouldn't have been possible without the work of 470 00:35:42,290 --> 00:35:47,450 Speaker 1: Jacob Weisberg, Ryan Dilley, Julia Barton, Greta Khane, Littale, Millard 471 00:35:47,810 --> 00:35:53,010 Speaker 1: John Schnaz, Karlie Migliori, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, Nicole Morano, 472 00:35:53,330 --> 00:35:58,690 Speaker 1: and Morgan Ratner Cautionary Tales. He's a production of Pushkin Industries. 473 00:35:59,010 --> 00:36:02,090 Speaker 1: If you like the show, please remember to share, rate, 474 00:36:02,210 --> 00:36:05,930 Speaker 1: and review. It helps us for mysterious reasons, and if 475 00:36:05,970 --> 00:36:08,770 Speaker 1: you want to hear the show, add free sign up 476 00:36:08,770 --> 00:36:11,930 Speaker 1: for Pushkin Plus on the show page and Apple Podcasts, 477 00:36:12,330 --> 00:36:15,930 Speaker 1: or at pushkin dot Fm, slash plus