1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Nke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Long before the flush 7 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 2: toilet became commonplace, humanity grappled with a persistent, pungent problem, 8 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,639 Speaker 2: how and where to dispose of our own waste? We 9 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 2: know that ancient Mesopotamia had some plumbing technology. They built 10 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 2: a system of clay pipes that carried waste away when 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 2: rainwater flushed the system, but far too often the refuse 12 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 2: simply ended up as a feted pool just outside the 13 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 2: outskirts of town. Rome also adopted a kind of sewer system, 14 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 2: but it was used largely to drain rain water from 15 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 2: city streets, not for human waste in the modern sense. 16 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 2: Even in more recent centuries, many people still relied on 17 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 2: chamber pots and cesspools, holes dug to hold waste until 18 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 2: they overflowed or were emptied. In many cities, the smell, 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 2: pestilence and sheer volume of refuse were visible reminders that 20 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 2: sanitation was not simply a domestic task but public good. 21 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 2: Nowhere was this more true than in Victorian England, where 22 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 2: the sweltering summer of eighteen fifty eight created the conditions 23 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 2: for a public disaster that came to be known as 24 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 2: the Big Stink. London in the eighteen hundreds did not 25 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,919 Speaker 2: have what you would consider to be a modern waste 26 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 2: disposal system. People used chamber pots, which would then be 27 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 2: emptied into cesspits dug nearby the nearest river, or even worse, 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 2: would just empty them into the streets. All over the cities, 29 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 2: ditches and waterways were clogged with feces. Neighbors would fight 30 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 2: over cesspits dug too close to one another's homes, which 31 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 2: would seep into their basements and walls. These pits, of course, 32 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 2: would fill up, and so night men were paid to 33 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 2: remove the waste after the world had gone to sleep 34 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 2: and carted off to farms to fertilize crops. It was 35 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 2: an imperfect system, to say the least, but it would 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 2: only get worse. Between eighteen hundred and eighteen fifty London's 37 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 2: population exploded, and by eighteen fifty eight, two and a 38 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 2: half million people called it home. Overcrowding was a major issue, 39 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 2: and along with the people came the people's waist. The 40 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 2: city's infrastructure did not keep pace with the massive influx 41 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: of newly minted Londoners. Suddenly there were nearly twice as 42 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 2: many people dumping their waste into cesspits, making it expensive 43 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 2: to transport away. The drains and gutters that were frequently 44 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 2: used to remove feces all emptied into the Thames and 45 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 2: its tributaries. Refuse accumulated, and slowly the river itself became 46 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 2: a sewer, taking in not only human waste but that 47 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 2: of livestock, as well as the factory run off that 48 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: was a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. Regular outbreaks of 49 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 2: cholera killed over ten thousand Londoners. The city was groaning 50 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 2: under the pressure of its own excrement. The summer of 51 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,079 Speaker 2: eighteen fifty eight proved to be the tipping point. It's 52 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,359 Speaker 2: fair to say that the summer that year was hot 53 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: and dry. The lack of rain meant that the Thames 54 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 2: water levels were lower than usual, and this meant that 55 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,359 Speaker 2: waste that it normally carried away to sea was instead 56 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 2: drying on the river bank. In the sweltering heat, the 57 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 2: stench became overpowering, so much so that the rich people 58 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 2: left the city for the fresh air of the countryside, 59 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 2: and the poor folks had to stay indoors as much 60 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 2: as they could afford. And for the poor guys who 61 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 2: had to stick around and work in the Parliament building, 62 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 2: they soaked the curtains with chloride of lime to fight 63 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 2: the smell. 64 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: And although Parliament had been debating sanitation for years, very 65 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: little progress had been made toward real reform, and the stench, 66 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: mixed with harsh headlines and public rage, finally forced the 67 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: government's hand. Within eighteen days of its introduction, a bill 68 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:12,279 Speaker 1: to fund new infrastructure was passed into law. Enter Joseph Basiljet, 69 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: a civil engineer who was appointed to lead the charge. 70 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: Basiljet developed an ambitious design of underground brick sewers and 71 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: powerful pumping stations to move London's waste beyond the city 72 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,159 Speaker 1: and release it into the tidal Thames, where currents would 73 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: carry it away. Work began almost immediately. Between eighteen fifty 74 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: eight and eighteen seventy five, miles of tunnels were dug 75 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: reinforced with hundreds of millions of bricks, It was one 76 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: of the largest infrastructure projects of its day, solving London's 77 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: sewage problem and paving the way for modern urban sanitation 78 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: everywhere else. The Great Stink was disastrous, but its legacy 79 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 1: was structural and profound. The immediate crisis ended, and cholera 80 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: outbreaks in London dwindled in subsequent years as waste disposed, 81 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: improved in water quality rows and as wild as it sounds, 82 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: basljets sewers still underpin London's sanitation network today, even as 83 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 1: new pressures emerge from the ever increasing population and climate 84 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: driven rainfall. The event remains a milestone in sanitation history, 85 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: how environmental, sanitary, and political pressures collided to force a 86 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: major infrastructure overhaul. Visiting the Thames today, it's hard to 87 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: imagine what it once was. A stinking, disease ridden sewer. 88 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: It's a curious tale, to say the least. Thanks to 89 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: bold engineering and public health reform, the city has been transformed. 90 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: The Great Stink stands as a dramatic reminder of how 91 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: ignoring waste doesn't just stink, It also causes outbreaks of 92 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: preventable disease and makes the city that one lives in 93 00:05:50,680 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: completely unlivable. I think it's fair to say that meteorology, 94 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: the scientific study of the atmosphere in an attempt to 95 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:15,679 Speaker 1: predict the weather, is often misunderstood. People expect the weather 96 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: anchor on TV to be accurate all the time. They 97 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: think that predicting the weather is the same as seeing 98 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: the future. But all weather people can do is look 99 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: at past trends and current conditions and say how likely 100 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: something is to happen. A ninety percent chance of rain 101 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: means that it still might not rain. But that's science 102 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: using evidence to form a hypothesis. If you want magic, well, 103 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: A curious story from eighteen ninety one shows us just 104 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: how well it goes when humankind tries to bend the 105 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 1: weather to its will. Robert G. Deer and Foth wasn't 106 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 1: a scientist, but he was an engineer, and his friend 107 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: Edward Powers was a retired Civil War general. However, in 108 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety one, the two had formed a hypothesis. During 109 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: the war, Edward noticed that it was almost always raining 110 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: following a big battle. This led to their concussion theory, 111 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: the idea that sonic waves from loud explosions would jostle 112 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: the rain right out of the clouds. Now, you might 113 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: already be questioning this, but just bear with me. Congress 114 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: thought that it was a decent theory, and so they 115 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: gave Robert and Edward seven thousand dollars back then that's 116 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: worth about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars today. To 117 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: test their theory, they set up their experiment on a 118 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: ranch in Illinois, lining the fields with mortars packed with 119 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: blasting powder from nearby mines. They also set up several 120 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: rows of hydrogen balloons, and they would hoist these balloons 121 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: into the air and then shoot at them to create 122 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: an even louder sound. Soon everything was ready, Roberts, Edward 123 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: and their associates lit the fuses and plugged their ears. 124 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: Massive thundering blasts sounded out across the fields as the 125 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: mortars fired. The booming pops of the hydrogen balloons sent 126 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: birds flying from the trees. The noise continued for hours. 127 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: It almost sounded like the Civil War was back on. 128 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: Once the men were done firing, the silence that followed 129 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: was almost just as deafening. They looked to the skies, 130 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: where storm clouds were gathering. They held their breath as 131 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: something extraordinary took place. Rain began to trickle down from above. 132 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: The men jumped for joy their experiment had worked. The 133 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: next day, that trickle turned into a downpour. However, the 134 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: local meteorologist was about to rain on Robert and Edward's parade. 135 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: No pun intended, I swear, wink wink. He had predicted 136 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: this rain. It was likely to happen with or without 137 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: their experiment. The two men were forced to concede defeat, 138 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: at least for now, but they continued to champion their theory. Eventually, 139 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,320 Speaker 1: the mayor of El Paso, Texas took notice and asked 140 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:52,959 Speaker 1: Robert's team to come test his theory in their town. 141 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,439 Speaker 1: They used the same artillery and the same balloon system, 142 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: but this time it rained only on the opposite side 143 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: of the city where the experiment took place. It was 144 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: even more of a mediocre result. Robert continued his experiments 145 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: throughout the Southwest, but his methods didn't seem to have 146 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: much of an effort. He always wanted to take credit 147 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: for rain that was just as likely to have happened 148 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: without his concussive blasts. This didn't stop others from trying 149 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: similar experiments over the decades, though there are reports of 150 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: other concussion weather experiments from his late as nineteen eleven. 151 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: But as the scientific method came into focus, the problems 152 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: with the concussion theory became clear. For one, that initial 153 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: observation by Edward powers that rain always seemed to follow 154 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: a battle is all correlation without causation. He may have 155 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: just been fighting during a rainy period or in a 156 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: rainy region. Most Civil War battles were fought in Southern States, 157 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: where it does rain a lot. And second, once he 158 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: started to form his theory, observation bias may have led 159 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: him to only notice when it did rain and ignore 160 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: when it didn't. He wasn't considering the actual mechanisms that 161 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: cause rain, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Those were already well 162 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: studied phenomena. Robert and Edward's hypothesis basically ignored the water 163 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: cycle completely and instead put forth the idea that rain 164 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: could just be shaken out of the clouds like fruit 165 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: from a tree. In the scientific method, a hypothesis typically 166 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: doesn't even make it to the testing stage if it 167 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: can't stand up to existing evidence. That seven thousand dollars 168 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: grant from Congress was truly a waste of money without 169 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: understanding the scientific method and studying the research that had 170 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: already been done. These men were pretty much on par 171 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: with medieval alchemists trying to turn lead into gold or, 172 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 1: in this case, dynamite into rain. If you're a longtime 173 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: listener of this show, you know that it never hurts 174 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: to be curious, but pointing that curiosity in the right 175 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 1: direction is important. A meteorologist guessing when it might rain 176 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 1: may not be perfect, but it's a lot more reliable 177 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: than hurling explosives at a cloud and hoping for the best. 178 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 179 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 180 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:20,079 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 181 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: This show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 182 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 183 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 184 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 185 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.