1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. We haven't 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: talked about a shipwreck in a while, Holly, it's been 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: a bit and they're definitely a listener favorite. So today 6 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: we are going to get into the Eastland Disaster, which 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: is one of the most requested episodes we have not 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,639 Speaker 1: gotten to yet. We've gotten notes about it from Elaine, Jennifer, 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: Joe and Susan, Jamie, Sarah, Julia, Eleanor, Jeff Christian and 10 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: Courtney and I am sure other people like That is 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: a partial list of just the last couple of years. 12 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: Uh And, since whenever we talk about a disaster afterward 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: we typically get an influx of requests for another very 14 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: similar disaster, the General Slocum is already on the list, 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: the Sultana is already done. Uh So, the Eastland disaster 16 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: was a huge tragedy. It was one of the deadliest 17 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: disasters in Chicago history, also one of the deadliest maritime 18 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: disasters in American history overall, and a pretty consistent theme 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: in our disaster episodes is a lack of safety regulations 20 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: or maybe safety warnings that were not heated ahead of time, 21 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: it could have prevented the tragedy. And while there's definitely 22 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: some of that in today's show, we're also going to 23 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: talk about some safety regulations that in this case actually 24 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: made it worse. Before we talk about what happened on 25 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: the Eastland, we actually need to back up for just 26 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: a second and talk about the Titanic and the changing 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: safety standards that followed its sinking, because although there were 28 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: other issues at play as well, it was in a 29 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: cruel irony an increased number of lifeboats that played a 30 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: big part in the Eastland disaster and what maybe the 31 00:01:55,480 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: most famous maritime disaster in history. The Titanic struck an 32 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: iceberg during its maiden voyage on April fourteenth of nineteen twelve. 33 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: It famously did not have nearly enough lifeboats for everyone 34 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: on board, and that lack of lifeboats became the focus 35 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: of people's grief and outrage and the aftermath of the disaster. 36 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: It sparked the Boats for All movement that demanded that 37 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: ships have enough lifeboats or life rafts to accommodate every 38 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,679 Speaker 1: single person on board. This outrage while completely understandable, was 39 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: a little bit misplaced. A number of factors, including the 40 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: speed and maneuverability of the ship itself, contributed to the 41 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: Titanic disaster, but the lack of lifeboats was fairly far 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: down on the list. While it is absolutely true that 43 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for all of 44 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: its passengers by a wide margin, it did have far 45 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: more than were actually required at the time, and that 46 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: requirement was based on the simultaneously pragmatic and pessimistic idea 47 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: that in the event of a disaster massive enough to 48 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: sink a ship, it was extremely unlikely that every passenger 49 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: could successfully even get to a lifeboat. The recommended number 50 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: of lifeboats when the Titanic set sail was part of 51 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: a pretty grim equation. Some of the factors in this 52 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: equation how long would it take to determine that the 53 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 1: ship was likely to sink and give the order to evacuate, 54 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: ready the lifeboats, and then deploy them in such an event, 55 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: How many passengers and crew were likely to already be 56 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: dead before that order even came. How long would it 57 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: take the ship to list far enough to one side 58 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: that it would become impossible to deploy some or all 59 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: of the lifeboats, how quickly could civilian passengers reasonably be 60 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: expected to evacuate, And importantly, how many lifeboats did a 61 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: ship have room to safely carry. In the case of 62 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: the Titanic, the ship had enough lifeboats based to accommodate 63 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: one thousand, one seventy eight people, which, as we said, 64 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: was far fewer than the number of people aboard on 65 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: its first voyage, but only seven hundred and five survived, 66 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: leaving nearly five hundred available lifeboat spaces unfilled. And this 67 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: is because most of the lifeboats weren't anywhere close to 68 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: full when they actually launched. A lot of reasons have 69 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: been given for the partially full lifeboats, and they all 70 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 1: really boiled down to fear. Crew were afraid that completely 71 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:25,039 Speaker 1: full lifeboats would break the lowering mechanisms. Both passengers and 72 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 1: crew were afraid that overcrowding would swamp the boats, and 73 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: that fear was behind everything from barring the gates to 74 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: the lower decks so that the people in steerage couldn't 75 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: get out, to refusing to row back to the ship 76 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: to pull survivors out of the water. Based on this 77 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: passenger and crew behavior, the Titanic really would have needed 78 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: half again as many lifeboats as passengers to actually rescue 79 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: everyone on board, not just one lifeboat space per person. 80 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: But the idea that more people would have survived if 81 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,919 Speaker 1: only there had been enough lifeboats was far more immediate 82 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: and compelling than whether the ship had adequate rivets or 83 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: sophisticated enough steering and navigation system. Also, knowing that you 84 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: would definitely have a space reserved for you on a 85 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: lifeboat gave the illusion of safety should something terrible occur 86 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: while traveling by water. It was like a century old 87 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: version of security theater. The post Titanic call for more 88 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: lifeboats wasn't just limited to passions or outcry, though we 89 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: are definitely not saying that lifeboats are bad, and there 90 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: were professional people also recommending more lifeboats. A conference was 91 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,359 Speaker 1: convened in London in the fall of nineteen thirteens who 92 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: outline international recommendations for safety in maritime vessels, in part 93 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: to prevent another Titanic like disaster. The result was the 94 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 1: First International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 95 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: or SOULIS, which was signed in London on January nineteen fourteen. 96 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: Article forty of the convention began quote, at no moment 97 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: of its voyage, may a ship have on board a 98 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: total number of persons greater than that for whom accommodation 99 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: is provided in the lifeboats and the pontoon life rafts 100 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: on board. Article fifty four also designated a minimum total 101 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: number of certified lifeboatmen crew who were trained in all 102 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: the operations related to launching and handling lifeboats. So this 103 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: convention did leave room for individual nations to designate exemptions 104 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: to this rule, but overall it meant that one lifeboat 105 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: space needed to be available per person and that the 106 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: crew needed to be trained, just for example, not to 107 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: launch the lifeboats when they were only half full. Because 108 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: of World War One, many of the nations that had 109 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: participated in all of this didn't ratify the treaty, and 110 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: they put off implementing some or all of the recommendations 111 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: that had come out of the conference. But these recommendations 112 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: did influence other legislation in the United States. This was 113 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 1: the Siemens Act, signed by Woodrow Wilson on March fourth, nineteen. 114 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: The Semens Act was largely the result of lobbying on 115 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: behalf of the International Semens Union of America, and many 116 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: of its provisions were really about labor practices and workplace 117 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: safety as they related to sailors themselves. They were things 118 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: like collective bargaining rights and better living quarters on board 119 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: the ships. But because of the ongoing fewer about the 120 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: lack of lifeboats on the Titanic, safety regulations for passengers, 121 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: including lifeboat counts, were looped into this as well. So, 122 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: as often happens, the thing that had become the big 123 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: political hot button got looped into something that was originally 124 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: related to something else. So nearly half of this act 125 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: related to lifeboats in some way, although the final rule 126 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: was for lifeboats to cover seventy five of the passengers 127 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,679 Speaker 1: rather than all of them. The Semens Act was also 128 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: signed in between two other maritime disasters that demonstrate how 129 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: lifeboats for all doesn't necessarily mean more lives saved. Both 130 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: the Empress of Ireland, which sank on May twenty ninth, 131 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen after colliding with a collier, and the Lusitania, 132 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: which sank on May seventh, nineteen fifteen after being torpedoed 133 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: by a German submarine, had far more lifeboat spaces than 134 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: people aboard. Both sank in under twenty minutes. Four hundred 135 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: and sixty five out of one thousand, four hundred seventy 136 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: seven people survived the Empress of Ireland sinking, and seven 137 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty one of one thousand, nine hundred and 138 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: fifty nine people survived the Lusitania. So while today it's 139 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: definitely standard on a lot of large ships to have 140 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: a lifeboat space for everyone, these were examples of Now 141 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: that doesn't necessarily mean that you can get to want 142 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: to get off the boat safely. Also, the Siemens Act 143 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: encountered heavy resistance from ship operators who argued that its 144 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: terms were expensive and in some cases unsafe, and would 145 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: put them out of business. And not long after it 146 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,959 Speaker 1: went into effect, the S S. East Land would actually 147 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: prove that some of these criticisms were at least in 148 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: part correct, and we will talk about exactly how after 149 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. The S. S. Eastland, which was 150 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: nicknamed the speed Queen of the Great Lakes and the 151 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: Greyhound of the Lakes, was built in nineteen o two. 152 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: Its original purpose was to carry passengers from Chicago across 153 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: the lake to Michigan and then return with produce to 154 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: sell in Chicago markets. The two hundred and sixty five 155 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: ft eight one steamer was built by Jank Shipbuilding Company 156 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: and it launched on May six, o three. It had 157 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: an original capacity of two thousand passengers, with sleeping accommodations 158 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: for five hundred of those. There's at least one article 159 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,119 Speaker 1: floating around that its original capacity was three hundred passengers, 160 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: but that seems to be an outlier and not accurate. Yeah, 161 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: it definitely had some retro fitting to carry more passengers, 162 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: but I could not find confirmation that the original passenger 163 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: count was that low. The Eastland's gangways were relatively low 164 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: and many of its interior doors were not watertight, which 165 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: meant that it had the potential to take on water 166 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: if it listed very far to one side and those 167 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: gangways wound up dipping under the water surface. Exactly how 168 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: far it could list without capsizing, which is a concept 169 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: known as its mediciner, wasn't ever measured before it was 170 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: put into passenger service. But in spite of these potential 171 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,319 Speaker 1: travel spots, at first, that Eastland didn't seem to have 172 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: any major problems with stability. Like all Great Lakes ships, 173 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 1: though the Eastland had a much shallower draft than an 174 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: ocean liner would. It was constructed with a series of 175 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: ballast tanks which could be emptied or filled based on 176 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: how deeply in the water the ship needed to ride 177 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: or to compensate for an unbalanced load, and these tanks 178 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: weren't metered, though, so it was up to the skill 179 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: and experience of the crew to estimate how full they 180 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: were versus howful they needed to be. Although it didn't 181 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: originally seem to have problems with stability, at least not 182 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: major ones, the Eastland also wasn't quite fast enough to 183 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: reasonably do what its owners wanted it to do, which 184 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: was to make two round trips a day, so soon 185 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: it underwent modifications to increase its passenger capacity try to 186 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: make it a little faster to make it more profitable. 187 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: It began to have problems almost immediately after the retrofitting. 188 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: On July seventeenth of nineteen o four, it nearly capsized. 189 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,559 Speaker 1: It went into a serious list on August five of 190 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: nineteen o six. By the time it was sold to St. 191 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: Joseph Chicago Steamship Company in nineteen fourteen, it had a 192 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: reputation for being less than stable, and that was before 193 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: the Siemens Act and its lifeboat regulations and testimony after 194 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: the disaster, one of the people in the company who 195 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: had bought it was like, Yeah, I didn't actually know 196 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: much about the ship, but we did get it for 197 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: really cheap. During the negotiation of the Siemens Act, Detroit 198 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: and Cleveland Navigation Company General man your A. A. Shots 199 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: had pointed out that all these additional lifeboats and rafts 200 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: were going to add a lot of weight, specifically a 201 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: lot of weight to the upper decks of a ship. 202 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 1: Like a lifeboat is not going to do anybody any 203 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: good if it's stored weight down in the hold where 204 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: you can't get to it. When it came to Great 205 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: Lakes vessels, which already tended to be more top heavy 206 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: and shallower in the draft than an ocean liner, they 207 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: would quote turn turtle if you added that much weight 208 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: to their upper decks. He and others had advocated for 209 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: exceptions or adjusted guidelines for the Great Lakes passenger ships, 210 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: but this advice didn't make it into the final bill. Untily, 211 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: twod N the Eastland got its new supply of lifeboats 212 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: and equipment to bring it up to the standards outlined 213 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: in the Seamen's Act. It's number of lifeboats increased from 214 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: six to eleven. It also had thirty seven life rafts 215 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: and enough life jackets to fit a sold out passenger 216 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: load plus all of its crew that was about two thousand, 217 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 1: five hundred and seventy people. All of this additional gear 218 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: weighed somewhere between fourteen and fifteen tons, and it was 219 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: almost all stored in the upper decks, making an already 220 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: unbalanced chip even more top heavy. On July fifteen, the 221 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: Eastland was to make its first fully loaded crossing of 222 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: Lake Michigan after receiving all this additional equipment. It had 223 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: not been tested to see how it might maneuver under 224 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: all of this additional weight, and the safety inspections that 225 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: had received over the years had all taken place while 226 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: the ship was under way, not while it was docked. 227 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 1: That Saturday morning, the Eastland was one of five ships 228 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: chartered by Western Electric to carry its employees thirty eight 229 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 1: miles across Lake Michigan for a day long picnic at 230 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: Washington Park in Michigan City, Indiana. This picnic had become 231 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: an annual and much anticipated tradition among the company's factory workers. 232 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: These employees normally worked six day weeks, so this was 233 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,719 Speaker 1: an extra day off, and for the many who were 234 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: young and unmarried, it was a good opportunity to socialize 235 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: and to meet other eligible people. The nineteen fifteen picnic 236 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: was to be the fifth one, and about seven thousand 237 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: people had bought tickets for the passage across the lake. 238 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 1: Encouraged to arrive early, passengers began arriving at the dock 239 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: at Clark Street Bridge on the Chicago River at about 240 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: six thirty in the morning. Federal inspectors kept count of 241 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: how many boarded the Eastland, which was the first of 242 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: the five ships scheduled to depart. Because it was raining, 243 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: many of the passengers, especially women and children, went below 244 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: decks to stay out of the wet. The Eastland was 245 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: oriented so that it's starboard, or right side, was closest 246 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: to the wharf where people were boarding. About ten minutes 247 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: into loading passengers, the Eastland began to list to the starboard, 248 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: probably because the added weight of the people on that 249 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: side of the upper deck. The crew began adding water 250 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: to the ballast tanks to try to write the ship, 251 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: and it did briefly become level again, but soon it 252 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: started to tip in the other direction. Towards port. People 253 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: continued to board as the crew continued to adjust. They 254 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: are in the ballast tanks to try to study the ship. 255 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 1: At seven ten in the morning, the ship reached its 256 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: capacity of passengers and the crew began trying to more 257 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: evenly disperse the crowd. With the list to port becoming 258 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: even more pronounced, the crew opened the valves to two 259 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: starboard ballast tanks, although they didn't begin filling for several minutes. 260 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: At seven twenty, with the ship momentarily righted, the crew 261 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 1: brought in the gangway and started making preparations to depart. 262 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: They continued trying to distribute the passenger load more evenly, 263 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: but at this point the upper decks were soaked with 264 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: rain and the ship was swaying back and forth, so 265 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: this proved to be really difficult. The deck was too 266 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: slick to really walk on well, and a lot of 267 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: people either didn't want to move or they couldn't. At 268 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 1: seven seven, the Eastland began to list dramatically. The port 269 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,440 Speaker 1: side gangways dipped below the surface, causing the ship to 270 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: take on water, and the crew began trying to scramble 271 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: out of the engine room as it started to submerge. 272 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: At seven eight the ship listed a terrifying forty five degrees. Dishes, furniture, 273 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: a piano, and a refrigerator in the ship all started 274 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: to slide towards port, in some cases crushing passengers or 275 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: trapping them against walls. Passengers and crew who had made 276 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: it to the ship's upper decks started leaping onto the wharf. 277 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: By seven thirty, the Eastland was completely on its side 278 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: next to the dock in about twenty ft that's approximately 279 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: six meters of water. This capsize had happened so quickly 280 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: that none of the newly added lifeboats or life jackets 281 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: had been deployed. We're going to talk more about the 282 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: disaster and the response to it after we first paused 283 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: for a little sponsor break. The area around the Eastland 284 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: was extremely busy on the day it capsized, with at 285 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: least two other ships that were bound for the Western 286 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: Electric Picnic in the process of boarding their passengers, so 287 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: a huge number of people were already on hand to 288 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: try to help at the rescue. This was both a 289 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 1: help and a hindrance, since the wharf quickly became too 290 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:08,400 Speaker 1: crowded for people to effectively maneuver. Some of those who 291 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: managed to scramble up onto the now horizontal starboard side 292 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 1: of the ship were able to jump to the wharf 293 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,639 Speaker 1: to safety. Captain John o'marra was at the helm of 294 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: the tug Kenosha, which had been scheduled to tow the 295 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: Eastland down the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. After it 296 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: cap sized, he ordered the tug to be secured to 297 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: the wharf to be used as a bridge to the Eastland. 298 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:32,199 Speaker 1: Many of those on the upper deck had not been 299 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: able to climb to safety, though the ship tipped quickly 300 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,439 Speaker 1: enough that a lot of them were thrown into the 301 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,679 Speaker 1: water bystanders began throwing anything that might float into the 302 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: water to try to give survivors something to cling to. 303 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 1: A lot of people at that time just didn't know 304 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: how to swim, so people from the docks started throwing 305 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: boards and oars and crates and other things that were 306 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,640 Speaker 1: mostly made of wood. Some of this debris, though, hit 307 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: the very people they were trying to help, locking them 308 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: unconscious and causing them to drown. Tugs and other small 309 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,200 Speaker 1: boats on the scene also became part of this rescue. 310 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: Bridge tender Lawrence Frank Northrop, witnessing the cap size, got 311 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,719 Speaker 1: in a lifeboat and road to the scene, where he 312 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: was able to pull twenty three people to safety. People 313 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: were still alive inside the half submerged Eastland at this point, 314 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,120 Speaker 1: and some of them were badly injured. Welders cut through 315 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: the exposed hull of the ship so that they could 316 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: pull out as many people as possible, and then from 317 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,119 Speaker 1: there the same holes were used to accommodate divers to 318 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,879 Speaker 1: try to pull bodies out from the submerged parts of 319 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: the ship. Multiple accounts of the day reference horrible, deafening 320 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:43,479 Speaker 1: screaming both as the boat capsized and afterward. Helen Reppa, 321 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: Western Electric nurse, was on her way to the dock 322 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,360 Speaker 1: when the Eastland capsized, and she became a huge part 323 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: of the rescue effort, sending people to nearby businesses for 324 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,920 Speaker 1: blankets and soup, flagging down passing cars to carry people 325 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: who were either uninjured or only had scrapes and bruises 326 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: so that they could at home. There weren't enough available ambulances, 327 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: so American Express loaned its trucks for the purpose. Later on, 328 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: there would not be enough horses to accommodate all the funerals, 329 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 1: so Marshall Field and Company, better known as Marshall Fields, 330 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: donated the use of its trucks for the purpose. By 331 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: eight am, only half an hour after the ship capsized, 332 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,680 Speaker 1: nearly all of the survivors had been rescued, but the 333 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: efforts to bring up the bodies of those who were 334 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:31,239 Speaker 1: killed took hours, especially from the submerged portside cabins. At 335 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 1: least eight hundred forty four people died. It's the official count, 336 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:38,880 Speaker 1: but as we're gonna talk about in about some of that, 337 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,680 Speaker 1: it's a little hard to pin down. Most of them 338 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: were factory workers. Twenty two entire families were killed. Seventy 339 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:52,400 Speaker 1: of the victims were under the age of Because there 340 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: were five boats chartered for this picnic, there was no 341 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: passenger manifest and no easy way to determine exactly who 342 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,399 Speaker 1: had been on board. Word The Second Regiment Armory was 343 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 1: used as a temporary morgue, with bodies laid out in 344 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: rows of eighty five families were admitted to try to 345 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:13,120 Speaker 1: find their loved ones at around midnight on the twenty five. Unfortunately, 346 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,960 Speaker 1: they were also looky lose and thieves who came along 347 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: as well with some of the victim's personal belongings. Stolen 348 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: from the bodies. Nearly seven hundred funerals took place on 349 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: July nineteen fifteen. By July twenty nine, all but one 350 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 1: of the bodies had been claimed. The last one left 351 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: was a little boy who had been nicknamed Little Feller. 352 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: He was eventually sent to a funeral home where two 353 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 1: children identified him as their friend, willing of Botany. His 354 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: body hadn't been claimed because his parents and his sister 355 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: had also been killed. His grandmother eventually made the identification 356 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,640 Speaker 1: based on his pants, which were part of the new 357 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,439 Speaker 1: suit that he had worn to the picnic. When he 358 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,400 Speaker 1: and the rest of his family were buried on July one, 359 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,880 Speaker 1: more than five thousand people attended the funeral. This whole 360 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: incident was devastating on so many levels, with hundreds of 361 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: Western Electric employees losing coworkers and neighborhoods where those employees 362 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: lived struck with a huge loss of life. Many of 363 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 1: those who were killed were immigrants from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, 364 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: which meant that the neighborhoods were these families were clustered 365 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,679 Speaker 1: were hit particularly hard. In addition to providing aid at 366 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: the scene, the American Red Cross Churches and civic organizations 367 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: helped families to make funeral arrangements. About a hundred nurses 368 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: from the Chicago Department of Health visited more than five 369 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: hundred families afterward to look for and treat signs of 370 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:40,400 Speaker 1: health problems from having been submerged in the Chicago River, 371 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: which was both very dirty and very cold. Immediately after 372 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 1: the incident, Eastland Captain Harry Peterson, Chief Engineer Joseph Ericsson, 373 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: and other members of the crew were taken into custody 374 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: in part to protect them from people who were distraught 375 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,119 Speaker 1: or outraged in the wake of the disaster. Because the 376 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,680 Speaker 1: incident happened on a navigable waterway at a city wharf, 377 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 1: different aspects of it fell under federal, state, city, and 378 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: county jurisdictions. There were seven separate inquiries and twenty four 379 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,959 Speaker 1: years of litigation, including federal proceedings that were overseen by 380 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: Kennesaw Mountain Landis, who would later become famous as the 381 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,400 Speaker 1: first Commissioner of Baseball after the Black Sox scandal. Taking 382 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: most of the blame at the time was Chief Engineer Ericsson, 383 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 1: because he would have been the person giving the orders 384 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: about how to handle the ballast tanks. He was represented 385 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: by Clarence Darrow, who has come up on the show 386 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,879 Speaker 1: a lot lately. But Ericsson died of heart disease in 387 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:44,719 Speaker 1: nineteen nineteen before the investigations and legal proceedings concluded. Indictments 388 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 1: for manslaughter were handed down for several of the officers 389 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 1: in the company that owned the ship, as well as 390 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: the captain and chief engineer. Charges of fraud were brought 391 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: against government inspectors as well, which were eventually changed to 392 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: a charge of conspiracy to operate an unsafe ship. The 393 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,640 Speaker 1: manslaughter charges were ultimately dropped in February of nineteen sixteen. 394 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: Judge Clarance Sessions of the District Court of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 395 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,479 Speaker 1: delivered a verdict of not guilty in the conspiracy charge 396 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 1: because there was no probable cause a civil suit and 397 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:20,639 Speaker 1: the wrongful deaths of the Eastland's passengers dragged on until 398 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three. It's terms limited the payout to the 399 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: value of the Eastlands salvage sale, which was fifty thousand dollars, 400 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,920 Speaker 1: but deducted from that total was the thirty five thousand 401 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 1: dollars it cost to raise the wrecked Eastland from the river, 402 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: so virtually no compensation was ever paid to any of 403 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 1: the victims families. Even though Ericson's management of the ballast 404 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,879 Speaker 1: tanks became a scapegoat of the disaster, the addition of 405 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: the lifeboats was already noted as a problem. In nineteen fifteen, 406 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,480 Speaker 1: in an article called Problems Growing out of the Titanic Disaster, 407 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: Thomas I. Parkinson wrote, quote, the Eastland turned turtle at 408 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: her off in Chicago. It has even been suggested that 409 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: her lifeboat equipment tended to make the boat top heavy. 410 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: Parkinson then went on to criticize the overall trend of 411 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:14,400 Speaker 1: basing new safety regulations on the latest tragedy rather than 412 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:18,919 Speaker 1: taking a holistic approach, saying quote, Following the burning of 413 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: the Slocum, there was agitation for more careful inspection and 414 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: a better supply of life belts. Following the Titanic, the 415 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 1: need of better lifeboat equipment was emphasized, and now following 416 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: the Eastland, it is reported that the Department of Commerce 417 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: has framed a bill to give the federal government control 418 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: of the construction of vessels of more than one hundred tons. 419 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:46,160 Speaker 1: This activity to remedy specific defects immediately after each accident 420 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: tends to prove, as in the law of negligence, that 421 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: the failure to act prior to accident involves some lack 422 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: of care. The gradual patching of our laws may ultimately 423 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: make them more satisfactory than they are now, but we 424 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 1: cannot hope to avoid disasters on the water until our 425 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,919 Speaker 1: rules and regulations, and the laws on which they are based, 426 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 1: are revised to meet modern developments in the building and 427 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 1: operation of ships. After careful study of the whole problem 428 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: in all its many ramifications, the Eastland was raised from 429 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: the riverbed on August fourteenth, nineteen fifteen, and sold to 430 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,200 Speaker 1: the U. S. Navy on November twenty one of nineteen seventeen. 431 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,399 Speaker 1: It was re outfitted and operated as the U. S. 432 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,400 Speaker 1: S will Met until nineteen. It was sold for scrap 433 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: on October thirty one, nineteen forty six. As a total 434 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: side note, the armory that was the temporary morgue after 435 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: the disaster, used to be home to Oprah winfreyes Harpo Studios, 436 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: UH has since been torn down to make room for 437 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,400 Speaker 1: McDonald's new headquarters, with many reports that it was quite 438 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: haunted because of having been home to all of those 439 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 1: bodies that was my next question. Uh, yeah, I have 440 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 1: a haunting legacy story. Yeah, so this is we we 441 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:10,880 Speaker 1: very frequently talked about disasters that they happened, and then 442 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: afterward new legislation was passed to prevent that same disaster 443 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 1: from happening again. I think this is the only time 444 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 1: that we've told a story where a disaster had happened 445 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,439 Speaker 1: and new laws were passed, and then those laws turned 446 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 1: out to have unintended negative consequences. Yeah. Yeah, like when 447 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 1: we talk about theater fires, like the need for clear 448 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,159 Speaker 1: egress for everyone has not caused, to the best of 449 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 1: my knowledge, similar issues other safety regulations that have arisen 450 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: from disasters. I can't think of a one that's had 451 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: sort of this impact that did not go the way 452 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: that they were hoping. It is very interesting to me 453 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 1: that in nineteen fifteen, at least one person was already saying, 454 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 1: we need to look at this whole problem and figure 455 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 1: out the best way to approach it, rather than having 456 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:05,200 Speaker 1: this p smeal response to each disaster, which I think 457 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: it's in some industries, that is a pattern that still 458 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: exists today. I'm thinking about every time I go to 459 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 1: the airport, uh, and they're like, there are a series 460 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: of steps that you have to take up to board 461 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,400 Speaker 1: an airplane that are based on either a prior incident 462 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: or a prior threat rather than a systemic review of 463 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: the whole security picture to make a recommendation. Yeah, do 464 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: you have a listener? Mail? That's hopefully a hair morn 465 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,359 Speaker 1: chipper more chipper. Uh. It is also pretty short because 466 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: I felt like this episode was a little longer and 467 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,159 Speaker 1: weightier than is often the case. This is from Curtis, 468 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,600 Speaker 1: who also sent lots of topic suggestions and also a 469 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 1: note that Lake Erie is still quite dirty in spite 470 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: of years of clean up, which is definitely true, and 471 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 1: Curtis says, I am from one of the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, 472 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,640 Speaker 1: and regularly dry. I've over and hang out by the river. 473 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: There's been a large part of my whole life, and 474 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,439 Speaker 1: my family has been here for generations on my mom's side, 475 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 1: so naturally I was excited to listen to your episode, 476 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,200 Speaker 1: and let me tell you, it was an emotional experience 477 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,200 Speaker 1: for me. I never realized that the fire was partially 478 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 1: or indirectly the reason for our poor image. The sense 479 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 1: of shame has always weighed on me, and gaining a 480 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,920 Speaker 1: handle on how it came about actually brought me to tears. 481 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,920 Speaker 1: I really appreciated your treatment of it. We were very kind. 482 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: Cleveland is actually a really lovely place in some areas, 483 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: although we do, of course, as you said, have our problems, 484 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,040 Speaker 1: So thank you. I just want to say thanks, Curtis. Yeah. 485 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: I often when we do an episode that is in 486 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: some way critical of a place that we don't live, 487 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 1: I I am hopeful that people who live there are 488 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: not going to be personally hurt by what we have said. 489 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 1: So it was very nice to hear from someone local 490 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 1: that that was not the case. So thank you so much, Curtis. 491 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us about this 492 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: or any other podcast where History podcasts at how stuff 493 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: Works dot com. We're also on Facebook at Facebook dot com, 494 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: slash miss in History, Twitter at ms in History, Tumbler, 495 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: miss in History, Pinterest, Instagram, all those things miss in History. 496 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: You can come to our website that miss in History 497 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: dot com and you will find the archive of every 498 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 1: single episode we have ever done. If you are having 499 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 1: problems replaying or podcasts, we have a troubleshooting document there 500 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: now with lots of tips that helped in almost all cases. 501 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 1: Show notes for episodes. Holly and I have done a 502 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: lot of school stuff. You can also come to our 503 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 1: parent company's website, which is missing history dot com. You 504 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: will find lots of stuff about other interesting things, including 505 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: lots of other shipwrecks, so you can do all that 506 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: and a whole lot more at how stuff works dot 507 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:53,440 Speaker 1: com or missed in History dot com for more on 508 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff 509 00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: works dot com. M