1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, We're rerunning two episodes today, which means you 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: might hear two hosts. Enjoy the show. Welcome to this 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot Com 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: and from the desk of Stuff you Missed in History Class. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: It's the show where we explore the past, one day 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: at a time with a quick look at what happened 7 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: today in history. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: Tracy Vie Wilson and its December five. The Mary Celeste 9 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,639 Speaker 1: was found adrift on the day in eighteen seventy two, 10 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: with no one aboard, and it was four hundred miles 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: or so east of the Azores, that's off the coast 12 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: of Portugal. The Mary Celeste had departed from New York 13 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: City on November seven. Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs was in command, 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: and his wife, Sarah and young daughter were on board 15 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: the vessel as well, along with the crew. By December five, 16 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: when the derelict vessel was found, it should have already 17 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: arrived in its destination of Genoa, Italy, but instead there 18 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: it was adrift. One of its lifeboats was missing. The 19 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: last log entry was dated November and inside there was 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: water in the bottom of the boat about three and 21 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: a half feet or a little more than a meter deep. 22 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: One of the pumps that would have been used to 23 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: remove this water was disassembled, but otherwise everything seemed pretty normal. 24 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: The cargo and the stores seemed to be undamaged more 25 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: or less. There was plenty of food and water on board, 26 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: at least six months worth, and there was really no 27 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: other clue what might have happened. What might have prompted 28 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: the people on board to have a bandaged ship that 29 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: was an experienced captain and crew. Nothing seemed that dangerous 30 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: to prompt people to get into a lifeboat rather than 31 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: staying aboard the ship. The ship that spotted the Mary 32 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: Celeste was the Day Gratia, and they sailed the Mary 33 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: Celeste to Gibraltar. Normally, this would have been a simple 34 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: matter of just working out the salvage rights once they 35 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: got they there, but the Attorney General thoughts something seemed 36 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: suspicious about all of this, and that led to a 37 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: whole investigation into whether there had been some kind of 38 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: foul play involved. Although that investigation didn't uncover any evidence 39 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: of foul play. The crew of the Day Grattia didn't 40 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: get nearly as much money out of their whole salvage effort, 41 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: as they normally would have, so it seems as though 42 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: maybe they still had some suspicion about them. The Mary 43 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: Celestia was fixed up and re christened and put back 44 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: into service where it had a relatively normal several years 45 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: until it was run around on purpose with its captain 46 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: trying to commit some insurance fraud. This whole thing, though, 47 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: it was very mysterious, and because it's so mysterious, there's 48 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: just been a lot of speculation about what happened. Some 49 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: of it is very far fetched, like sea monsters. Maybe 50 00:02:54,480 --> 00:03:01,679 Speaker 1: sea monsters ate everyone. That didn't happen. A little more probable, 51 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: perhaps there was a mutiny, perhaps it was pirates or 52 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: some other kind of attack. The cargo aboard was industrial alcohol, 53 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: and so there's been a lot of speculation that maybe 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 1: something caused fumes from the cargo to ignite, causing an 55 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: explosion that was frightening enough that it caused everyone to flee. 56 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: That one was discounted for a long time because there 57 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: weren't any burn marks to suggest that an explosion had happened, 58 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: but some more recent experiments had suggested that it is 59 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: possible that there could have been an explosion that didn't 60 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: catch anything alight. It's also possible that the crew became 61 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: disoriented at sea, and that that, combined with the faulty pump, 62 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: led them to believe that they had a better chance 63 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: of survival in the lifeboat than in the ship. Regardless 64 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: of exactly what happened, though, the Mary Celest has become 65 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: one of history's most famous ghost ships. You can learn 66 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: more about this in the June episode of Stuffy Miss 67 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: and History Class. Thanks to Casey Pigraham and Chandler Maze 68 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: for their audio work on the show. You can subscribe 69 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: to This Day in History Class on Apple podcast, Google Podcasts, 70 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: and wherever else you get your podcasts, including the I 71 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app. You can tune in tomorrow for another 72 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: maritime tale, although this one is a lot more tragic 73 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: than mysterious. Hi everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This 74 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast where we rip out 75 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: a page from the history books every day. The day 76 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: was December five, nineteen fifty two. A dense layer of 77 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: fog descended on London and covered the city for five days. 78 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: The fog ended up killing thousands of people and what 79 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: was the first air pollution disaster in the United Kingdom. 80 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: It was a particularly chilly time in the misty city 81 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: of London since an anti cyclone had caused cold, stagnant 82 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: air to become trapped below warm air. Though factories had 83 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: been moving out of the city and smog was not 84 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: an issue as frequently as it once was, businesses and 85 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: households still used a lot of cold fog mixed with 86 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: sulfur dioxide and smoke that came from smokestacks, chimneys and vehicles. 87 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: Since smog and anti cyclones happened relatively frequently in London, 88 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: residents did not think much of the polluted fog, but 89 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: the temperature inversion made it so that the smog could 90 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: not rise, trapping it near the ground, and there was 91 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: no wind to carry the smog away from the city. 92 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: The smog began to get thicker and it smelled of sulfur. 93 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: It limited visibility to the point that people couldn't see 94 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: their own feet. Because drivers were unable to navigate, transportation 95 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: was brought to a halt. The London Underground could still operate, 96 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: but boat traffic, flights and trains could not. Emergency vehicles 97 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: had difficulty getting through the city streets, leaving many people 98 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: to walk to get help and crime rates to rise. 99 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: Children stayed home from school, and sporting events were canceled 100 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: because the smog made its way into buildings. Indoor events 101 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: like plays and concerts were also canceled. The smog lifted 102 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: on December nine, when wind carried the smog away from 103 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: the city into the North Sea, but the smog had 104 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,840 Speaker 1: been lethal. As people inhaled the toxics mog, they died 105 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: of bronchitis and pneumonia. The elderly, children and people who 106 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: already had respiratory issues were particularly at risk of complications 107 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: or death due to the smog. Many people choked to 108 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: death or died of heart failure as they struggled to breathe. 109 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,679 Speaker 1: Animals died or became ill because of the smog. Around 110 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: four thousand people died in the immediate aftermath of the incident, 111 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: but in the months after the smag the death rate 112 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: remained high, as thousands more people than normal died because 113 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: of the smogs effects. An estimated twelve thousand people died 114 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: due to the toxics mog. The devastation that the fog 115 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: caused made clear the impact of air pollution Still, government 116 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: officials did not treat the issue with urgency. Some thought 117 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: legislating cleaner air was unnecessary and alarmist. Some were worried 118 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: about how expensive it would be to implement cleaner fuels, 119 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: and some denied that Small caused the high death rate. 120 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: It took an investigative committee to push the government to act. 121 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty six, the British government passed the Clean 122 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: Air Act, which restricted the burning of coal and urban 123 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: areas and authorized the establishment of smoke free areas. Homeowners 124 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: were also offered grants that would allow them to switch 125 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: from coal heating systems to alternative systems that used oil, 126 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: natural gas, or electricity. Even though Small caused more disasters 127 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: in the following years, air pollution in London eventually improved 128 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: as people converted from coal and the Great Small of 129 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: London increased public awareness of pollution related issues. I'm Eve 130 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: Steff Coote and hopefully you know a little more about 131 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can find us 132 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: on social media at t d i h C Podcast, 133 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can also shoot us 134 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: an email at this Day at I heart media dot com. 135 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed today's episode, we'll be back tomorrow 136 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: with another one.