1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from how Stuff Works 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: dot Com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and Jerry's over there. 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: The gang's all here, which means that it's time for 5 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: stuff you should know, So settle down, everybody be quiet. Yeah, 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: the hotel fire edition, which will not be chuck full 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: of laughs probably No, No, I really won't. Um. I 8 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: don't know what it is about hotel fires that always 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: fascinated me, but they did. I think it was the 10 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: MGM Grand fire that got me. Um. Yeah, but there's 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: just something extra creepy about a hotel fire to me. Um. 12 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: And it turns out that there are there have been 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: some some big ones and some bad ones, and in 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: this one particular year, and of them happened that America 15 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: finally got off it stuff and started doing something about it. Yeah. 16 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: And also while reading this, I was I was kind 17 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: of thinking, like, why weren't there a dozen more of 18 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: these that year or in any surrounding year when you 19 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: look at how uh well, how unsafe things were, and 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: how you know, I know, people complain about the government 21 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: regulating things, but yeah, sometimes it's nice to say you 22 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: should have fire sprinklers and fire alarms or you can't 23 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: do business. Yeah, that's a really good point, and this 24 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: is a great example of that. You're right. It's also 25 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: a great example of how people smoking can used to 26 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,559 Speaker 1: be able to just kill dozens or scores of people 27 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: by falling asleep with a cigarette or tossing it somewhere 28 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: or something stupid. You know. Yeah, I mean one of 29 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: these hotels had uh And we'll get into the nitty 30 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: gritty of the just how flammable these places were back then. 31 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: And it's amaze using the uh steps that they've taken 32 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: over the years to make things UH safer. But I 33 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: think one of these places had like seven layers of 34 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: wallpaper upon wallpaper, which were all highly highly flammable. Yeah, 35 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: like there burlap walls sometimes like stuff that just if 36 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: you look at it wrong, it'll catch fire. It's like, 37 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: what did you just say, Yeah, I'm catching fire. They 38 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: were using Firebug special brand wallpaper that bad. It wouldn't 39 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: surprise me. Well, of course they wouldn't do that, but everything, 40 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: I don't know, it was just everything was really flammable. 41 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: It seemed like flammable, dangerous pajamas were very flammable. This 42 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: everything was flammable back then, way more than these days. 43 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: All the things you smoke in right, smoking jackets were flammable. Yeah, 44 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: cigarettes flammable. So this this one year, so there were 45 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: tons and tons of hotel fires, like it was, it 46 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: was a thing. Um. But in nineteen forty six it 47 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: just got particularly bad and it was just coincidence. There 48 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 1: wasn't anything really that connected these fires, but there were 49 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: a handful of hotel fires that year that happened quickly 50 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: enough and we're big enough or or it happened um 51 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: close enough to one another, i should say, and then 52 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: we're big enough had enough of a casualties in um 53 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: deaths from them that that it caught the attention of 54 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: the public and and something was finally done. And it 55 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: was nineteen six when it happened. And the first one 56 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: was in June, yes, June five, in Chicago, Illinois, the 57 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: LaSalle Hotel. Uh. So here's how this one went down. 58 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: That was it was after the school year had ended, 59 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: so this hotel was really packed. Um, A lot of 60 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: families would and still do if you live in in 61 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: the suburbs of rural areas, would flood into the city 62 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: after the school year. They bring their kids, they go shopping, 63 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: they go to the zoo, they do city things. Uh 64 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: as you know, sort of like a post school vacation. 65 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: And so all of this hotel was full, one thousand rooms. 66 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: Apparently we're fully occupied and uh like so many of 67 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,839 Speaker 1: these they started late at night. Yeah, and the cocktail lounge, 68 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: the Silver Grill cocktail lounge on the ground floor of 69 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: the LaSalle, and the cocktail wait staff had a longstanding 70 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: method of disposing of cigarette butts at the end of 71 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: the night from all the ash trays, from the empty 72 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: the ash trays, They just dump them in a cardboard 73 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: box that they kept in a closet behind the bar. Yeah. 74 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: I thought you were gonna say they had a way 75 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 1: of getting people out of the bar, which is crank. Now, 76 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: usually you crank. What was that really bad band that 77 00:04:54,960 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: everyone hates Special No, that's when everyone loves it. Was 78 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: a Canadian band that everyone makes fun of all the time. Rush. No, 79 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,679 Speaker 1: you can say they cranked and nickelback. No, that although 80 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: I don't know what that would have done to people 81 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: in their minds might have been blown. Maybe they were 82 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: a band out of time and place. Yeah, uh so 83 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: they didn't. They didn't um blare any nickelback. Everybody just 84 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: left on their own accord. But after they left, this 85 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: box of smoldering cigarette butts cardboard box of smoldering cigarette 86 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: butts in the closet in one of the world's most 87 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: flammable hotels, UM caught like their luck ran out. I 88 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: can't believe that it didn't happen sooner, but that's what 89 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: happened this Um. Somebody I think smelled smoke, and very 90 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: quickly after that, Um, they saw a little bit of 91 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: flames coming from beneath the paneling around the wall. Right. No, 92 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: but here's a mistake. Number two comes in, chuck. And 93 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: this is a recurring theme too with these hotel fires. Um, 94 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,600 Speaker 1: everyone said we got this, and some drunken people went 95 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: and grabbed a Seltzer bottle and started to try to 96 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: put the fire out themselves. Yeah. I mean it's hard 97 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: to or rather it's easy to cast stones in the 98 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: year two thousand eighteen. But I imagine if I was 99 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:29,119 Speaker 1: hammered at a bar at two twenty in the morning 100 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: and I saw a little smoke in a little flame, 101 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: my first reaction would probably be like man let's extinguish 102 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 1: this real quick and not let me run and call 103 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: the fire department. But that's exactly what you should always do, 104 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: is running call the fire department. Yeah, that's that's I mean, 105 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: that's what I learned from researching this is that's the implication. 106 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: Just don't don't assume that you can handle any fire. 107 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: That's what the fire department is there for. They're more 108 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: than happy to come out to your call and um 109 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: deal with it. And you don't have to be embarrassed. 110 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: If it was just a little fire, sure they'll make 111 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: fun of you, but it will be behind your back. Yeah. 112 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: But this one was especially egregious because apparently from that 113 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: moment that they saw those flames and smelled the smoke, 114 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: it took about fifteen minutes before anybody called the fire department, 115 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:21,239 Speaker 1: apparently because they were arguing over or concerned at least 116 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: over who had the authority in the hotel to call 117 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: the fire department, which I don't get. There was a 118 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,679 Speaker 1: protocol like you had to be of a certain level 119 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: of management, I believe, to to officially call in a 120 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: fire call to the fire department. Yeah. I think anybody 121 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: who sees the flames should be qualified to call the 122 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: fire department, right, Yeah, but that was a huge, huge delay. 123 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: Fifteen minutes in this place, as you'll see, um was 124 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: a big deal and what matter, that's all it took 125 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: rather that fifteen minutes. Yeah too, like it was done 126 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: after that. Yeah, And they figured out pretty quickly when 127 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: they ran it to um tell the manager that it 128 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: was on fire. After they tried that seltzer bottle thing. Um, 129 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: I think the flames just went and they started. They 130 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: all ran away because they saw that this was this 131 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: is bad. And then there was another fifteen minutes on 132 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: top of that. And in the meantime, this sal's cocktail 133 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: lounge and actually a lot of the lobby had just 134 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: been redone in this nicely veneered wood um and everything 135 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: flammable that they could possibly come up with. And so 136 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: that fifteen minutes was very substantial and letting this fire 137 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: really get going. Yeah, they said, hey, we have this 138 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: great new uh bar and lounge, but we need to 139 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: ventilate it because everyone's smoking. So we're gonna cut a 140 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: hole in the elevator shaft and all of a sudden 141 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 1: you have a chimney, and that'll be a common thread. 142 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: Here is just how many big open areas, whether it 143 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: be a trans and window above the room doors being open, 144 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: which happened a lot back then because there wasn't air 145 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: conditioning in these buildings. It's a big point. Uh. It 146 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: just really exacerbates of fire once it gets going. And 147 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,559 Speaker 1: with a little sal in particular, the fact that they 148 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: had cut a hole, an air hole from the place 149 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: where the fire started into a central open shaft going 150 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: up into the hotel. Um. That's one thing, but leading 151 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: into this this um elevator shaft, there were also air 152 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 1: holes on every floor because these fire doors that were 153 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: supposed to close off each floor from the central stairwell 154 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: have been propped open to allow air to flow through better. 155 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: And then like you said, there were windows above the 156 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 1: doors that were open a little bit, the transoms, and 157 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: that was letting in air from the outside into the 158 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: hotel itself. So the flames and the smoke and the 159 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: fumes were able to just rise that much more quickly 160 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: because of the series of little, tiny decisions that individual 161 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: people had made that all came together to turn this 162 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: thing into a conflagration. Yeah, and I'm not sure if 163 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: it was a little sal or one of the other 164 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: ones but that they all seemed to have trans and 165 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 1: they all seemed to make a big difference because they 166 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: were largely open because one of them, uh, they found 167 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: in the rooms where the transoms were closed, the fire 168 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: damage wasn't so bad, but in the ones where they 169 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: were open, they were just you know, gutted. Right. So 170 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,199 Speaker 1: there was, um a few things that happened. Right as 171 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: this fire is getting really bad. Um the fire department 172 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,959 Speaker 1: starts to show up, and ultimately three firefighters from sixty 173 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: one companies showed up to this fire to fight it, 174 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: which is just an enormous amount even for back then, 175 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: especially for back then. Um. And they're not just firefighters, 176 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: there are actually people at the hotel who were working 177 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 1: to save lives. In particular, Chuck, there was a switchboard 178 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: operator at the hotel who stayed on to call individual 179 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: rooms because this fire started after midnight, so most of 180 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,199 Speaker 1: the people in the hotel were in their rooms asleep. 181 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: So this operator was calling every room and saying, there's 182 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: a fire, get out of the hotel and hang up 183 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: and call the next one. And she actually died in 184 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: the fire because she stayed on to call as many 185 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: rooms as possible. And the fact that more people didn't die. 186 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: Out of more than a thousand people, ultimately sixty one died. 187 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: You can basically attribute to this this lady's heroism for 188 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: staying on and giving her life to to tell as 189 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: many people as as possible that there was a fire 190 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: in the hotel. Yeah, that's amazing. And and she had 191 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: to do that because there was no alarm system, so 192 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: not even a bell ringing out. I think he said 193 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: three hundred firefighters in. Only three of these fire units 194 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: in the entire city had two way radios, so the 195 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 1: word couldn't get around fast enough. In the end, they 196 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: got about sixty UM units there, but by that time 197 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: it was just too little, too late. But the fact, 198 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: like you said, I mean, this had more guests than 199 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: any of the other hotels staying there, and the fact 200 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: that only sixty one people died out of the thousand 201 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: is it's pretty amazing. Yeah. There there was also another 202 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,079 Speaker 1: pair of heroes who were I think sailors um They 203 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: rescued twenty seven people between the two of them. They 204 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: just kept running back into the hotel and dragging people out. Amazing. Yeah, 205 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,319 Speaker 1: it is amazing what like something like that does to people, 206 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 1: To some people brings out just amazing stuff in them, 207 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah. So two weeks later, on June nineteenth, 208 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: I mean, America was still sort of recovering from this news. Uh, 209 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: nineteen people died at the Hotel Canfield in Dubuque, Iowa. 210 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: And it really was eerily similar. Like it seemed like 211 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: none of these buildings had sprinklers or alarms. They were 212 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: all highly combustible. They all had these big open staircases, 213 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: and the fire doors were open, right, And an open 214 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: fire door is not a fire door, no, And I 215 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 1: mean like they had like good fire doors. But if 216 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,319 Speaker 1: it's open, yeah, it's it's just a really easy place 217 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: for smoke and fire and aired feed the fire to 218 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: just move through. Um. And the at the at the Canfield, 219 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 1: I think that I think they had built onto the hotel, 220 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: the hotel, and you said this is a Dubuke, Iowa, right, 221 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: They had originally built the hotel and then added on 222 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: and the news the new section was doing fairly well. 223 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 1: But when the um when the the old section, which 224 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: is where the cocktail lounge was where the fire started again. Um, 225 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: the uh, when that burned, like that burned substantially, they 226 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: had to tear it down afterward, and I have to 227 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: correct myself. I made fun of the Lassalle's wait staff 228 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 1: for um, putting the cigarette butts into a box. No one, 229 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,319 Speaker 1: no one in Chicago would do something that careless. You 230 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: would have to live in Dubuke to do something that careless. 231 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: Because it was actually at the Canfield where that fire 232 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: was started like that. Yeah, there was an employee who 233 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: opened that little closet, uh, also known as the cigarette 234 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: dumping room. I guess at the back of the lounge. 235 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: Um by this time that the bar had emptied out. 236 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: And uh, this this kid you know again doesn't call 237 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: immediately the fire department. He runs to find the manager, 238 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: which you know, a kid working there again, I don't 239 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: that may have been protocol, but you're you're probably trained 240 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: to go tell the manager of any anything like that. 241 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: And one William Canfield was a manager. He actually didn't 242 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: call right away either. He ran to get a fire extinguisher, 243 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: ran back there. Everything was fully on fire. Hammed HAMMEDA. Yeah, 244 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: at that point he knew what was going on. And uh, 245 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: you know, some of these people burned to death, many 246 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: of them on the upper floors, uh, were affixiated by smoke. 247 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: And another recurring thing that you'll see is people jumping 248 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: into nets or climbing down sheets tied together, or fire escapes. 249 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: Some of them made it. Some of them, Yeah, I 250 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: think a lot of the ones who tied their bed 251 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: sheets into ropes and and shimmy down actually did make it. Um. 252 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: But I think ultimately there were um thirty people who 253 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: were rescued jumping into nets, seven were carried down by ladders, um. 254 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: And there were a hundred guests that managed to escape. 255 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 1: I think the total number of guests who died were nineteen. 256 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: Nineteen people died, So again, it could have been a 257 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: lot worse. The fire department hadn't have gotten as many 258 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: people out, or as many people hadn't have like, you know, 259 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: made their own ropes to shimmy down. But again, this 260 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: was like less than two weeks after the fire in 261 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: Chicago and two days chuck. Again, this is making national news, 262 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: these huge fires, right, people stayed in hotels. It was 263 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: like a big deal if if a lot of people 264 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: died in a hotel fire. Two days after the Canfield 265 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: Hotel in Dubuque in June, on June one, there was 266 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: another fire and this was was in Dallas at the 267 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: Baker Hotel. Yeah, and this one seems to be uh 268 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: like the hot Shot placed to be the luxury hotel 269 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 1: in the city. Uh. Not only did it host people 270 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: from at like you know, high falutin people from out 271 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: of town, but they had several you know, well to 272 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: do restaurants in ballrooms and things. So many locals uh 273 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: hung out here as well, like uh like the big 274 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: bands and the swing bands of the twenties and thirties 275 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: would play here, but they were forced to wear stets 276 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: and hats when they did, probably so this was local custom. Uh. 277 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: And this was a gas explosion at this one, um, 278 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: so it wasn't the fault of someone dumping cigarette butts 279 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: or anything like that. Uh. And ten people ended up 280 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: dying in this one, injured over forty. And the only 281 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: reason that this one seemed to have a um they 282 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: got away lighter lighter with the death count was that 283 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: it was in a sub basement and it never fully 284 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: like went through the rest of the hotel. Right. But 285 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: again this is so three fires in the month of 286 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 1: June claimed the lives of ninety people, one right after 287 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: the other. And this has America's attention, right, But really, 288 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: the whole thing just kind of set the stage for 289 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: what would be the worst hotel fire in the history 290 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 1: of the United States. Um, that would come in December, 291 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: and we'll take a break and we'll get to the 292 00:17:30,280 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: Wine Cough Hotel fire after this. So we're in Atlanta, 293 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:09,880 Speaker 1: Georgia right literally and in the way back machine. Okay, 294 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 1: because this happened in Atlanta, and we briefly mentioned this 295 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: in one episode a while back and said, hey, we 296 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: should do an episode on that. Did we I can't 297 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: remember why, but we mentioned it and um or maybe 298 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: as a listener mail or something. But here we are 299 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: making good for once on a promise. Yeah, not even 300 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,959 Speaker 1: remembering that we've made the promise, just stumbling backwards into 301 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,920 Speaker 1: fulfilling that promise. It may have been skyscrapers, because the 302 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,199 Speaker 1: Wine Coff Hotel in Atlanta was fifteen stories high and 303 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 1: when it was built in nineteen thirteen, it was one 304 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: of it was considered a skyscraper in one of Atlanta's 305 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: first right. Um, yeah, fifteen stories in nineteen thirteen, that's 306 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: nothing to sneeze at, especially in Atlanta too, Right. Is 307 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: there a website converter for how many stories that would be? Today? 308 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: Let's see it's fifty thousand, big Max Tall. UM. So 309 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: the the Wine coff is actually still around today. It's 310 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:11,959 Speaker 1: called the Ellis Hotel now down by UM Philips Arena 311 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: downtown UM. And back in n like you said, it 312 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: was a it was a pretty swine hotel in the 313 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:25,160 Speaker 1: Atlanta area. UM. And this was in December, December seven, 314 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: that was the fifth anniversary of Pearl Harbor. And there 315 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: were a pretty decent amount of people staying in the 316 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: Wine Cough that night. I think, um, how many was 317 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: it a thousand? No, a couple of hundred. I'm sorry, 318 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: it was a thousand who were in the LaSalle, But 319 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: there was, um, I think three hundred people staying in 320 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,439 Speaker 1: the Wine Cough. People from out of town, A lot 321 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,879 Speaker 1: of them from out of town, people who were shopping 322 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: for Christmas. There was a contingent of high school kids 323 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: from Rome who were Rome Georgia much different, who were 324 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: um part of the tri hi Y, which is a 325 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: Christian group, and they had come because they were going 326 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: to be take place in a mock legislature. And then um, 327 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: there were a lot of Vets returning from World War Two. 328 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: There's just a lot of people hanging out in the 329 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: wine cough that night. Yeah, and this one we should 330 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 1: point out this, Like so many buildings and especially hotels 331 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: at the time, we're advertised as fireproof. Um. Obviously, pre 332 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 1: even fires were a problem, and it was probably on 333 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 1: people's minds, so they started things like the unsinkable Titanic 334 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 1: and fireproof buildings, like things were being touted as safe 335 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 1: and somewhat indestructible. But but by this time, Chuck, I 336 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: would have been like, well, I'm staying away from that 337 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,679 Speaker 1: because because it's basically tempting fade apparently, because when you 338 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: call something unsinkable or fireproof, it burns to the ground 339 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: or sinks. Yeah. But here's the thing. The outside was fireproof, Okay, 340 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: So that there was I guess there was some fine 341 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,640 Speaker 1: print there, because as you said, the ls Hotel still stands, 342 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 1: and at the end of this horrible fire, which we're 343 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: gonna detail, uh, the outside was still okay. It was 344 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 1: the inside where all the people and stuff are that 345 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 1: matters and was not fireproof at all. Right, So this one, 346 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 1: the Wine Coff Hotel fire. Again, it's the worst hotel 347 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,399 Speaker 1: fire in the United States history. Hopefully it stays that 348 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: way forever. Um. But it was started by a mystery. 349 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: They still are not entirely sure what happened. But at 350 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: about three am on December seven, uh, somebody, no, I'm sorry. 351 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: It was the elevator operator who was traveling up and 352 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: down the elevator just doing her thing, and around the 353 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 1: fifth floor she noticed that she smelled smoke. So she 354 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: bolts all the way down to the ground floor and 355 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,119 Speaker 1: runs out in a lobby and starts shouting fire, and 356 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: that kicks off a series of events that, um, they're 357 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: pretty substantial. Yeah, And keep in mind this fireproof hotel. 358 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: Not only did it have no sprinkler system and no 359 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,879 Speaker 1: alarm system like seemingly every other building, there were no 360 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: fire doors and no fire escapes, so it seemed especially 361 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 1: fire prone, not fireproof at all. But I wonder if 362 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: they were saying, we don't even need that stuff because 363 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: this building is fireproof. Maybe, but boy, I mean they 364 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: didn't think that through at all, because uh, yeah, like 365 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: I said, what's on the inside counts. If the inside 366 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 1: is on fire, it doesn't matter if like, well, the 367 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: bricks still solid, guys, you know, still standing. The structure 368 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: is all right. So there are a couple of theories 369 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,159 Speaker 1: as to how this one started. Um, there were a 370 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:57,439 Speaker 1: group of dudes. They're playing poker. Um just met up 371 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 1: in a room to play a game of poker or 372 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: play poker all night, and they were on the third floor. 373 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: Some people say that it started with a mattress in 374 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: the hallway outside their suite. So someone that was in 375 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 1: this game got ticked off, left the room and set 376 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: this mattress on fire on purpose. Yes, man named Roy McCulloch, 377 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: who was an ex con and then a con again 378 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: later on, whom had allegedly seen a guy who rated 379 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: him out in prison, and that he'd set the fire 380 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: after he left the poker game because he was trying 381 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: to kill the guy and ended up killing a hundred 382 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,159 Speaker 1: nineteen people. That's actually the position of a pair of 383 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: journalists UM named Sam Hayes and Alan Goodwin, who wrote 384 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: The Wine Calf Fire, a book. They very squarely placed 385 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: the whole thing on Roy McCullough's shoulders. Yeah, but that 386 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: is just a theory because other people in the Mayor 387 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 1: of Atlanta, mayor Hartsfield at the time did invite fire 388 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,920 Speaker 1: experts in to to look it over, and I think 389 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: they kind of roundly that it was not some mattress 390 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: set on fire deliberately because people smelled like burning gas 391 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: or tires or some weird specific smoke spell smoke smell, 392 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: and they thought that there was an accelerant and it 393 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:16,360 Speaker 1: was in another part of the hotel. It wasn't near 394 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: the mattress at all. And uh so that would explain why, 395 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,160 Speaker 1: you know, the stairway went up so quickly. Well that, yeah, 396 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 1: and that was the official Atlanta Fire Department's position that 397 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: somebody had carelessly tossed a cigarette somewhere around the fourth 398 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: floor stairwell and it had gone up. Which I mean, 399 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,160 Speaker 1: if that's all it takes for your hotel to go up, 400 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,640 Speaker 1: that's pretty bad too, you know. Yeah, and the wine 401 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: coff I believe that that was the one where it 402 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: had the stairwell going up around the elevator shaft, right, Yes, 403 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 1: so we have to talk about this for a second. 404 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,840 Speaker 1: They had a central elevator shaft, which a game connect 405 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: very easily like a chimney um and the one the 406 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: one single way up or down, was in a stair 407 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,439 Speaker 1: case that went around the elevator shaft. So when the 408 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,400 Speaker 1: elevator shaft is filled with hot gases and smoke, so 409 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: too is the staircase, which meant that when the the 410 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: bottom floors starting around the I think the third or 411 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 1: fourth or fifth floor started to catch fire and smoke 412 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: started pouring out, it went up and everybody above those 413 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: floors was trapped in the hotel up to fifteen floors. 414 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 1: And when the fire department came out, they realized very quickly, 415 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: and I'm sure they already knew this. The highest that 416 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,400 Speaker 1: they had a ladder, the highest ladder they had could 417 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: go up to eighty five ft. Well that's about eight stories. 418 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 1: This is a fifteen story building, So the people in 419 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: the higher stories were really in trouble. Yeah, and inside 420 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: this hotel too, there was a lot of poor design 421 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: going on. They were um there were a lot of 422 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: hidden voids, there were false ceilings, There were places where 423 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: the fire could be spreading and no one even knows 424 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: it's spreading. Again, these and lobbies and mezzanines, open stairways, 425 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 1: the transoms really came into play again with people just 426 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: getting fresh air into their rooms, even though they do 427 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: mention air conditioning in the wine called foot It was 428 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: December Atlanta. Yeah, I'm not sure why either, because I mean, 429 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:18,560 Speaker 1: I can understand why somebody would open the window to 430 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,640 Speaker 1: stick their head out. But yeah, since it's cold, their 431 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: the transom should be shut. I don't know. Maybe yeah, 432 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: maybe the room was stuffy or something like that. Well, 433 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,439 Speaker 1: everyone was smoking, so maybe they just wanted to let 434 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: out some of their cigarettes smoke, right, or they ran 435 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,439 Speaker 1: out of smoke, so they were letting everybody else's smoke in. 436 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:40,399 Speaker 1: It's a good point, uh, is it sure? Okay? Should 437 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,439 Speaker 1: we take another break? Yeah? All right, we'll talk about 438 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,199 Speaker 1: how most people perished and what was done about this 439 00:26:46,320 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: right after this, So the Wine Cough, Uh, I mean, 440 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:21,120 Speaker 1: in all these hotels, people tried to escape through fire 441 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: escapes and stuff because they had them. The Wine Cough 442 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,640 Speaker 1: did not have fire escapes, like we said. So there 443 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: were a lot of people um tying bed sheets. They 444 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,920 Speaker 1: were trying to jump onto net sell by firefighters. They 445 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: were trying to leap onto adjacent buildings from lower floors. Uh. 446 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: And some people just you know, you you jump because 447 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: you think that's your best bet. Uh. And some of 448 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:52,120 Speaker 1: those people actually survived, many of them died. One very 449 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: sad story was one person jumped and actually survived because 450 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: they landed on bodies of people that had died below them. Yeah, 451 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: it's really tough, um to get across. What what the scene? 452 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 1: How chaotic this scene was like there were bodies just 453 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:13,200 Speaker 1: falling everywhere. The firefighters had nets, but people were jumping 454 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: in totally uncoordinated ways and so very frequently there are 455 00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: so many people coming down that they didn't have enough 456 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:22,400 Speaker 1: nets for them all, so they had to basically pick 457 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,320 Speaker 1: who to try to catch with their net. Um. There 458 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: was a guy named Jimmy Cahill. I believe he was 459 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,480 Speaker 1: from Albany, Georgia, and he was a hero of the 460 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: Wine Cough fire because he escaped and ran next door 461 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: to a building that that shared an alley between it 462 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: and the Wine Cough and found like some painters scaffolding, 463 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: like just like a stout board and put it between 464 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: the building next door that he'd run to and the 465 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:54,280 Speaker 1: room where his mother was trapped on the sixth floor 466 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: of the Wine Cough and got her out and started 467 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 1: getting other people out too, and other people, including the 468 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: fire department, started laying ladders down and getting people out 469 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: these this way. So a lot of people escape from 470 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: going from the wine Coughs to the building next door, 471 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: but other people even climbing across this ten foot alley 472 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: to the next building to safety. We're getting knocked off 473 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: of the ladders by people who were jumping from higher buildings. 474 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: Like just total chaos, Smoke everywhere, people screaming. Um, just 475 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: just chaos, man. I can't whenever, my mind kind of 476 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,920 Speaker 1: like imagines what that must have been like it just 477 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: kind of snaps back to the present time as quick 478 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: as possible. It's just tough to to conceive of. Yeah, 479 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: a numbers wise, um man, this is just awful. Forty 480 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: eight people were literally burned alive. Uh, forty people were 481 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,719 Speaker 1: asphyxiated by smoking fumes. Thirty one people died from jumping 482 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,320 Speaker 1: or falling or being knocked off or shoved or whatever. 483 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: And uh, that's the total number of what was it 484 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: a hundred and nineteen total, And then thirty nine of 485 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: those hundred nineteen people were under twenty um and I 486 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: think a lot of them were those kids there for 487 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: the for the Macha delegation or whatever. Yep, the super 488 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: super sad. And you know, the good news is out 489 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: of all of this is it's sad that it took this. 490 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:19,720 Speaker 1: But after this spate of fires, the government finally was 491 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 1: like we've got to do something here because people are 492 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: just it seems like left and right dying in hotel fires. Yeah, 493 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: and um, what's sad is there were people who had 494 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: already been writing all of these recommendations of like best practices. 495 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: There's a UM, the Life Safety Code from the National 496 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 1: Fire Protection Association had basically been saying like, here's here's 497 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: what you gotta do. It's not like we didn't know 498 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:52,000 Speaker 1: how to prevent losses of life and hotel fires. It's 499 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 1: just that people weren't making hotel operators do these things. 500 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: And so these fire policies stayed local, right, So those 501 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 1: it's still to this day a patchwork of regulations in 502 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: a lot of ways. But there they these little towns 503 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 1: and cities were so affected by these fires in that 504 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,360 Speaker 1: they started adopting these policies, including things like you got 505 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 1: a hotel, you've gotta have a fire sprinkler system. That 506 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 1: was one fire alarm system, I mean really low hanging fruit, 507 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: but that a lot of hotels just didn't have at 508 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: the time. Suddenly they were forced to. Yeah, fire doors 509 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: um were required then pretty much everywhere. They were required 510 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: to be closed at all times. Uh, those transoms, those 511 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: troublesome transoms that admittedly I think are great and love. Um, 512 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: they were basically prohibited from that point on, uh, you know, 513 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: fresh air, air conditioning or now they said no more transoms. Uh. 514 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 1: And then fire escapes, of course, were mandated pretty much everywhere. Yeah. 515 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: And if you if you look around, like if you're 516 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: into an office building or something, you ever go down 517 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: the stairwell, like it's totally unadorned. It's concrete and metal 518 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: and it's painted. There's nothing, there's no are there's no carpet, 519 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 1: there's no fake plants, there's nothing there. And the reason 520 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: why is because that stairwell is meant to prevent fire 521 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: from getting any further. There's there's nothing to burn. And 522 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 1: a lot of that is because of these ninety six 523 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: fires and the changes in the code. It changed like 524 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 1: a fire door, it's a self closing door, it's a 525 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: heavy door. It's meant to be that way, and it 526 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,240 Speaker 1: says like doors to remain closed at all times. Um. 527 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:34,760 Speaker 1: All of that came out of this, and there used 528 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: to be a big debate over whether existing hotels would 529 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 1: be grandfathered in anytime the code was updated. And that 530 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,560 Speaker 1: was the custom of the land and again these nineteen 531 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: forties six hotel fires changed that. It was if you 532 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 1: have a hotel and you're doing business, you have to 533 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 1: retroactively add a fire sprinkler system. Now. Yeah, and Truman, 534 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 1: President Truman the following year got involved, uh and specifically 535 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,120 Speaker 1: called for a national conference on fire pre engine So 536 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,200 Speaker 1: while you know, I don't think there were any federal regulations, 537 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: like you said, it was still local. Uh. They did. Um, 538 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 1: they did change a lot of the like national and 539 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,680 Speaker 1: federal building codes at least, yes, And I think it 540 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 1: is still that way to this day. It's localities that 541 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: are responsible for fire codes, right. Yeah. And I think 542 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:27,360 Speaker 1: there's been ever since then an I on design and safety, 543 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,160 Speaker 1: whereas back then it was just like let's make this 544 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 1: the most beautiful uh thing. I mean, I think in 545 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 1: that first Chicago fire, didn't they even test the paneling 546 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,120 Speaker 1: and found that the oak paneling that they used was 547 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: like five times more flammable than just regular oak paneling 548 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,680 Speaker 1: because they you know, it was coated with this special 549 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: thing to make it look pretty, right, this like the veneer. 550 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: I think they used it really really flammable. Absolutely. Um. 551 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:57,680 Speaker 1: There was that that MGM fire in nineteen eighty. That 552 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 1: was so bad. It came decades after these reforms were made. 553 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: That was that Vegas. Yeah, it was a big deal. 554 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:09,919 Speaker 1: Like there, it was on TV while it was happening. Um, 555 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,320 Speaker 1: there's footage of like people in the higher um floors, 556 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:17,120 Speaker 1: like like hanging out of their window and stuff. Um. 557 00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:18,800 Speaker 1: And there are a lot of people in the hotel 558 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,240 Speaker 1: at this time. People died. I think seven of those 559 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:26,560 Speaker 1: were hotel employees. Um. But it could have been way, 560 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:28,799 Speaker 1: way worse. But the reason it was as bad as 561 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,280 Speaker 1: it was again, A hundred and nineteen is the worst 562 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:34,360 Speaker 1: hotel fired American history. This was eight five, so it 563 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,279 Speaker 1: was pretty close to as bad as it gets. But 564 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: the reason why it was as bad as it was 565 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:44,000 Speaker 1: just because the people who built the MGM grand like 566 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:46,839 Speaker 1: balked at the cost of adding a sprinkler system when 567 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,879 Speaker 1: they built it, and the people in Vegas who were 568 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,600 Speaker 1: overseeing the fire code and enforcing it gave him a 569 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:57,360 Speaker 1: pass because they were just glad that the MGM Graham 570 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:01,239 Speaker 1: was building there and the think the fire sprinkler system 571 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,520 Speaker 1: would have cost less than two hundred thousand dollars to 572 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:08,279 Speaker 1: build in and they just didn't do it until after Yeah, exactly. 573 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,800 Speaker 1: That's yeah, that's what I mean. Like, that's nineteen thirties stuff, 574 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 1: not nineteen eighties stuff. Look right above this, buddy, You 575 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,239 Speaker 1: see that little fire sprinkler. Yeah, I know. Now it's 576 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 1: like cool to show your fire sprinklers, you know, and 577 00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:26,000 Speaker 1: the piping and all that. Forget your drop ceilings. Yeah, 578 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:29,360 Speaker 1: it's all about open floor plants, which, by the way, Chuck, 579 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:32,760 Speaker 1: I'm seeing more and more like of the the steady 580 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:36,280 Speaker 1: drumbeat against open floor plans is like the worst idea 581 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: anyone's ever had as far as office spaces go. Yeah, 582 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:44,399 Speaker 1: how they're just attention killer. It's not like I mean 583 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 1: you know that, like how often do I pester you 584 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: and bother you just because I can like lean back 585 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:53,719 Speaker 1: and be like hey right. But they're so distracting, and 586 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,839 Speaker 1: I predict they're going to be gone in the next 587 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,839 Speaker 1: couple of years. Yeah, I don't know, man, remember like 588 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:03,239 Speaker 1: back to the high key tubes or offices. I think 589 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,040 Speaker 1: it's I don't know, I have no prediction. Actually, I 590 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:07,919 Speaker 1: was gonna say, I think it's just gonna be more 591 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,879 Speaker 1: working from home, and probably it will, but I don't 592 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:13,360 Speaker 1: think we're done with offices yet. So I don't know 593 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,879 Speaker 1: what's coming next. I went in an office building, uh 594 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,640 Speaker 1: last week that had those really tall cubes that we 595 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 1: used to be in back in the day, and it 596 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,719 Speaker 1: was weird. It was like, Man, I remember, I don't know. 597 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:27,720 Speaker 1: I didn't like it. There was something about someone poking 598 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:31,080 Speaker 1: their head above the wall gophering. Yeah it was. It 599 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:33,480 Speaker 1: was called I think so yeah, I don't know. I 600 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:35,680 Speaker 1: never liked that. I prefer to see my enemies coming, 601 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: So I think I like the open thing. Yeah, you did. 602 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:41,879 Speaker 1: Used to be a lot more jumpy with those high 603 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,879 Speaker 1: cuber man. I hated him. Uh you got anything else? Yeah? 604 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,680 Speaker 1: One more thing? Um, there's a very famous photograph from 605 00:36:48,719 --> 00:36:52,600 Speaker 1: the wine Cofugh fire. U That one a young Georgia 606 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:56,560 Speaker 1: Tech student of Pulitzer Prize in ninety seven. He was 607 00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:02,160 Speaker 1: a PhD student named Arnold Hardy and uh he was 608 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 1: he lived kind of close by. He was on his 609 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:07,520 Speaker 1: way back from dancing, heard about this fire, called and 610 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:10,480 Speaker 1: found out where it is. Because he fancied himself of 611 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: a you know, kind of amateur photographer, grabbed his camera, 612 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,279 Speaker 1: took a cab over there and was the first photographer 613 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,759 Speaker 1: on the scene and took a very famous photo of 614 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:22,799 Speaker 1: a forty one year old secretary named Daisy mccomber in 615 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:27,400 Speaker 1: mid fall from this building. Um, you know her, her 616 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:30,600 Speaker 1: dress is blown up in her you know, nineteen forties 617 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:37,920 Speaker 1: pantaloons are are showing and it's really a creepy picture. Um. 618 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:39,759 Speaker 1: He ended up selling the rights to the a P 619 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,359 Speaker 1: for three hundred bucks. They tried to hire him as 620 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 1: a photographer, you know, their Atlanta guy, and he refused 621 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:49,680 Speaker 1: and um apparently too and this is not well known, 622 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:51,800 Speaker 1: there was a drug store across the street named Lanes 623 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: that was closed and they needed supplies like emergency medical supplies, 624 00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,239 Speaker 1: and people were waiting on the owner to show up 625 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:02,880 Speaker 1: and open it, and Hardy himself kicked in the door. Uh. 626 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,120 Speaker 1: Ended up getting arrested for disorderly conduct, but the drug 627 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:09,399 Speaker 1: store dropped the charges, even though they made him pay 628 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:14,560 Speaker 1: for the door, which he paid for with his photo proceeds, 629 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:19,520 Speaker 1: I guess. But as apparently they like, at least in Atlanta, 630 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:22,040 Speaker 1: local police were then required to have medical supplies in 631 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 1: their cars for the first time, and he always felt bad. Um. 632 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,040 Speaker 1: I don't know if this is still true, but as 633 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,160 Speaker 1: of a couple of years ago, his granddaughter was worked 634 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,840 Speaker 1: at Twains indicator, and she kind of kept his memory alive. 635 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:37,279 Speaker 1: He died in two thousand seven and said that he 636 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,799 Speaker 1: was always kind of conflicted that he got this recognition 637 00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:43,160 Speaker 1: and this Pulitzer prize from such a tragedy. So did 638 00:38:43,239 --> 00:38:47,279 Speaker 1: did Daisy die? She lived, although it was hard to 639 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:49,719 Speaker 1: find her because apparently I don't know if it was 640 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,480 Speaker 1: because it was you know, her underwear was showing, but 641 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,520 Speaker 1: and it was the nineties. She never came out and 642 00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:58,319 Speaker 1: was like, that's me. She would deny that it was her, 643 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,319 Speaker 1: but they eventually found that it was Daisy mccomber and 644 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:04,799 Speaker 1: she did live. Huh, well, that's good and she lived 645 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:08,640 Speaker 1: at least very interesting. I've got one more thing. So 646 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 1: with the wine Cough Hotel fire, Um, when they showed up, 647 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,880 Speaker 1: it was a one alarmed fire when they called, and 648 00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 1: I was like, what is that? What does that mean? 649 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,080 Speaker 1: And a one alarm fire to alarm fire or whatever. 650 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:23,640 Speaker 1: So apparently the alarm is the number of firefighters and 651 00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:26,600 Speaker 1: equipment that are brought out. It's the number of units, 652 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,200 Speaker 1: right yeah, or the number of people. And it varies 653 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 1: by municipality. So for example, in like I found in Louisville, Kentucky, 654 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:39,279 Speaker 1: a one alarmed fire is twenty firefighters, five trucks, and 655 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:44,439 Speaker 1: two commanders, and then with each alarm that number doubles. Right, 656 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:48,120 Speaker 1: So when the Atlanta Fire Department showed up on the scene, 657 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,719 Speaker 1: it was a one alarmed fire, and it like right 658 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,400 Speaker 1: when they got there, the chief turned it into a 659 00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:56,800 Speaker 1: two and then three alarmed fire, and then within another 660 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,200 Speaker 1: fifteen minutes they turned in a four alarm fire. And 661 00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:02,080 Speaker 1: by with I think an hour or so after this 662 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:06,399 Speaker 1: fire had started, they were calling firefighters, um who are 663 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:10,200 Speaker 1: off duty from other cities. Basically anyone who could get 664 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,520 Speaker 1: there fast enough and their fire truck came out to 665 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:16,359 Speaker 1: this to fight this fire. Wow, it was a big one. 666 00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:19,520 Speaker 1: Uh okay, And that's it. That's all I've got for 667 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,319 Speaker 1: hotel fires. I got nothing else. Well, if you want 668 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:25,280 Speaker 1: to know more about hotel fires, you can search those 669 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,120 Speaker 1: terms on the internet, because I don't think How Stuff 670 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,600 Speaker 1: Works has anything about it. But that's okay because I 671 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,279 Speaker 1: said search bar, which means it's time for a listener mail. 672 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:42,759 Speaker 1: Uh this is I'm gonna call this um good job. 673 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,319 Speaker 1: That's my monica. Sellis okay. I was listening to how 674 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,600 Speaker 1: board breaking works, guys, and you got into conversation on 675 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:52,680 Speaker 1: women's tennis and the shrieking and the yelling and wondering 676 00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:55,840 Speaker 1: about stephie Graff or Monica Sellis. You also mentioned Monica 677 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:59,440 Speaker 1: sells Is stabbed. This is where my useless knowledge comes in. Guys, 678 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:03,640 Speaker 1: most women tennis players do shriek, and I would personally 679 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:06,440 Speaker 1: this chuck speaking, I think most men do too, right, 680 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,120 Speaker 1: m hmm, I hear a lot of grunting, sure, but 681 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:12,319 Speaker 1: he says, Monica Sellis was the one that really had 682 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:14,919 Speaker 1: a very loud and high shriek, so loud in fact, 683 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:17,600 Speaker 1: that many of her opponents would complain during the match 684 00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:20,359 Speaker 1: and she would actually get warnings from the chair umpire. Uh. 685 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,160 Speaker 1: They would even measure how loud her shriek was. I 686 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:26,200 Speaker 1: didn't know that. Yeah, that seems weird. Another interesting thing 687 00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:27,840 Speaker 1: to me is that when Monica Sellis was stabbed in 688 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,920 Speaker 1: the back, she was courtside uh, on the courtside change, 689 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,360 Speaker 1: resting in her chair. The person who stabbed her was 690 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,399 Speaker 1: not a fan. He was a Steffi Graph fan who 691 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,080 Speaker 1: was worried that Sellis would beat her record. Oh my gosh, 692 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:44,080 Speaker 1: I know you believe that. Did you see the movie 693 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:49,080 Speaker 1: about um oh who who? Was it Nancy carry Tanya Harding? 694 00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:51,920 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, basically I didn't realize that that 695 00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:55,000 Speaker 1: had happened in tennis as well. Did you see that movie? Yeah? 696 00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:56,920 Speaker 1: It was good. Huh, it was, it was, It was 697 00:41:57,040 --> 00:41:59,840 Speaker 1: very good. I was I was surprised that she human 698 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:03,000 Speaker 1: is Tanya Harding? So well, you know that was local, 699 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 1: locally made. No, that was obviously made in Oregon. No, 700 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:11,839 Speaker 1: like the Golden Buddha Chinese restaurant indicators there. Okay, yeah, 701 00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:13,560 Speaker 1: I thought. I was like, is that it's the Golden 702 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:15,879 Speaker 1: Buddha chain because I think I've eaten at that one. 703 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:18,120 Speaker 1: And yeah, okay, you're right. I did notice that, and 704 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:19,800 Speaker 1: we had quite a few of the old stuff. You 705 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,000 Speaker 1: should know. Crew members worked on it. Awesome. Yeah, that's cool. 706 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:25,960 Speaker 1: So anyway back to the email, Monica Sellis was very young, 707 00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:28,319 Speaker 1: just starting her career off, and Steffi had already been 708 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:31,040 Speaker 1: playing for a while. Monica had been on a terror 709 00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:33,560 Speaker 1: and was starting to beat stephie Graff. Because of the 710 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:37,839 Speaker 1: stabbing incident, the Professional Tennis Tour increased security protocol. If 711 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:39,600 Speaker 1: you watch tennis on TV today, you will see that 712 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:42,719 Speaker 1: there are always security on the court during the changeovers. 713 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,840 Speaker 1: The security guard actually will stand behind the tennis player 714 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:52,520 Speaker 1: facing the crowd. And that is from Rawle Rodriguez and Topeka, Kansas. 715 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:59,080 Speaker 1: Nice thank you or Raoul r A U L. Rodriguez, 716 00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:04,279 Speaker 1: Thank you from Topeka Huh, Topeka, Kansas holding it down well, 717 00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:07,800 Speaker 1: thanks a lot, Raoul and everybody out there in Topeka, 718 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:11,680 Speaker 1: Kansas for listening to us, and uh, wherever you are, 719 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:14,280 Speaker 1: you can hang out with us on the social media's 720 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:17,920 Speaker 1: at And by the way, I'm well aware that media 721 00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:22,680 Speaker 1: is media's is not the plural of medium. You know 722 00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:26,080 Speaker 1: that media is plural itself. I'm just kidding, so lighten up. 723 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:28,959 Speaker 1: Someone said that and I was like, what's a joke, sir. Yeah, 724 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:31,040 Speaker 1: So if you want to hang out with us on 725 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:35,800 Speaker 1: social media's you know, I'm just saying it out of spite. Um, 726 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:38,879 Speaker 1: you can go to stuffy sho dot com find all 727 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:40,759 Speaker 1: that stuff there. You can send us an email to 728 00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:48,920 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast at how stuff works dot com for more 729 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:51,279 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics. Is it how 730 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:59,600 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com