WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Great Smog of London

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, you welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's chucking. Jerry's hanging around filling him for Dave, whose

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<v Speaker 1>spirit permeates us all. The spirit of Dave be upon you, peace,

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<v Speaker 1>brothers and sisters and everybody. Uh, and that means this

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<v Speaker 1>is short stuff. Yes, Dave spirit who has settled upon us,

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<v Speaker 1>like the great stink of London. No, London did have

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<v Speaker 1>a great stink. We talked about it. We did a

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<v Speaker 1>great smog. That was a good episode two if I

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<v Speaker 1>remember correctly. Sure they got a stink in a smock

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<v Speaker 1>and they were both great. Poor London, I mean, come on,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of terrible things happening in the air

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<v Speaker 1>over there, and technically it's their own fault, but still

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<v Speaker 1>you hate, you hate for that to happen to anybody,

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<v Speaker 1>that's right. Uh. This was a smog in ninety two,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically December five, when the day started alf okay, but then,

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<v Speaker 1>as it is London, Uh, not surprising if fog starts

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<v Speaker 1>to roll len as it often does. But then this

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<v Speaker 1>fog combined with the smoke of London at the time,

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<v Speaker 1>which we'll get into. Uh, smoke plus fog equals smog.

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<v Speaker 1>It's settled in and kind of parked it there for

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<v Speaker 1>quite a few days. And it was bad. It was

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<v Speaker 1>really bad. And it's really saying something that that it

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<v Speaker 1>was so bad that London even named it. Because London was,

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<v Speaker 1>like you said, very known for fog, it was also

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<v Speaker 1>really well known for small Apparently complaints about the small

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<v Speaker 1>problems um have been recorded as far back as the

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<v Speaker 1>thirteenth century in London, so they've had smog for a

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<v Speaker 1>long time. And apparently it was somebody from London who

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<v Speaker 1>coined the term smag to begin with. So they knew

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<v Speaker 1>their fog, they knew their smag, and this one combined

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<v Speaker 1>was so bad that they named it the Great Smag.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just that bad. And it's it's hard but

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<v Speaker 1>also easy and kind of fun to get across how

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<v Speaker 1>bad this small was because it did all sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>terrible stuff to the city and the people who lived there. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you've got uh, you've got factories pumping out

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<v Speaker 1>smoke at the time, you've got people's own chimneys pumping

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<v Speaker 1>out smoke. This was December, so there were fires going

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<v Speaker 1>all over the place. You had cars. I think they

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<v Speaker 1>had gone from electric trams to diesel buses recently, so

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<v Speaker 1>there was a ton of smoke uh, combining with that

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<v Speaker 1>fog to make it a very caustic situation to the

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<v Speaker 1>point where you know, of course it's England, so they're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be like, it's all fine, cheerio, and you'll go

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<v Speaker 1>about our day. Uh. And they did their best, but

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<v Speaker 1>even within that first day it started to literally shut

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<v Speaker 1>things down. It did. UM. It shut things down in

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<v Speaker 1>that like you you if you were driving at the time,

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<v Speaker 1>or you tried to get your car out, um, you

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<v Speaker 1>like you would just end up abandoning on the street.

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<v Speaker 1>It was too dangerous to continue on. UM. All of

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<v Speaker 1>the shipping uh. Transportation on the Thames stopped. UM. There

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<v Speaker 1>there was some bus service. I saw in a history

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<v Speaker 1>dot com article that some of the bobbies would would

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<v Speaker 1>walk slowly in front of the buses that we're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to operate with like a flashlight, um, just to serve

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<v Speaker 1>as like a beacon for them to follow through this

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<v Speaker 1>and even that proved to be too much. The only

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<v Speaker 1>way to get around was the underground, which was brilliantly

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<v Speaker 1>located underground and away from the small but even the

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<v Speaker 1>indoors wasn't safe right yeah, but first of all, you're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about cars. Are you saying that someone might leave

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<v Speaker 1>their flat and go down to their garage to get

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<v Speaker 1>in the car and it would be so bad they

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<v Speaker 1>might get scared and hide in their boot. Oh man,

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<v Speaker 1>that was beautiful. You just earned us a lot more

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<v Speaker 1>British listeners. I think a lot more pins. M I

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<v Speaker 1>think he just lost a few. Okay, Uh, yeah, things

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<v Speaker 1>were bad indoors. I think there were reports of um

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<v Speaker 1>movie theaters that couldn't show the movie because you couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>the screen. Uh. There were reports of people not being

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<v Speaker 1>able to see their feet, walking around, standing up, not

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<v Speaker 1>being able to look down. I wish I knew the

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<v Speaker 1>British word for feet, uh shods. They couldn't see their shods,

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<v Speaker 1>but it spelled Okay, that's great, but imagine that. Imagine

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<v Speaker 1>looking down and they're smag, not just fog, smog that

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<v Speaker 1>is making a choke and cough and weeze. It's so

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<v Speaker 1>thick that you cannot see your own feet. This is

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<v Speaker 1>part of the problem. I did not see this. I

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't find confirmation of this. Humi told me about this,

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<v Speaker 1>and she was reading me some stuff about it. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the things she found was that people would would

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<v Speaker 1>accidentally walk into the Thames and they couldn't get out

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<v Speaker 1>because they couldn't see the Thames from the smog, and

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<v Speaker 1>they were drowned. Like it was working as a research

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<v Speaker 1>a system pretty pretty much. Yeah, I got on the

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<v Speaker 1>tay roll. How do I get that? You already have

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<v Speaker 1>that buddy? Who's that? Oh? I thought you meant like,

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<v Speaker 1>how do you get that role? Oh? How do I

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<v Speaker 1>get it for myself? I don't know. Um, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>How about your daughter, she's getting to reading age. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>she's not into this trainer, young Chuck. I'm trying to

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<v Speaker 1>I get We get emails from people are like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>my kid is six or seven and they listen to

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<v Speaker 1>the show. I'm like, really, all right, I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>just not it's not so much that she's not into

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<v Speaker 1>it's just that's where her dad does. And who finds

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<v Speaker 1>whatever their dad does interesting? Nobody. She flipped out when

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<v Speaker 1>we were on Jeopardy. Oh did she really what she

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<v Speaker 1>think about that? I mean, we watched Jeopardy, so she

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<v Speaker 1>just thought it was the coolest thing ever. Oh, that's

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<v Speaker 1>really cool. So it wasn't like a special like sit

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<v Speaker 1>here and be quiet and watched this TV show that

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<v Speaker 1>you've never heard of before. Thinks she watches Jeopardy does.

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<v Speaker 1>She watches it some with me, and she every time

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<v Speaker 1>I answer a question first, she's like, she thinks it's

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<v Speaker 1>some kind of weird black magic. So that's the thing

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<v Speaker 1>that I think that proves my point. She is into

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<v Speaker 1>it and smart and curious. It's just that she's not

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<v Speaker 1>into whatever her dad's job is. That's what I think

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<v Speaker 1>it is. Yeah, I mean she loves story pirates, that's

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<v Speaker 1>her jam Pete's right, Yeah, I was made by our friend,

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<v Speaker 1>in part by our friend Peter McNerney. And I keep

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<v Speaker 1>telling her Peter and Beth and their family came to

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<v Speaker 1>Georgia and we all went to the lake together a

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<v Speaker 1>few years ago. And I keep telling it was like,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Peter, he went to the lake with us.

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<v Speaker 1>She's like really, And I'll show her pictures and she's like,

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<v Speaker 1>that's him. I don't remember that. Hey, that's the guy

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<v Speaker 1>from the valveoline commercial. That's the guy from the A

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<v Speaker 1>T and T commercial. He was in a super Bowl spot.

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<v Speaker 1>He's in tons of stuff, all right, So enough with

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<v Speaker 1>Peter McNerney. Let's take a break. And we'll talk more

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<v Speaker 1>about the smog right after this. Yeah, mm hmmm. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's really fun to talk about all the stuff that

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<v Speaker 1>just went awry during this this fog. Like you said,

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<v Speaker 1>people couldn't see movies anymore because there's so much smog

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<v Speaker 1>that came in unless it was awful true, Um, like

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<v Speaker 1>ambulance is not being able to run or people walking

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<v Speaker 1>into the Thames, right what about what about robberies and

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<v Speaker 1>perch snatchings increasing? Sure, you're gonna have an increase in

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<v Speaker 1>crime when all those uh oh, there's a good word

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<v Speaker 1>British word for criminal. I can't think of it, but

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know they would they would definitely per snatch

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<v Speaker 1>with that heavy fog. Yeah, man, whatever they call either

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<v Speaker 1>cat burglar. Yeah, well, at any rate. Um. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the other things that happened to Chuck reportedly was that

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<v Speaker 1>an entire um heard of cattle in nearby Smithfield. I

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<v Speaker 1>believe Um died choke to death on it. And that

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<v Speaker 1>really reveals like just how how much this this how

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<v Speaker 1>bad this was And and I don't know if we've

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<v Speaker 1>said it or not yet, but this didn't go on

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<v Speaker 1>like just on December, Um, December five, this went on

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<v Speaker 1>for five days, and it kept getting worse. And the

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<v Speaker 1>whole reason it kept getting worse is because remember our

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<v Speaker 1>heat waves episode. Yes, so an anti cyclone uh a UM,

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<v Speaker 1>I believe a high pressure system settled over London. It

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<v Speaker 1>was thirty miles wide and settled over London, and it

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<v Speaker 1>basically kept any breeze and air at bay. So all

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<v Speaker 1>of those smoke sacks and emissions and all that stuff

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<v Speaker 1>just kept building and building and building, and they were

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<v Speaker 1>trapped at roughly surface level. Uh. And over five days

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<v Speaker 1>they just kept going because this this low or this

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<v Speaker 1>high pressure system would not move, and finally went out

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<v Speaker 1>to see on December ninth. That's right. Uh. And in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, it exacted a very large health toll. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>There have been differing numbers on people that they can

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<v Speaker 1>directly attribute to dying as a result of the Great Smog.

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<v Speaker 1>I think back then they said it was about four

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<v Speaker 1>thousand people. Uh. These days people say it might be

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<v Speaker 1>more like twelve thousand people. Yeah. Uh, that is an

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<v Speaker 1>astounding number of people to um. And you know, granted

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<v Speaker 1>some of these people were probably had you know, breathing

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<v Speaker 1>issues or asthmatic or co op D, but it would

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<v Speaker 1>push them to death. I don't know about like completely

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<v Speaker 1>healthy people that died within those five days, but twelve

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<v Speaker 1>thousand people is a lot of people. No matari usslice

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<v Speaker 1>it Yeah, over five dayste that wouldn't I mean, the

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<v Speaker 1>point is these people wouldn't have otherwise died. That's those

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<v Speaker 1>like directly attributable to this. And it was so bad

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<v Speaker 1>that the British government basically was forced to act. Um

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<v Speaker 1>they came up four years later with the Clean Air Act.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is the fifties and they're coming up with

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<v Speaker 1>a Clean Air Act. Like when you think about environmental

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<v Speaker 1>policy and in movements and stuff, you typically think of

0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:13.079
<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventies like the beginning of that. That's how bad

0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.600
<v Speaker 1>this small was. That they came out with a Clean

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<v Speaker 1>Air Act in nineteen fifties six directly because of that

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<v Speaker 1>small event. Yeah, I mean l A. I remember when

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<v Speaker 1>I was living there, people would say, Man, can you

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<v Speaker 1>imagine living here in the nineteen fifties, and like when

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<v Speaker 1>it was just so clean and beautiful, and the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifties and l A were awful, terrible, terrible smag back then.

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<v Speaker 1>And the smog I think got worse in l A

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<v Speaker 1>through the seventies and then things started getting better. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's way better now than it ever used to be,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as in London, thanks to stuff like the

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<v Speaker 1>Clean Air Act. And then I think later on, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>there was another small crisis in sixty two where they

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<v Speaker 1>I think they added some more teeth to the Clean

0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:56.960
<v Speaker 1>Air Act. But you know, basically they offered a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of incentives, they offered a lot of restrictions on industry

0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:03.000
<v Speaker 1>and you know people, but they also said, hey, why

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<v Speaker 1>don't we try things like electricity or natural gas or oil,

0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.040
<v Speaker 1>and we set of burning this coal all over the

0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.600
<v Speaker 1>place and it worked. I don't believe there's been a

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<v Speaker 1>great smog since nineteen sixty two. So way to go, London,

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<v Speaker 1>way to pull it out, Go London. Ah, you got

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<v Speaker 1>anything else, I've got nothing else except to say that

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<v Speaker 1>we want to one day come back to London and

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<v Speaker 1>do more live shows. Yeah, totally agreed. And um. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, thank you for listening London, Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to the rest of the world, and thank you

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<v Speaker 1>most of all, Chuck. I think we can say to

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<v Speaker 1>you me for coming up with this one too. Oh

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<v Speaker 1>it was her idea. Yes, she's the one who told

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<v Speaker 1>me about we gotta get her on the on the payroll.

0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:47.480
<v Speaker 1>I got her covering. Okay, okay, Uh, everybody's short stuff

0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:52.920
<v Speaker 1>is that stuff you should know is a production of

0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.240
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