1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, We're rerunning two episodes today, which means you 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: might hear two hosts. Enjoy the show. Welcome to this 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot com 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: and from the desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: It's the show where we explore the past one day 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: at a time with a quick look at what happened 7 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: today in history. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: Tracy beat Wilson and it's January six. The Night of 9 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: the Big Wind happened on this day in nine, lasting 10 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: into the early hours of January seven. This was an 11 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: incredible windstorm that affected the entirety of Ireland. It was 12 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: the worst in the northern part of Ireland. Was described 13 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: as the worst storm and anywhere between three hundred and 14 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: five hundred years. It was just unprecedented. It has not 15 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: been matched by anything that has happened since then. The 16 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: day of January six, though, had been described im just 17 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: eerily calm. It had snowed the day before and that 18 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: was the first snow of the season. But then on 19 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: the morning of the six the temperature increased dramatically. By 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: the afternoon, the people were describing the air as almost sickly. 21 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: The weather just seemed weird and strangely still, But about 22 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: three in the afternoon it started to rain, and over 23 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: the next few hours the rain got harder and the 24 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: winds started picking up. Sometimes there was hail as well. 25 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: Then a colossal storm rolled in from the Atlantic with 26 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,759 Speaker 1: hurricane force winds. The sun had set by the time 27 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: that the storm really got there, and the cloud cover 28 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: from the storm was so thick that it blocked out 29 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: the moon and the stars, so all of this happened 30 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: in total darkness. By ten PM, the winds were just 31 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,559 Speaker 1: howling in a terrifying way, and the seas were so 32 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: high and rough that the waves were reportedly breaking over 33 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: the top of the cliffs of More Those rise between 34 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty and two meters or three seven 35 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: hundred two feet from the ocean, so those would have 36 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: been incredibly dramatic waves. Houses collapsed under the force of 37 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: the wind. Roofs were blown away. A lot of people 38 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: in rural areas had thatched roofs that became saturated with 39 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: water and collapsed into the homes beneath. Nearly five thousand 40 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: chimneys were knocked down, according to estimates, and because the 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,799 Speaker 1: chimneys had been knocked down. Sometimes this led to fires 42 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: spreading inside the structures themselves. Many people were killed, mostly 43 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,839 Speaker 1: by falling bricks and masonry. Walls and fences were knocked down. 44 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: So many trees were uprooted that the timber market collapsed 45 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: With this sudden excess of timber. Farmers stores of hay 46 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: were blown away. And this has made it sound like 47 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: a very rural phenomenon, but it was not just confined 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: to rural areas. Dublin was described in the aftermath as 49 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: looking like a city that had been sacked, with businesses 50 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: ruined and twenty five percent of the houses in the 51 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: city destroyed. This also wasn't just confined to land. Hundreds 52 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: of fishers were killed at sea as their ships were 53 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: wrecked in the storm. The death toll is placed at 54 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: anywhere from one hundred to eight hundred. It's kind of 55 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,360 Speaker 1: across the board like that, because a lot of the 56 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: places that were struck so hard were very rural, and 57 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,839 Speaker 1: there wasn't necessarily an accurate population count beforehand. And it's 58 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: also hard to really tally because a lot of people 59 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: died of exposure and starvation afterward because they had lost 60 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: their homes in winter and because they no longer had 61 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: their stores of food to feed their animals. Because this 62 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: occurred on the feast of the Epiphany, which is also 63 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: called Little Christmas, some people interpreted it as divine retribution 64 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: and to others the explanation has something to do with fairies. 65 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: A lot of times fairies from England who had come 66 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: to Ireland to drive Ireland's own fairies away later on. 67 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: This event was so massive that people would describe things 68 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: in terms of whether they happened before the Big Wind 69 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: or after. Thanks to Casey Pegram and Chandler Maze for 70 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: their audio work on this show. You can subscribe to 71 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: The Day in History Class on Apple podcast, Google podcast, 72 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else you get 73 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and you can tune in tomorrow for a 74 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: first in the world of music. Hey everyone, welcome to 75 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Eves and you're listening to this Day 76 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: in History Class, a podcast that really takes to heart 77 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: the phrase you learn something new every day. The day 78 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: was January six, nineteen twelves. German geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred 79 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: Wagner first presented his hypothesis on continental drift in a 80 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: public lecture, Wagner advanced the hypothesis of continental drift, but 81 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: he was not the first to propose that continents gradually 82 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: drifted across Earth's surface. Wagner's hypothesis was largely rejected by 83 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: the scientific community, but it did influence the development of 84 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: the theory of plate tectonics. For centuries, people have recognized 85 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: that the coastlines of the continents could fit together as 86 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: if they were puzzle pieces. Wagner recognized this, and around 87 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: nineteen ten he became interested in looking into the reason 88 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: behind the observation. He came across the idea that Africa 89 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: and South America were once connected by a huge land bridge. 90 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: He also read about the similarities between fossils on different continents, 91 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: and he noticed that Greenland had drifted away from Europe, 92 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: and at San Diego and Shanghai, we're getting closer to 93 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: one another over the years. Geological features also matched each 94 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: other when continents were brought together, but he rejected the 95 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: idea that land bridges between continents just sank and disappeared. 96 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: After reading about other lengths between continents, Wagner became convinced 97 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: that all the continents were once joined as a single continent. 98 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: The lecture he presented on January sixth, nineteen twelve, at 99 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: a meeting of the Geological Association in Frankfurt was called 100 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: the Uprising of Large Features of Earth's Crust, Continents and 101 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: Oceans on Geophysical Basis. Three years later he published the 102 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: book The Origin of Continents and Oceans. He proposed that 103 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: there was one big or continent surrounded by a global ocean. 104 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: According to his hypothesis, the massive continent began to split 105 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: about two hundred million years ago, and the newly formed 106 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: continents never stopped drifting apart. He called this movement mental displacement. 107 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: He turned to fossils, geologic evidence, and climatology to support 108 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: continental drift, but people largely opposed the idea. That was 109 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: partly because Wagner did not have a good model for 110 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: how the continents moved apart. He suggested that gravitational pool 111 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: and centrifugal entitled forces moved the continents through Earth's crust, 112 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: but that was an unbelievable proposal. If continents plowed through 113 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: the oceanic crust, then they would be distorted, and centrifugal 114 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: and title forces were likely too weak to move continents. 115 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: There was no direct evidence at the time for the 116 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: movement of the continents, and there was no known mechanism 117 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: that would be able to move entire continents. On top 118 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: of this, Wegner miscalculated the rate at which North America 119 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: and Europe were moving apart. Though some people supported his explanation, 120 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 1: most geologists stuck to the hypothesis of static continents and 121 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: land bridges. Wagner died in nineteen thirty. It wasn't until 122 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties when scientists returned to the theory of 123 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: continental drift as they explored the ocean floor. Wagner's hypothesis 124 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: wasn't completely off. For instance, continental movement did have a 125 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: hand in the creation of mountains, just not as he suggested. 126 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: Now play take tonics is the most widely accepted theory. 127 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: It says that Earth's crust is split into rigid moving 128 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle. While the 129 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: continents do move, as Wagner and others before him proposed, 130 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: so does the oceanic crust. The driving force for the 131 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: motion is likely conviction currents and the magma of the 132 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: upper mantle. I'm each Jeffcote, and hopefully you know a 133 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. You 134 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: can find us on social media at t d i 135 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: h C Podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and you 136 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: can email us at this Day at I heart media 137 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:06,679 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks again for listening, and have a fantastic 138 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: twenty four hours until we see you again. For more 139 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 140 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.