1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam Here. When a butterfly flaps 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: its wings in the Amazon, chaos theory goes it may 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: cause a tornado in Texas, or when the biggest volcanic 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: explosion in human history takes place in Indonesia. Mary Shelley 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: writes Frankenstein in Switzerland, well, amongst many other things. Eighteen 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: sixteen was the year without a summer, caused by the 8 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: near catastrophic environmental changes that occurred when Mount Tombora erupted 9 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 1: over the course of four months of the previous year, 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: starting on April five, eighteen fifteen. The blast instantly killed 11 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: ten thousand people on the island where it's located, Zimbawa, 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: which is part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It was 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: catastrophic and estimated ninety thousand people died on nearby islands, 14 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: many of starvation after crops and forests were killed, fresh 15 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: water was contaminated, a dozen cubic miles of debris were 16 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: thrown into the atmosphere, and a blast a hundred times 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: more powerful than Mountain Saint Helen's. But it isn't just 18 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: debris that's flung into the air. When a volcano erupts, gases, 19 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: including sulfur dioxide, reached the stratosphere. The sulfur dioxide is 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: converted to sulfuric acid, where it can stay in the 21 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: atmosphere for a couple of years. Those acid aerosols act 22 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: as reflectors that allow less energy from the Sun to 23 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: reach Earth's surface, and as a result, cooling occurs and 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: for the northern hemisphere cool It was that year in America. 25 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: In June of eighteen sixteen, there was twenty inches that's 26 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: about fifty centimes of snow in New England, and the 27 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: white stuff provided for festive sleigh rides in Virginia from 28 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: May to September. In Ireland, it reigned a hundred forty 29 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: two out of a hundred and fifty three days. Crops 30 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: failed in North America, Europe, in China from frost or 31 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: from unexpected drought or floods. It's the only year in 32 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: recorded history where trees showed zero growth in the Northeast 33 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: United States. Should you cut down one of the stately 34 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: oaks that was alive then and count its rings to 35 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: determine how many years it's been around, one ring would 36 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: be missing some Americans nicknamed the year eighteen hundred and 37 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: froze to death in China. Resulting instability may have allowed 38 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: the British controlled opium trade to take hold. A cholera 39 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: epidemic swept South Asia and gained ground, becoming the first 40 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: cholera pandemic. In the following years, the American West started 41 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: enticing failing New England farmers, creating the jumping off point 42 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: for the Great migration westward. The dark, miserable weather of 43 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,399 Speaker 1: eighteen sixteen also inspired the poet Lord Byron to suggest 44 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: to a summer guests and a Swiss villa to try 45 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: their hand at ghost stories. A young Mary Shelley took 46 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: to her room with candle light to penned the beginnings 47 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: of Frankenstein. During that time, Byron wrote his poem Darkness, 48 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: which begins I had a dream which was not all 49 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: a dream. The bright sun was extinguished. Though to be fair, 50 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: this summer that wasn't was also part of a larger 51 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: cooling trend in the early nineteenth century, and we should 52 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 1: note that the southern hemisphere seemed to be largely unaffected. Still, 53 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: the no summer summer caused significant global ripples. The climate 54 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: crisis lasted through eighteen eighteen. Failed crops led to hunger 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: and poverty, and communities around the Northern hemisphere the prices 56 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: of everything skyrocketed. On the positive side, in the long run, anyway, 57 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: these tragedies seemed to have spurred evolving ideas about humanitarianism, 58 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: which was unfortunately just rhetoric at the time, but may 59 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: have been the beginning of some of the social programs 60 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: that help people in need today. Yeah. Today's episode is 61 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: based on the article eighteen sixteen was the Year Without 62 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: a Summer on how stuff works dot com, written by 63 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: Kate Kirshner. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio 64 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is 65 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clay. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, 66 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 67 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.