1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey guys, I hope you enjoy these classic 3 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: episodes from the t D I h C Vault. I'm 4 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,399 Speaker 1: currently researching a new crop of stories for next year, 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: so be sure to join me on January two when 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: we return with all new episodes. Talk to you soon. 7 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Day in History Class from how Stuff 8 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: Works dot com and from the desk of Stuff You 9 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 10 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,319 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 11 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome 12 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and I'd like 13 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: to thank my colleague Collie Fry for filling in for 14 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: me for the last seven episodes. Today is December. The 15 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: Iroquois Theater in Chicago caught fire on this day in 16 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: killing at least six people. This theater was almost brand new. 17 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: It had opened on November of that year. Performer Eddie 18 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: Foy had described it as quote one of the finest 19 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: that had yet been built in this country, A palace 20 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: of marble and plate glass, plush and mahogany and gilding 21 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: on top of its Beauty and Magnificence was supposed to 22 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,839 Speaker 1: be fireproof. It had a capacity of one thousand, seven 23 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty four, but on this particular afternoon there 24 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: were nineteen hundred people inside. It was standing room only, 25 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: and most of the people in the audience were mothers 26 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: and their children. Was the holiday season. They were taking 27 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 1: family outings, and the second act of the show had 28 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: about three fifteen in the afternoon. One of the painted 29 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: canvas backdrops brushed up against a reflector on a spotlight. 30 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: Stage lights are incredibly hot, and this backdrop started to smolder. 31 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: There was a stage hand who saw this happen and 32 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: tried to put the fire out, but he just couldn't 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: reach the backdrop from where he was. There was also 34 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: an on site firefighter, and he tried to put the 35 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: fire out with two tubes of a product called kill fires. 36 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: Was a tin tube and what was inside was mostly 37 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: baking soda. This probably would have done an okay job 38 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: of putting out something like a grease fire on the 39 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: stove in the kitchen, but on the vertical surface of 40 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: an oil painted backdrop, it just couldn't do the job 41 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: and the fire started to spread. At first, no one 42 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: in the audience or even on the stage was quite 43 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,359 Speaker 1: aware that anything was wrong because this fire was moving 44 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: upward into the fly space above the stage. But then 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: burning curtains and scenery started to fall onto the stage. 46 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: Eddie Foy, who was on stage at the time, tried 47 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: to keep the crowd calm, tried to get them to 48 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: evacuate in an orderly fashion, but as he was talking, 49 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: they were burning curtains falling at his feet. He yelled 50 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: to the stage manager to drop the asbestos curtain. This 51 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: was supposed to drop down between the stage and the 52 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: audience in case of a fire, but it got snagged 53 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: on a light picture and it jammed part way down 54 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: the track. Almost immediately. There was a huge panic in 55 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: the audience and backstage. Actors and dancers opened the stage 56 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: door to escape, and that let a blast of air 57 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: into the theater. The events that should have allowed this 58 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: rush of air to go out through the roof were 59 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: nailed shut, and they were also supposed to be fans 60 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 1: that would pull air out through the roof, but those 61 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: had never been finished, so the result was an enormous fireball. 62 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: Foy stayed on the stage as long as he could, 63 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: trying to maintain calm and to get people to exit safely, 64 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: but he was finally forced to leave. He was reunited 65 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: with his son, who was with him that day and 66 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: who he had sent outside with a stage hand. Inside 67 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: the theater, though it was horrifying, it was dark, it 68 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: was smoky, people couldn't find the exits. A lot of 69 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: these exits, of which there were many, were hidden behind draperies, 70 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: and many of them were locked. So many people were 71 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: trampled to death trying to get to the exits. Some 72 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: died after jumping out of windows. Even some of those 73 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: who landed safely were then crushed by people falling on 74 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: top of them. In just fifteen minutes, the theater was 75 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: a total loss. Five seventy five people died that day 76 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: out of the nine hundred people in the audience, so 77 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: about thirty percent of the audience died, and nearly all 78 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: the victims were riven and children. There was only one 79 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 1: performer who was killed. Thirty more people died of their 80 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,799 Speaker 1: injuries in the following weeks, and hundreds more were injured, 81 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 1: and it was a huge scandal. This was a supposedly 82 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: fireproof building, but so many people had died it wasn't 83 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: ever really fireproof, though, and there were people who had 84 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: pointed out problems long before the theater opened. The editor 85 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: of Fireproof Magazine had pointed out lots of issues before 86 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: the opening day, like that there was no draft to 87 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: draw the fire up into the law instead of allowing 88 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: it to spread out into the audience, which is what happened. 89 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:09,040 Speaker 1: That's just one example. The theater's manager and several Chicago 90 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 1: public officials were indicted after the fire, but none of 91 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: them were ever charged. The owner of the theater was 92 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: charged and convicted, but that charge was later reversed. None 93 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: of the victims families ever received any kind of restitution 94 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: apart from one class action suit, and the members each 95 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: received seven fifty dollars. This horrible fire did lead to 96 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: some changes in the fire code, including a requirement that 97 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: doors in the theater needs to open outward and be 98 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,919 Speaker 1: clearly marked. You can learn more about this in the 99 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: December eight episode of Stuffy Miss in History Class. Thanks 100 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: to Casey Pegram and Chandler Maze for their audio work 101 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: on this show. You can subscribe to This Day in 102 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google podcast, I Heart Radio 103 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: app and where ever elt to get your podcasts, and 104 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: you can tune in tomorrow for a disappearance that's still unsolved. 105 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, if I sound a lot cozier today, it's 106 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: because I am. I'm at home for the holidays. But 107 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: this is this day in history class, which means you'll 108 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: still get a new slice of history every day. So 109 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: let's get on with the show. The day was December nine, 110 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: American astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the existence of galaxies beyond 111 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: the Milky Way. Hubble graduated from the University of Chicago 112 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: in nineteen ten with the Bachelor of Science and Mathematics 113 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: and Astronomy, and in nineteen fourteen he went back to 114 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: the University of Chicago to get his doctorate in astronomy. 115 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: There he began working at the Yerkes Observatory, where he 116 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: studied nebulae, or anything that wasn't immediately identifiable as a star. 117 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: He got his doctorate in nineteen seven v teen, but 118 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: that same year the US entered World War One, and 119 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: Hubble joined the army. Once the war ended, he returned 120 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: to astronomy. Astronomer George Hale, founder of the Yerkes Observatory 121 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: and director of the Mount Wilson Observatory, had offered Hubble 122 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: a job at Mount Wilson before he went off to war. 123 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: In nineteen nineteen, Hubble took a staff position at Mount 124 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, California. There he worked with a 125 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: one hooker telescope, which was then the largest in the world. 126 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: He stayed at the observatory for his whole career at 127 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: Mount Wilson, Hubble continued studying nebulae. At this time, scientists 128 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: thought the Milky Way made up the entire universe. In 129 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: spiral nebulae were thought to be clouds of gas or 130 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: dust within the Milky Way, but in nineteen twelve, astronomer 131 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: Henrietta Levitt showed how to use stepids, or stars that 132 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: brightened and damp period aodically, to estimate their distance from Earth, 133 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: and some astronomers did believe that the nebulae were distant 134 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: island universes that were separate from the Milky Way. Starting 135 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty three, Hubble identified Sefid variable stars and 136 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: what was then known as the Andromeda nebula. Based on 137 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: their brightness, luminosity, and the distances of Sefiad stars in 138 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: the Milky Way. Hubble determined that the stars were at 139 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: least eight hundred thousand light years away. That meant that 140 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: they were beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way, which 141 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: had a maximum diameter of about one hundred thousand light years. 142 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: This discovery also revealed that nebulae are different star systems, 143 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: and that the Universe extends past the reaches of the 144 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 1: Milky Way. He called these galaxies extra galactic nebulae. By 145 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: the end of nineteen four, other astronomers were aware of 146 00:08:55,400 --> 00:09:00,959 Speaker 1: Hubble's findings. On December nineteen four, he published his observations 147 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: for review at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society 148 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: that would take place two days later. Other astronomers accepted 149 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 1: Hubble's conclusions pretty quickly. Hubble went on to find and 150 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: describe more galaxies, dividing them into the categories of regular 151 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: or irregular, and the regular ones as spiral or elliptical 152 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: based on their shape, and he made many other significant 153 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: contributions to cosmology. In Hubble combined his work with that 154 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: of astronomer Vesto Slifer and his assistant Milton Hamison, and 155 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: he found an essentially linear relationship between the distances of 156 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:44,599 Speaker 1: galaxies and their radial velocities. That concept came to be 157 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: known as Hubble's law. Put simply, it says that the 158 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:51,959 Speaker 1: farther apart galaxies are, the faster they move away from 159 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: each other. Hubble's findings helped lead to the notion of 160 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: the expanding universe. His work had big implication ends do 161 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: in part to his observations, Debate intensified around the idea 162 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: of the Big Bang or the universe's earliest expansion. Some 163 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: said that the universe expanded from a single point at 164 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: its origin, while others said that the universe exists in 165 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: a steady state. The Hubble Space telescope, launched by NASA, 166 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 1: is named after him. I'm Eves Jeff Coote and hopefully 167 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 168 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you want to hit us up on 169 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: social media, you can do so at t D I 170 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: h C Podcast, or you can just email us at 171 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: This Day at I heeart media dot com. Thanks again 172 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: for listening, and we'll see you tomorrow. Hello, and welcome 173 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: to This Day in History class, a show that shines 174 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: a light on the ups and downs of everyday history. 175 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Blues and today we're celebrating a milestone in 176 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: Avian history the day when coal mine canaries were finally 177 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: put out of a job. The day was December nine, six. 178 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 1: A British mining tradition came to an end when legislation 179 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: officially ordered that all live canaries be released from the 180 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: nation's coal mines. At the time, only about two hundred 181 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: canaries were still in use in Britain's minds, a steep 182 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: decline from decades earlier. The government order gave miners about 183 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: a year to bid farewell to the birds and make 184 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: the switch to new digital detectors, something the government referred 185 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: to as the Electronic Knows. As you're probably aware, coal 186 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: mining is extremely day injurious work. Miners face threats like cavens, fires, 187 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: and explosions on a daily basis, but the most insidious 188 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:14,599 Speaker 1: danger comes from noxious gases, especially carbon monoxide. When a 189 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 1: human breathes in carbon monoxide, the gas replaces oxygen molecules 190 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,839 Speaker 1: in the bloodstream, and as a result, organs and tissues 191 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: are supplied with poison instead of oxygen. Acute carbon monoxide 192 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: poisoning causes a headache, dizziness, and shortness of breath, but 193 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: as the gas accumulates, it can quickly prove fatal. Carbon 194 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: monoxide is released through the burning of wood and coal, 195 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: so clouds of the gas can form easily in the 196 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: enclosed space of a mine, and since it's completely odorless 197 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: and colorless, miners typically wouldn't notice the gas until it 198 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 1: was too late. That is where the canaries came in. 199 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: Starting as far back the eighteen nineties, British miners would 200 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: descend into the mine carrying one of the small yellow 201 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: songbirds in a cage. If the canary stopped singing or 202 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: showed any sign of distress while the miners worked, they 203 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: took it as a signal that something in the air 204 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: was unsafe and that they should evacuate the pit immediately. 205 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: This crude but effective method of detecting the presence of 206 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: carbon monoxide was employed for nearly a century. It started 207 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: on the advice of Scottish scientists John Haldane. He investigated 208 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 1: the properties of many different gases, including their effects on 209 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: the human body. His research into the effects of carbon 210 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:46,079 Speaker 1: monoxide poisoning led him to suggest the use of small 211 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: animals for detecting the gas and underground mining operations. Haldane 212 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 1: noted that white mice would work well because their fast 213 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: metabolism would cause them to show the effects of poisoning 214 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: before the gas impacted human workers, thus giving them enough 215 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: time to escape. However, hal Dane noted that canaries were 216 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: even better suited for the task. Like other birds, canaries 217 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: require large amounts of oxygen in order to fly. To 218 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: meet this need, their respiratory systems work in a way 219 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: that allows them to get a dose of air not 220 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 1: just as they inhale, but as they exhale too. That 221 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: means that compared to a mouse, a canary will breathe 222 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: in twice as much air in the same amount of time, 223 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: and if the air is poisoned, the canary would show 224 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: the effects twice as quickly. England wasn't the only country 225 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: to follow hal Dane's advice. The US and Canada both 226 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: used canaries for the same purpose starting at the turn 227 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century. The practice was popular not just 228 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: because it was effective, but because it boosted morale too. 229 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 1: Many miners came to regard their feathered cowork as protective pets, 230 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: bright chipper companions who guarded their masters, and the way 231 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: a dog might in the dreary conditions of a coal mine. 232 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: The happy singing of a songbird was a welcome sign 233 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: that all was well. It's only fitting then that the 234 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: miners came up with ways to repay the favor and 235 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: protect the canaries right back. For example, in eighteen ninety six, 236 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: a device was created to help resuscitate coal mine canaries. 237 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: When one of the birds lost consciousness due to carbon monoxide. 238 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: The door of the circular cage would be sealed and 239 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: a valve would be opened, allowing fresh oxygen from a 240 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: tank to fill the enclosure and revive the canary. Typically, 241 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: this would be done first thing after a mining accident, 242 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: and only afterward would the miners evacuate the area. Still, 243 00:15:54,200 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: clever gadgets aside the practice was inhumane. By six were better, cheaper, 244 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: and more effective options. The new electronic gas detectors were handheld, 245 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: even more portable than a canary in a cage, Plus 246 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: they gave digital readouts of gas levels on a screen 247 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 1: in real time. Still, the digital detectors weren't as comforting 248 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: or as cheerful as the canaries had been. According to 249 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: the BBC quote, the birds are so ingrained in the 250 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: culture that miners report whistling to the birds and coaxing 251 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: them as they worked, treating them as pets. The report 252 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 1: went on to say that although the miners were deeply 253 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: saddened by the decision to phase out the canaries, they 254 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: wouldn't fight the change. In a parting show of care, 255 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: the miners recognized that the birds would be better off 256 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: without them. These days, the biggest reminder of the canaries 257 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: role in mining is the overused phrase a canary in 258 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: a coal mine, which is a met of four used 259 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: to describe something as an early indicator of potential danger. 260 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 1: It's hard to believe the practice alluded to in the 261 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: cliche was only discontinued in the mid nineteen eighties. But 262 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: on the other hand, canaries weren't even the last animals 263 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: to retire from the mining industry. Horses and mules nicknamed 264 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: pit ponies, were used to haul up coal from underground mines, 265 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: until at which point they were finally replaced by machines 266 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: as well. Today, phrases like coal mine canaries and pit 267 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: ponies seem antiquated, and many would assume they refer to 268 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: much older practices than they really do. They may not 269 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: be the practical terms they once were, but they're still 270 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: important reminders of an even harsher world of coal mining. 271 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: One that thankfully no longer exists. I'm Gay, Bluesier, and 272 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: hopefully no No, a little more about history today than 273 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with 274 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and 275 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I HC Show. You can also 276 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,159 Speaker 1: leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and you can 277 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: write to us too at this Day at I heart 278 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 279 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,360 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 280 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another Day in History class. For 281 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 282 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.