Relative Disasters

In 1913, Teddy Roosevelt and Candido Ronden, national heroes of the United States and Brazil, set out to map a previously-uncartographed river. By the time they saw civilization again, two men were dead, one was lost to the jungle (and good riddance), and Roosevelt was nearly dead. This is what happened.

The Lady Jane Grey was many things in her short life - a polyglot, a religious scholar, a young woman who approached the world with curiosity. She was also a pawn in the schemes of her much-less-intelligent father, and it resulted in her becoming Queen of England... for a moment.

Richard the Third of England has been regarded as a monstrous ruler, a murderer of his nephews, and a raving, hunchbacked lunatic. As with all disasters - especially those of rulers - the truth is far more interesting.

In 1877, a series of cultural misunderstandings and distrust led to a completely avoidable war, the execution of which saw the United States Army consistently out-maneuvered and tactically embarrassed by a tactical genius... or at least that was the story. In actuality, the desperate Nimiipuu people were running for their lives, helped out by the fact that their pursuing enemy just couldn't get out of their own way. Apologies for my (wretched) pronunciations of the Nimiipuu language during this episode.

It was one of the largest collapses of human civilization, arguably bigger and more important to history than the fall of Rome... so why do we know so little about it? Well, it's only recently that theories about how the major empires of the Bronze Age fell have found corroborating evidence in the archaeological record - so join us as we talk about the empires of the day, how they fell, and what we can learn from the whole mess!

The mythology of ancient Sparta is that of peerless warriors, un-defeatable soldiers who defended democracy and resisted those who would conquer Greece. The reality is... a lot different. We're going to take a look at what ancient Sparta was actually like, why it was like that, and whether or not their Spartiates were actually that good at war.

It was intended to be "Woodstock West", a celebration of music in a free concert in California. It was intended to have a fun lineup of some of the biggest rock bands on 1969, headlined by The Rolling Stones. It ended with four people dead, hundreds injured, and is often pointed to as the death of the 1960s peace & love / counter-culture movements.

In 1968, a race launched from the British Isles, a race to be the first person to circumnavigate the globe by themself. Nine people entered the race. When it ended, one person had won, seven people had given up, and one person was never found again. We're going to talk about the open ocean, the dangers of the route, and the toll that isolation and danger takes on the human psyche.

In 1914, a scientist made a new kind of paint, a paint that glowed. A company was founded, and they needed girls with small hands to work there, applying that paint to the hands and numbers of watches and to the dials of gauges in aircraft. One problem - the paint was deadly. And nobody told the girls.

Auntie Lynn joins us to discuss the disastrous reign of King John - and the numerous sidebars with which we become distracted. This episode is a free-wheeling discussion of John and a lot of random - but interesting - nonsense surrounding his reign! Note: As happens often, the dogs wanted to co-host, so you will hear some puppers in the background.

A flood is a flood, whether it's water or beer - and a 571-ton, 15-foot tall wave is going to be destructive, no matter what it's made of. Join us as we talk about beer, rookeries, prejudices, and settle some myths.

Back in the 1930s, some folks in Australia's sugar industry imported the Cane Toad from South America to help control a destructive beetle population. It... did not go well. It continues to not go well. It will likely keep not going well.

The city of Chi'Ing-yang got flattened in the late fourteen hundreds... and nobody really knows what happened. We'll talk about meteorites, comets, and explosions as we examine some of the more plausible theories. A nerdy brother and sister talk about disasters - that's what the show's all about. Especially in early April.

We're headed underground yet again, to visit beautiful British Colombia and talk about what happens when you mix explosives, methane, and coal dust. It's a tragedy that affected an entire city and is still relevant today.

A guy wrote a book, collecting and codifying religious and social suppression of women. That book became a sensation, propelling the man to fame and fortune. No, we're not talking about some modern "MRA" idiot or so-called "incel"... no, this guy existed over half a millennium ago and we're still seeing his fingerprints on modern misogyny today.

This week we're looking at an attempt to overthrow the American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt by a group of Wall Street financiers and big business leaders. Mocked and dismissed at the time - in newspapers owned by said business leaders - this attempted coup was a uniquely American close-call with facism.

Join us for three stories of people exploiting - or trying to - ill-thought-out corporate promotions. We'll talk about Vacuums, Soft Drinks, and Pudding, all tied together by an odd connection to airplanes - The Hoover Free Flights promotion, the Pepsi Points Harrier Jet legal case, and the Healthy Choice airline miles promotion.

Join us in the skies off the coast of California in this episode. We'll talk about the US Naval airship L-8, the mysterious disappearance of its crew, and its brief time as an airborne ghost ship!

Re-upload. Join us as Ella explains the events of a fateful night that sent a crew of 29 to the bottom of the largest freshwater lake in North America. We'll discuss shipping tonnage, the incredibly dangerous weather systems of the Great Lakes, and talk a little about Gordon Lightfoot's haunting tribute to the disaster. This episode was taken down due to a copyright concern; we'd quoted some lyrics from Lightfoot's song in the initial version of this episode. Those quotations have been removed and I'm glad to be able to put this one back up for everyone. -Greg

Join us as we head to the mid-1800's and learn about a very specific blight that nearly crippled the French wine industry!

Another deep-sea oil rig, another disaster; in 1983, five saturation divers were killed when their air pressure was explosively decompressed. This episode covers a truly awful way to die.

How does a train wind up outside of its station, standing on its face? Well, the answer involves a perfect storm of operator negligence, bad brakes, and good ol' financial incentive.

Greg and Child Unit A explore one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of all time, and why a simultaneous massive decrease in the human population may be a case of correlation, not causation.

On this episode, we're going to the city of Seoul to take a look at another example of how greed kills people. In 1988, a building was constructed to maximize profit and minimize expense; in 1995, its inevitable collapse caused the most non-wartime deaths South Korea has experienced. We'll talk about construction techniques, building codes, why regulations are important, and how to not move gigantic air conditioners.

We're going to the dry and drought-blasted British Isles of 1976 for this (short) episode; we'll talk about ladybirds, the population boom-and-bust cycles of insect life, and how weird weather can throw an entire ecosystem into red-shelled chaos.

To kick off our 2024 season, I thought we'd cover the insidious disaster that is Conspiratorial Thinking! We'll discuss how our brain can get short-circuited in the strangest ways, why it takes fear and lack of self-reflection skills to be a true believer... and why this stuff cannot be dismissed and how we can all do a better job of guarding ourselves against it. Fun. Sources: Due to being available on a whole bunch of different platforms now, it's come to my attention that our Sources don't always make it to each listener at their preferred listening-platform; therefore, I'm going to be doing a better job of listing the complete sources in the episode itself.

Back in 1977, Star Wars was a phenomenon that changed the film industry. In 1978, some CBS executives tried to replicate the magic for TV and the results were... legendary? Just probably not in the way they intended.

Ella takes a dive into color theory and the bizarre history of Fuschia - the color and the man it was named for. And why it may not be a real color at all.

On this extended sidebar, Ella brings us the story of the Ourang Medan, a ghost ship found floating in the middle of the pacific with the entire crew dead. Or was it never found, its only survivor finding his way to a barely-inhabited atoll and living just long enough to relay how his whole crew had perished due to some unknown force? Or was it found in the straits of Indonesia, with the deceased crew all staring upward in abject horror? It's a creepy story with a fairly mundane truth living in its center.

In this extended sidebar we talk about a baseball player at the absolute top of his game, one of the hardest feats in the game of baseball, why he was able to pull it off under the influence of LSD - and more importantly, the incredible work he did once his baseball career was behind him.

Well, apparently all we're going to do are "stone-based historical scams" on these Extended Sidebar episodes... anyway, this hoax came up waaaaay back in our first season during the research for the Gregor MacGregor episodes. Join us as we talk about the Ica Stones, a hoax involving ancient Incans, Aliens, Dinosaurs, and the creative use of chickens. Enjoy!

Join Ella and Greg while they talk about one of the weirdest (and most obvious) scams in American archaeology - the Dare Stones!

Join us for our last episode of the season, wherein Ella and Greg discuss how a selfless act of heroism led to the ruination of a man's personal life. We'll discuss how to NOT be a good friend, the state of human rights in 1975, and how far society's come since then - and how far we still have to go. Also, Ella has an announcement. Sources: Sorrow Trailed a Veteran Who Saved a President and Then Was Cast in an Unwanted Spotlight by Dan Morain, LA Times, Feb. 13, 1989 Caught in Fate's Trajectory, Along With Gerald Ford by Lynne Duke, Washington Post, December 31, 2006 News and Sexuality: Media Portrayals of Diversity by Laura Castañeda and Shannon Campbell Sage Publications, 2006 Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military by Randy Shilts McMillan, 2005 The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts St. Martin's Press, 1982 Radiolab: Oliver Sipple Sept. 22, 2017

In February 1910, the deadliest avalanche in the history of the United States occurred in the small town of Wellington, Washington. On this episode, we're talking rotary plows, wild weather, and railroad history. Sources for this episode include: "White Cascade", G. Krist, 2007 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wellington-avalanche-site https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86072041/1910-03-04/ed-1/seq-2/#words=avalanche+Avalanche+crash+snow+Snow+snowed+train+trains  https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/1910-stevens-pass-avalanche-still-deadliest-in-us-history/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbQ7Qc7MCIM

We head down to the Florida Everglades for one of the most disheartening plane crashes of all time - though with a higher survival rate than would be expected. We'll talk about alligators, frogs, autopilot controls, and a huckster attempting to cash in on tragedy. Sources: The 401 Crash and Survivors Some Survive as Jet Smashes Into Swamp (AP) - The Eugene Register-Guard, December 30, 1972 NTSB Aircraft Accident Report on Flight 401 (here)

A few notes; one, this is an extremely nerdy episode. Two, our recording circumstances were a little tricky (with a very persistent cricket intent on co-hosting), so the audio quality is a little less than I'd like with background noise. With Ella on a well-deserved break, Greg and his friend Carson talk about something near and dear to their nerdy hearts - the time the card game Magic: The Gathering nearly collapsed because of a failure in recognizing a flaw in game design. Join us as we talk about game design, the delightfully geeky history of Magic, and the concept of "Fun"!

Content Warning: In this episode we discuss the deaths of two children; if you'd rather not hear about that, please skip this episode. We're going back to the 1960s and 1970s, where kids ran around and played in the street and hooked weird toys up to their garden hoses during the summer. One of those toys was the Water Wiggle, a toy that turned your hose into a chaotic missile of spraying water, wildly whipping hose, and getting bonked in the head with the goofy-looking plastic head of the toy. Danger and excitement abounded - unless the head came off. Join us as we discuss toy safety, lawn games (especially Lawn Darts), and how the Wham-O toy company is responsible for your childhood. Sources: The CSPC Recall Notice "Sobbing Father Tells How Toy Choked Son" - The Palm Beach Post, Wednesday, Feb 25, 1981, p. 44 Couple sues Wham-O over deadly Water Wiggle "Toy firm's R&D specialist admits 'Water Wiggle' toy dangerous" Part 1306 - ban of Hazardous Lawn Darts

In April 1865, the deadliest shipwreck in American history occurred when a steamship exploded in the middle of the Mississippi River. On this episode, we're discussing the Civil War, cast-iron fire-tube boilers, and how a steamship with the legal capacity for 460 people ended up carrying just over 2,100. Love the show? Support us on Patreon! Sources for this episode include: "The Explosion of the S. S. Sultana", 2014 "The Sultana Association of Descendants and Friends" "The Search for a Photo of the Man Behind the Sultana Disaster", E. Demerel for Mental Floss, 2015 "Loss of the Sultana and the Recollections of Survivors", by C Berry, 1866

China had a dynastic system of government for four thousand years; it ended when its last emperor was six years old. His life would be filled with the dissolution and reconstruction of China, brutal foreign occupations and incursions, and his own self-sabotaging need to be an Emperor again. Join us as we talk about what a horrific time the early/mid 1900s was in China, the lengths people in power will go to maintain that power, and why being an Emperor is not a job for a six-year-old. Sources: From Emperor to Citizen by Pu Yi (2007 restored version) Twilight in the Forbidden City by Reginald Fleming Johnston (1934)

In CE 68, the Roman Emperor Nero died, bringing an end to a dynasty - and relief from his 14-year-long rule, a time of greed, excess, abuse, murder, and (possibly) arson. On this episode, we're discussing the life of the worst of the Julio-Claudian rulers, as well as the Great Fire of Rome, a rat's nest of a family tree, and some of the worst theater ever performed. Sources for this episode include: "Nero, a Life From Beginning To End", by Hourly Histories, 2018  "The New, Nicer Nero", J Levine for Smithsonian Magazine, 2020 "The genderqueer tragedy of Sporus, Roman Emperor Nero's last “empress”", K. Kaye for LGBTQ Nation, 2023 "The Fire of Rome" M. Owen and I. Gildenhard, 2013 "The Life of Nero", Suetonius

Liu Bang was a man who had a good life and then had a really bad day. How he handled that bad day led to the creation of one of China's most important dynasties and reshaped China's history - join us as we talk about executions, how legal systems based on fear are not sustainable, and lacquer. Lots of lacquer. Also, Greg's fighting a cold this week, so expect a few background sniffles. Sources: Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Born in 12 CE, Gaius Cesar Augustus Germanicus - nicknamed 'Caligula' - survived a horrific adolescence to become the third Roman Emperor at just 24 years old. The four years that followed were expensive, scandalous, and full of increasingly violent behavior - but was he really as 'mad' as his earliest biography would have us believe? On this episode, we're discussing dynasties, paranoia, and all those juicy scandals. Sources for this episode include: "Caligula: A Biography" by A. Winterling, 2015 "Caligula: a neuropsychiatric explanation of his madness", J. Charry-Sanchez, et al, for Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 2021 "Dinner with Caligula" by C. Baumgarthuber for The New Inquiry, 2016 "The lives of the Caesars", Suetonius, 1913 Loeb translation

In 1999, Scott Adams used his beloved-at-the-time character Dilbert to market... a line of microwaveable burritos. Join us as we take a look at bizarre marketing, the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals, and cooking with gelatin, plus an insight into weird foods that Ella and Greg enjoy.

In 1950 Chicago, a rush-hour streetcar missed an emergency switch and slammed into a gas truck carrying 8,000 gallons of gasoline. The resulting explosion and fire burned down five apartment buildings and killed 34 people. On this episode, we're discussing streetcar safety, emergency exits, and one of the worst traffic accidents we've ever come across. Sources for this episode include: "The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster", C. A. Cleve, 2012 "On This Day in 1950: The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster", CBS News Chicago, 2012

In 1925, a tornado of incredible size and power swept through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana; by the time it was finished, it had killed over seven hundred people, injured at least two thousand, and destroyed entire towns. Join us as we talk about tornado systems, how this particular tornado formed, the clairvoyancy of early 20th-century farmers, and the sheer tragedy of destruction at this speed. Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠. Sources: The Forgotten Storm by Wallace Akin The Tri-State Tornado by Peter Felknor Storms of the Century by Stephanie Watson The Tri-State Tornado by The Tornado Project as well as contemporary newspaper articles.

In April 1933, the US Navy's airship Akron flew directly into a thunderstorm off the coast of New Jersey. The crash that followed claimed the lives of 75 people, making it the deadliest accident in airship history. On this episode, we're discussing the American airship program, spy cars, cigarette smoking, aircraft carriers, and the big difference between hydrogen and helium in airship design. Enjoy the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠. Sources for this episode include: "US Navy Rigid Airships" Airships.net    “Airship: Design, Development and Disaster” by J Swinfield, 2012 "The Loss of the Akron", L.C. C.E. Rosendahl for Proceedings, 1934     

We're headed to Portugal this week, with an earthquake so large it shook fundamental human belief systems. The 1755 earthquake hit the capital of Lisbon (and elsewhere), with its physical effects being felt as far away as Brazil; its effects on society at the beginnings of the Enlightenment were just as profound. Join us as we discuss earthquakes, tsunamis, firestorms, and why the question of divine judgement was raised. Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠. Sources: 1755 O Terramoto de Lisboa by Jao Duerte Fonseca This Gulf of Fire by Mark Molesky Wrath of God by Edward Paice The Last Day by Nicholas Shrady and various archived materials available through the National Archive at Torre do Tombo

In 1910 America, residents of the southeastern states were facing down two major problems: a shortage of meat, and an invasive plant that was threatening fishing, shipping, and recreation. Luckily, a Louisiana official and two 'experts' had just the solution: hippo ranching. On this episode, we're talking water hyacinths and hippopotamuses, as well as cocaine, meatpacking, lake-cow bacon, and some of the most colorful characters we've ever discussed. Help keep this show ad-free AND get access to our magnificent monthly bonus episodes on our ⁠Patreon!⁠ Sources for this episode include: "American Hippopotamus" by J. Mooallam for The Atavist, 2013 “How the U.S. Almost Became a Nation of Hippo Ranchers” S. Parks for Smithsonian, 2023 "The true story of when Congress almost released wild hippos into the Louisiana bayou", M. Rosza for Salon, 2022 "The Crazy, Ingenious Plan to Bring Hippopotamus Ranching to America", G. Miller for Wired, 2013 “A Dangerous Beauty” Army Corps of Engineers

Well, we're back with 1970's baseball again. This time, the hapless baseball team from Cleveland decided to offer a 10-Cent Beer promotional event... but they neglected a key restriction that would result in a riot that left both teams injured, the stadium getting torn up, and a massive force of Cleveland police coming to put an end to it. In this episode we'll talk about the city of Cleveland, the things that REALLY should be part of planning any event centered around alcohol, and the truly scary events of that night in June. Kick your feet up, settle back, and maybe drink a soft beverage as we explore what might be the worst riot in baseball history. Sources: The night beer and violence bubbled over in Cleveland, by Paul Jackson for ESPN Forty years ago, 10-cent beer makes memories, by Anthony Castrovince for Major League Baseball The Strange Tale of Ten Cent Beer Night, by Bill Lubinger for Ohio Magazine

In July of 1916, five swimmers at the Jersey Shore were attacked by a shark. Four suffered fatal wounds and the fifth required two months in the hospital to recover. The "New Jersey Man-Eater" was front-page news across the country, and the attacks are still a subject of debate, scrutiny, and speculation. On this episode, Ella talks about the five attacks, the sharks who may (or may not) have been responsible, and the beach dangers much more likely to cause a fatal accident. Sources for this episode include: "Twelve Days of Terror", R. G. Fernicola, 2016 "Two Weeks, Four Deaths, and the Start of America's Fear of Sharks", V. McCall for National Geographic, 2019 "The Real-Life ‘Jaws' That Terrorized the Jersey Shore", C. Klein for History, 2023 "The 1916 Shark Attacks That Gave Sharks a Bad Rap" by N. Gonzalez for Brittanica, n.d. "The Shark Attacks That Were the Inspiration for Jaws", M. Gambino for Smithsonian, 2012

In 1896, the cities of St. Louis and East St. Louis were enjoying an economic boom that led to skyscrapers, mansions, and a 'tornado-proof' bridge connecting the two cities. That progress was unfortunately paused at the end of May, when an F4 tornado went straight through the downtowns of both cities. On this episode, Ella and our special guest host discuss architecture, bridges, tornado damage, and a building made of popsicle sticks. Sources for this episode include: “The Great Cyclone of 1896” Digital exhibit at St. Louis Public Library “Tornadoes in the Past”, The Tornado Project, 1999  “The Great Cyclone at St. Louis and East St. Louis, May 27, 1896, Being A Full History of the Most Terrifying and Destructive Tornado In The History Of The World”, by J Curzon, 1897 “On This Day: The Great St. Louis Tornado of 1896”, staff writer for NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information website, 2017 “It all Happened in 20 Minutes: In 1896, The Great Cyclone Ripped Through St. Louis”,  T. O'Neill, St Louis Post Dispatch, 2022