Relative Disasters

In the spring of 1874, a plague of locusts descended on the American Midwest in a swarm so vast it blocked the sky for miles before it settled down and beginning to eat...everything. Farmers and homesteaders fought back with blankets, coal tar, and fire, with exactly zero success. By the first frost that autumn, an estimated 120 billion Rocky Mountain Locusts had destroyed hundreds of thousands of square miles of farmland.  

On this episode, we're talking grasshoppers vs. locusts, high-protein snacks, an anti-locust fungus, disaster relief, and some pretty incredible hopping muscles.

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources for this episode include:

"Grasshopper Plague of 1874", by staff writer, Kansas Historical Society, 2016

"1874: The Year of the Locust", by C. Lyons for Historynet, 2012

"The Death of the Super Hopper", by J. Lockwood for High Country News, 2003

"Report of the United States Entomological Commission", F. V. Hayden et all, 1878

In 1905, a backed-up canal on the Colorado River caused a years-long flood into Imperial Valley, California. The resulting deluge of freshwater, along with new advances in canal engineering and agricultural practices, became an important part of southern California's economy, allowing the land to provide fresh produce and meat to much of the Southwestern United States. The flood also created an enormous lake at the lowest point of the valley. For a long time, all was well - the valley produced huge yields of fresh food, and the "Salton Riveria" became a popular vacation spot for families from Los Angeles and San Diego. 

In the 1970s, however, scientists began warning that all was not well with the Salton Sea's ecology, and by the 2010s, their worst predictions were coming true. Runoff from the farms and feedlots, plus a hotter, drier climate, caused fish to die off, birds to stop visiting, and vacationers to go elsewhere. Even worse, the exposed lakebed was filling the air with toxic dust, creating an array of public health issues in Imperial Valley's residents. On this episode, we're getting into environmental disaster, pollution, freshwater fish die-offs, outsider art, cleaning costs, and how electric cars might just save the day.

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources for this episode include: 

"Toxic Dust From a Dying California Lake", C. Iovenko for the Atlantic, 2015

"Salt Dreams, Land and Water in Southern California", by W. deBuys, 1999

Bombay Bech Biennale (ongoing)

"The Salton Sea", Pacific Institute / UC Riverside (ongoing)

"Mining At The Salton Sea: Area Set To Become A Massive Lithium Source In The US", by Staff Writer for Planet Voice, 2021

"Miracle in the Desert - Salton City" video, 1968

On the December 15 evening rush hour in 1967, traffic was heavy on the Silver Bridge, a 40-year-old suspension bridge connecting the states of Ohio and West Virginia. When a single link broke on the bridge's suspension system, none of those drivers had time to react - and within 20 seconds, dozens of cars and trucks had toppled into the icy Ohio River as the bridge collapsed. 64 people fell in the river, and 46 of them died, in the deadliest bridge failure in US history.

On this episode, we're talking suspension bridge design - the good, the bad, and the non-redundant -, the cause of that little crack in Eyebar 330, why bridge inspections had failed to catch an issues, and some incredible stories from the survivors. And, of course, we're discussing Mothman, who is (sadly) less of a cryptid / urban legend, and more of a blatant cash grab. 

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources:

The Silver Bridge at WV.Gov

The deadliest bridge disaster in US history was caused by a tiny crack just three millimeters deep by Matt Reimann for Timeline, 2017

Silver Bridge Collapse, staff writer for Corrosion Doctors, 2022

In the late spring of 1889, southern Pennsylvania's South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club was gearing up for another summer of luxurious hiking, boating, and swimming, when an unexpected rainstorm dropped 10 inches of water on their pristine mountain getaway. The resulting rise in the club's lake, Lake Conemaugh, spelled disaster for the dam holding it back. And with the failure of the dam came the horrific flood in the valley below, a flood which took out railroad bridges, knocked over factories, tore houses off their foundations, and wiped out downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in less than an hour. 

In this episode, we're getting into the details of what that flood looked like to eyewitnesses; why the dam broke; the Carnegie libraries (it's relevant!!), the astonishing amount of money in the steel industry, and what exactly the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club was doing up there in the Alleghany Mountains. 

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Main sources for this episode include: 

Charles Guggenheim's documentary "The Johnstown Flood", 1898

"How Andrew Carnegie Built the Architecture of American Literacy", by K. Capps, Bloomberg City Lab, 2014

"A history of Johnstown and the great flood of 1889: a study of disaster and rehabilitation" by N D Shappee, 1940 

"Through the Johnstown Flood" by D J Beale, 1890

In the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, a British ski jumper named Michael Edwards competed with enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and optimism. It had been a lifelong dream to compete in the Olympics, and he made the most of it, soaring to ... dead last in every event in which he competed. On this episode, the story of "Eddie the Eagle", skiing in England (it's harder than you think!), Olympic glory, Finnish pop music, and the joy of achieving your dreams and finding your niche.

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources:

Eddie the Eagle: From scavenging bins and living in a mental asylum to working at Glenshee by Gayle Ritchie

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/1886605/eddie-the-eagle-from-scavenging-bins-and-living-in-a-mental-asylum-to-working-at-glenshee/

Flying High by Stuart Jeffries

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/sep/03/sport.athletics

http://eddie-the-eagle.co.uk/

In the spring of 1902, Mt Pelée, a volcano on the Caribbean island of Martinique, began behaving a little strangely. First, there was the overwhelming stink of sulphur. Then, steam eruptions became visible, and ash began to fall. Next were snake attacks, mudslides, flash floods, tsunamis, and smallpox. At the foot of the volcano, in the town of St Pierre, people were torn between evacuation ... and voting in the upcoming election, in which Progressive and Radical candidates were facing off for a seat in French Parliament. On this episode, we're getting into why politics and volcanoes should never mix. 

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources for this episode include:

“The Day the World Ended” by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, 1969

"The Eruption of Mt. Pelee", San Diego State University geology department, 2001

"Benchmarks: May 8, 1902: The deadly eruption of Mount Pelée" by J. Rosen for Earth Magazine, 2015

"The Unlucky Consul: Thomas Prentis and the 1902 Martinique Disaster" by W. Bent for American Foreign Service Association Journal, 2020

On a chilly February morning in 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck ordered a 49-cent cup of hot coffee from a McDonald's drive-through. When she opened the top to add cream and sugar, the flimsy cup spilled 190-degree coffee into her lap, resulting in excruciatingly painful 3rd degree burns.

Mrs. Liebeck sued for gross negligence, asking McDonald's to improve their cups, lower the temperature of their dangerously hot coffee, and pay her $20,000 worth of medical bills; McDonald's countered with...$800. After a week-long trial, the jury found McDonald's responsible and awarded Mrs. Liebeck two days' worth of the fast-food giant's coffee sales, a sum of $2.7 million. No, the Golden Arches never paid her the full sum, and the press had a field day with "Woman Spills Hot Coffee, Wins Millions" stories.

On this highly caffeinated episode, we're looking into coffee safety, burn lawsuits, tort reform, and how hot you should really be drinking your morning beverage.

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources for this episode:

The McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case from Consumer Attorneys of California

McDonalds' Hot Coffee Case - Read the Facts NOT the Fiction

Liebeck v. McDonald’s: The Hot Coffee Case by Allison Torres Burtka

The Truth Behind the Infamous McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case by A.J. Serafini

And Now, The Rest of the Story by Kevin G. Cain

Stella Liebeck vs. McDonald’s Restaurants by Elizabeth Gam

The Le Mans 24, one of auto racing's oldest and most dangerous endurance races, has seen its share of fatal accidents over the past 100 years. That's thanks to mixed surfaces, sharp corners and curves, unpredictable weather, and very, very fast driving for hours at a time. Spectators at Le Mans expect to see the cutting edge of automotive technology from all the major European carmakers PLUS expert driving skills, and most years they get exactly that. 

In the 1955 race, however, the delicate balance of speed, skill, and conditions failed, causing a single-car crash that snowballed into the worst accident in motorsports history. On this episode, we're looking at the history of the race, the quirks of the course, and what exactly happened the evening of June 11, 1955. 

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources for this episode include: 

"THE TRAGEDY AT LE MANS", by B. Newman for Sports Illustrated, 1986

"Le Mans 1955: the disaster that changed motorsport forever", by B. Goodhart for GQ, 2020

"On Auto Racing’s Deadliest Day", by B. Spurgeon for the NY Times, 2015

"Le Mans 1955", short film by Q. Baillieux, 2018 

"Everything You Need to Know about the 24 Hours of Le Mans Race" by R. Ceppos for Car and Driver, 2021

In this episode, we're tackling one of the great wildlife stories of all time: Cocaine Bear. We'll get into the finer points of drug laws, a quick history of cocaine (a key ingredient in both shampoo and children's medicines!), the socioeconomic ramifications of Reagan's "War on Drugs", and the adrenaline-seeking hi-jinks of Drew Thornton II. But the real star of our story is the 175-pound black bear who stumbled upon a duffel bag of cocaine in the Georgia wilderness and ... ate it. 

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources:

Drew Thornton's Last Adventure by Sally Ann Denton for the Washington Post, October 20 1985

The Bluegrass Conspiracy: An Inside Story of Power Greed, Drugs and Murder, also by Sally Denton

Cocaine's Skydiving Smugglers by John S. Demott, Time Magazine, October 1985

Meet Our New Mascot: Cocaine Bear by Coleman Larkin, August 19 2015

The True Story Behind ‘Cocaine Bear’ by EJ Dickson for Rolling Stone

Cocaine Research: What is the Scope of Cocaine Usage in the United States

In December 1872, the American brigantine 'Mary Celeste' was found drifting hundreds of miles off the coast of Portugal - with not a living soul aboard, and no sign whatsoever of what had caused her crew and passengers to abandon ship. On this episode, we cover Mary Celeste's history of bad vibes all the way from her maiden voyage (where the captain died) to her final sinking (where the captain was convicted of insurance fraud). We'll also talk about who was aboard in 1872, what they were carrying, and the High Court of Gibraltar's investigation into the incident. And along the way we'll get into sea monsters, pirates, salvage law, Arthur Conan Doyle, and why you should never keep your explosive liquids in red oak barrels. 

Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at ⁠www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast⁠.

Sources for this episode include:

"Mary Celeste: What Actually Happened Aboard The Notorious Ghost Ship" by J. Kuroski, All That's Interesting, 2021

"Abandoned Ship: The Mary Celeste", by J. Blumberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 2007

 MaryCeleste.Net

"Solved: The Mystery of the Mary Celeste", by A. Lee, The Express, 2006

"The Mary Celeste", by Brian Freemantle, 1999 (fiction)