Category Archives: Historical Disasters

The Deadliest Circus Train Wreck in History

One of the worst train wrecks in U.S. history happened with, of all things, a Circus Train.  It was carrying over 400 performers when another train rear-ended it in the dead the night; and they burst into flames. The horrific tragedy happened to the famous Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus at Dutchman’s Curve near Hammond, Indiana on 22 June 1918.  The circus train was stopped on the tracks for repairs. The circus train wreck killed 89 performers and roustabouts, and injured over 150 more.   How could such a terrible disaster have occurred during the Golden Age of railroads?

The Worst Coal Mining Disasters in History

Two of the worst coal mining disasters in our history, one in U.S. and one in the UK, took place only six years apart – in West Virginia in 1907 and Wales in 1913.  Let’s take a closer look at them both. December 6, 1907 – Fairmont Coal Company, Monongah, West Virginia – 361 DeadContinue reading “The Worst Coal Mining Disasters in History”

Chicago’s SS Eastland Disaster topped Titanic

In July of 1915 on the Chicago River, the SS Eastland, carrying over 2,500 passengers and crew headed for a Western Electric company picnic, suddenly listed to port and rolled over into the muddy river.  844 souls perished, more than on the Titanic or Lusitania; yet the SS Eastland is lost in history to most.

Jamaica’s Port Royal, the Wickedest Place on Earth, Sank into the Sea

During the 17th century, Jamaica’s Port Royal was the wealthiest, busiest, and most nefarious port in the new Americas.  It was frequented by smugglers, pirates, prostitutes and all other unsavory types who roamed the Caribbean Sea.

The History of Climate Change in 10 Minutes

It’s taken nearly a century of research to convince the majority of the earth’s population that we humans are polluting the atmosphere and changing the climate of our own planet.  Decades of data now shows that not only is climate change real, but that our disregard has now left us near the point of no return, with dire consequences ahead of us.  As the earth heats up, climate change has now become the Climate Crisis.  But how did we get to this point so fast?  Let’s take a quick look back.

1918年西班牙流感超越黑死病以来的所有大流行病

要收听音频播客 请点击这里 在新冠疫情、埃博拉和艾滋病之前，1918年的流感大流行造成的死亡人数超过了第一次世界大战的总和，全球有超过5000万人死亡！在短短一年多的时间里，所谓的“西班牙流感”感染了世界五分之一的人口。它至今仍然是继续阅读 “1918年西班牙流感超越黑死病以来的所有大流行病”

太平洋垃圾带大如德州

The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is just what its sounds like.  Not one, but two immense clusters of man-made trash concentrated in the North Pacific Ocean. One is off the east coast of Japan, the other between Hawaii and California, often described as being as being ‘as large as Texas!’  The name may lead youContinue reading “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is as Big as Texas”