THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sought in the heat of summer, 1858. But it was not merely the sun that scorched the metropolis. An even more detestable force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial discharges had transformed London's lifeblood into a stench. The stench was oppressive, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone and infused t

On a blustery January in the year, disaster struck Boston. A massive holding filled with sticky, sweet molasses burst sending a torrent of the thick liquid rushing through the streets. The impact was catastrophic, crushing buildings and burying citizens in a gooey mass. Dozens of people were fatally injured, and many more suffered. Authorities fa