Relative Disasters

Latest Episodes:

The North American Video Game Crash of 1983 (Episode 22) Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we go back to the 80's and talk about how the nascent video game industry in North America was nearly wiped out by a series of bad decisions and hubris. We'll visit Atari, Pac-Man, E.T., and a landfill in New Mexico.

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

Sources:

The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven Kent

Video Games Industry Comes Down To Earth by N.R. Kleinfield

-New York Time, Oct. 17, 1983

Home Video Games Are Coming Under Strong Attack by Robert Snowden Jones

-Gainesville Sun, Dec. 12, 1982 (Cox News Service)

What Went Wrong At Atari? by John Hubner

-Infoworld, Vol. 5 #48

From Landfill to Smithsonian Collections: "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" Atari 2600 game by Drew Robarge

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/landfill-smithsonian-collections-et-extra-terrestrial-atari-2600-game

The Dancing Plague of 1518 (Episode 21) Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

In medieval Strasbourg, during a period of unimaginable suffering and poverty, a mania took hold. Infected people were gripped by the compulsion to dance in the streets until they dropped senseless from exhaustion - or died. When the strange illness began to spread, the city took a series of steps to help the afflicted, culminating in a thirty-mile trek to seek the intervention of an obscure saint who may or may not have been angry at the city's sinful lifestyle. On this episode, we look at the time period leading up to the dancing plague, possible causes, how it spread, what the cure looked like (it came with a free pair of red shoes!) and what made this event so much worse than similar ones across the late Middle Ages.

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

Sources for this episode include:

“The Dancing Mania: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness”, J. Waller, 2009

“The Black Death and the Dancing Mania”, J F K Hecker, (Babington translation), 1856

“The Differential Diagnosis of Chorea”, E J Wild et al, published in ‘Practical Neurology’, 2007

“The Dancing Plague of the Middle Ages”, M. Petcova, published in ‘Medium’, 2020

“Dancing Plagues and Mass Hysteria”, J Waller, published in ‘The Psychologist’ (British Psychological Society), 2009

The Extinction of the Dodo, 1598-1662 (Episode 20) May 27, 2021

Show notes

We're off for some birdwatching this week, with a deep dive into everyone's favorite extinction story, the dodo. Big, flightless, beaky, and laying only a single egg at a time, dodos were doomed from the moment Dutch merchants settled on the island at the turn of the sixteenth century. We lay out how and why the population dwindled, with extensive sidebars into how they tasted (not good), what they looked like (uninspiring), where the last few scraps of dodo remains are today (in museums and in court), and, most crucially, how likely they are to being revived through cloned DNA for observation and research in a Jurassic Park-style ecopark (not very likely, unfortunately, but we both fully support this).

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

The Lake Nyos Explosion of 1986 (Episode 19) May 19, 2021

Show notes

We're off to the African country of Cameroon this week to talk about the Lake Nyos tragedy, in which a small, rural crater lake exploded on a calm August evening. The eruption released a cloud of toxic gas that swept down into the valley below, killing every aerobic organism within a 15 kilometer radius - including at least 1750 people living in the villages of Nyos and Subum. We discuss the potential causes of the eruption; the incredible rescue and cleanup management; and Cameroon's efforts to de-saturate the lake, prevent another event, and move 20,000 displaced villagers back home. We'll also touch on the 2 other lakes in West Africa with the potential to explode, and Greg takes a deep dive into his secondhand textbook collection to give us a rundown on the difference between meromictic and monomictic lakes, as well as the particular conditions necessary for a limnic eruption.

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

Sources for this episode include:

“Eco-Autopsy of the Lake Nyos Disaster in Cameroon” by A. G. Aghaindum, 2017

“The African lake with explosive power”, by J. Wenz, Knowable Magazine, 2020

“Defusing Africa’s Killer Lakes” by K. Krajick, Smithsonian Magazine, 2003

“Lake Nyos disaster, Cameroon, 1986: the medical effects of large scale emission of carbon dioxide” by P. Baxter, M. Kapila, D. Mfonfu, BMJ, 1989

“Lake Nyos disaster survivors to return home after 30 years”, Al Jazeera English (video), 2016

“The Killer Lake Powering Rwanda”, BBC click (video)

"When Lake Michigan Burps", by Laura Otto, University of Wisconsin / Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences blog, 2017

The "Gimli Glider" Plane Non-Crash of 1983 (Episode 18) May 10, 2021

Show notes

This week we're headed to Canada to discuss the story of Air Canada Flight 143, which ran out of fuel 40,000 feet above rural Manitoba in July of 1983. What should have been a crash was narrowly averted by a pair of skilled pilots, a handful of algebra, and a landing site on a decommissioned airstrip in Gimli - which happened to be packed with Canadian car enthusiasts watching a racecar rally. Along the way, we'll talk about the Canadian air-traffic industry's imperial-metric changeover, how to up-cycle an old Air Force base, and - most importantly - how to turn a Boeing 767 into the world's heaviest and least agile glider.

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

Sources for this episode include:

Gimliglider.org

"The Gimli Glider" by Wade H. Nelson for Soaring Magazine, 1997

"'Gimli glider' recalled at trial of pilot in crash", CBC News story, 2007

"This Day in Aviation: 23rd July, 1983" by B. Swopes, 2016

The Casey Jones Train Crash of 1900 (Episode 17) Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

In episode 17, we're heading to Vaughn, Mississippi, to look at the infamous wreck of Engine 382. We'll discuss John Luther "Casey" Jones, the engineer at the controls of 382, his career in the railroad industry, and his actions leading up to the wreck, with sidebars on speeding freight trains, the banana business, the Chicago World's Fair, train whistles, and all the Casey Jones songs. We'll also take a look at how Wallace Saunders and Simeon T. Webb publicized the story of the wreck, and our first Special Guest Star (spoiler: it's our Dad) will share his expertise on railroad culture, express lines, how steam engines speed up and slow down, and what caused Casey Jones to think the track was clear on the night of the accident.

*We mistakenly referred to the town in which Casey Jones lived as "Jackson, Mississippi", when it was, in fact, Jackson, Tennessee.

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

Sources for this episode include:

"Casey Jones - Epic of the American Railroad" by F. J. Lee, 1921

Audio interview with Simeon Webb

"Casey Jones Accident Report", A. S. Sullivan / Illinois Central Railroad, 1900

“The Legend of Casey Jones” by J. Lambrecht, National Railroad Museum

The Jonestown Massacre of 1978 (Episode 16) Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

Content Warning: this episode concerns an act of extreme violence: mass murder and mass suicide, including the murder of children. Please feel free to skip this episode if that's going to be hard for you to hear.

In this episode, we examine the life of American cult leader and mass murderer Jim Jones. We'll take a look at his strong beliefs in racial equality, and how this promising beginning descended into drug addiction, cultism, paranoia, power, and violence as we attempt to answer the question: how dangerous can blind faith be? As we learn from the events at Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18 1978 - if that faith is placed in the wrong person, it can be very dangerous indeed.

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

Partial sources for this episode include:

"Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People", T. Reiterman and J. Jacobs, 1982

"Affidavit of Deborah Layton Blakey", "Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 642", and "Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 1053" , The Jonestown Project, San Diego State University, consulted 2021

Recording of FBI tape Q 042, "Death Tape", wikimedia commons, consulted 2021

"Father Cares", NPR audio documentary, 1981

"Jonestown FBI Files", Internet Archive, consulted 2021

The Jones-Liddell Feud, 1847-1870 (Episode 15) Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

This week, it's a self-inflicted and completely unnecessary disaster - one that took fourteen lives over the course of nearly thirty years, and outlasted the American Civil War. We'll be covering the 1847 argument between two very rich and deeply unlikeable Louisiana planters, Charles Jones and St. John Richardson Liddell, that led to the feud, and digging into the unbelievable pettiness of the following bloodshed. Related sidebars include an overview of how the legal system treated the feud's murders and lynching, Jones and Liddell's involvement in the Civil War, and the surprising career of one of the feud's few survivors, Cuthbert Bulitt Jones.

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

Sources for this episode include:

"The Black River Tragedy", Ouachita Telegraph, March 5, 1870 (Louisiana Digital Library) (https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/state-lwp%3A2497)

"The Death of F. S. Jones", Tensas Gazette, May 13, 1921 (https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=13261394&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjIyMTMzNDk3MiwiaWF0IjoxNjE2MTc4NzE2LCJleHAiOjE2MTYyNjUxMTZ9.ct_eSKX1DhI5qlcANmT1ulwhBm77FJQluyN61MC_5Wg)

"The Jones-King Matter", Savannah Morning News, June 13, 1885 (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015137/1885-06-13/ed-1/seq-2/)

"Liddell's Record", by St. John Richardson Liddell, LSU Press reprint, 1997

"Shiloh Veteran Murders former Confederate General in 1870", Geni entry for Col. CHarles Jones, CSA (https://www.geni.com/people/Col-CSA-Charles-Jones/6000000124769056821)

"Longtime Catahoula parish feud to reignite next weekend", by V. Hogan, Natchez Democrat, October 31, 2009 (https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2009/10/31/longtime-catahoula-parish-feud-to-reignite-next-weekend/)

"The Last of Louisiana's Aristocratic Feudists Upsets Family Traditions By Dying A Natural Death", Washington Times, October 5, 1921 (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23063216/the-last-of-louisianas-aristocratic/)

Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. and the Ark of the Covenant Incident of 1936 (Episode 14) Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

This week, we're looking at the amazing life of Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. and his discovery of the Ark of the Covenant! This one's got it all - guerilla archaeology, Nazis, and a prize of biblical proportions. We'll talk about the history of the Ark, its disappearance from the historical record, and its re-emergence and re-discovery in the 1930s. Nearly everyone directly involved with the project died in a mysterious explosion which took place at the opening of the Ark in 1936; we'll discuss what little is known of that, and take a look at the amazing life of Dr. Jones. Additional sidebars include the federal gag order on the Ark project participants, the current whereabouts of the Ark itself, and a little background on the great 1981 documentary on the subject.

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

Sources for this episode include:

Freedom of Information Act Request 34-6897B (filed in 2008, released in 2015)

"Document 9906753" by Top Men.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark", PBS documentary by S. Spielberg, 1981

Operation Highjump and the crash of the George One, 1946 (Episode 13) Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Add some ice to your drink and travel with us to Antarctica! This week we're talking about the US Navy's 1946 Operation Highjump, which sought to map Antarctica under the command of Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. We'll discuss the mission, the technology, the major players, and the horrific crash of the George One, a seaplane caught in 'the worst weather on planet Earth'. Three of the crew died on impact; we'll deep-dive into the story of the six survivors, and how they were rescued after two well-below-freezing weeks on a remote glacier.

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

Sources!

Most of the research for this episode comes from:

“Antarctic Mayday: The Crash of the George One” by J H Robbins, 1981 (https://www.south-pole.com/p0000153.htm)

“Where Hell Freezes Over”, by D Kearns, 2005

“The Secret Land” US Navy documentary directed by O O Dull, 1948 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9chz8COYVc)

Other sources include:

“A Very Able Mariner” by N Polmar, Naval History Magazine, 2007 (https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2007/december/historic-aircraft)

“1946 – Operation High Jump”, by staff writer, Coast Guard Aviation History website, retrieved 2021 (https://cgaviationhistory.org/1946-operation-high-jump)

“Operation Highjump”, by P Hoversten, Air & Space Magazine, 2007

(https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/operation-highjump-18223476/)

“Spell of the Yukon” by R W Service, from “The Best of Robert Service”, 1953 edition (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46643/the-spell-of-the-yukon)

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