The Johnstown Flood

"Fumifugium" was a treatise on air pollution written in 1661. In addition to warning about the dangers of coal smoke, John Evelyn wrote this work to improve the reputation of King Charles II. Research: Chambers, Douglas D. C. "Evelyn, John (1620–1706), diarist and writer." Oxford ...  Show more

This 2019 episode shares how Hennig Brand discovered phosphorous by boiling pee. But he was really thought the secret to the philosopher’s stone might be found in urine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

It’s May, 30th 1889, and the South Fork Dam in Western Pennsylvania is in danger. After nearly a month of hard rain, eight inches have fallen in one day, filling the lake behind the dam to capacity. And the dam’s owners, the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club, have cut corner ...

May 31, 1889. It’s raining in Johnstown, PA, causing some small flooding. But the townsfolk were used to it – this city of 30,000 was nestled in a valley between two rivers. What happened next was something every person in Johnstown feared, but hoped would never come true. The ol ...  Show more

Engineer John Parke and a team of workers furiously shovel dirt, trying to shore up the South Fork Dam as it threatens to overflow, amid torrential rains. Parke knows these efforts are their only chance of preventing a terrible flood. He decides he has to warn the towns in the ...

Early in the morning on April 22nd, 1927, flood waters from a break in the Mound Landing levee entered the town of Greenville, Mississippi. Within hours, the town was submerged in 10 feet of water. Thousands of residents fought to reach higher ground, desperately clinging to t ...