Newsreel Footage of the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922
Watch newsreel footage of the Knickerbocker Blizzard of 1922, which dropped three feet of snow on Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was named after the collapse of the Knickerbocker Theater in Washington, D.C., which killed 98 and injured 133. Video after the break:
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Posted by The Editor on 02/06 at 03:44 PM
Winter Storms •
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The Worst US Winter Storms
The Worst US Winter Storms
UPDATE: In snowfall, the Blizzard of 2010 now rivals the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922 for its impact on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Read on for more:
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Posted by The Editor on 02/06 at 03:24 PM
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The World’s Deadliest Earthquakes
The World’s Worst Earthquakes
As measured by the death toll.
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Posted by The Editor on 01/30 at 07:27 PM
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Worst US Spree Killings
The FBI classifies a “spree killer” as having committed two or more murders without a cooling off period. This distinguishes spree killers from serial killers. Here is a list of the worst spree killers in modern history from the United States
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Posted by The Editor on 11/06 at 01:20 PM
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The Worst Spree Killers (Worldwide)
The FBI classifies a “spree killer” as having committed two or more murders without a cooling off period. This distinguishes spree killers from serial killers. Its also useful to distinguish between spree killers and mass murderers who committed their heinous crimes as part of a systemic effort by a government or organization. This list also does not include acts of terrorism, but “criminal” activity. Here is a list of the world’s worst spree killers in modern history from around the world:
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Posted by The Editor on 11/06 at 12:46 PM
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The Great Influenza Book Review
The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history
As fears of the 2009 Swine Flu outbreak increase, the inevitable comparisons are being made to the 1918 - 1919 outbreak which killed an estimated 50 - 100 million people.
The Great Influenza is a fascinating account of the 1918-1919 outbreak. Focusing on the American experience, author John Barry offers an exhaustive, yet still readable story. It begins with a look at the state of American medicine at the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th and examines how professors at Johns Hopkins worked to “modernize” the system. Unfortunately, that modernization was still in progress when the epidemic hit. Beginning with a few deaths in military camps, then spreading to urban centers, the pandemic quickly overwhelmed the public health system of the time. In a single week in Philadelphia, more than 4,500 died, and bodies were left in the streets for lack of a system to dispose of them.
One of the things that struck me about the 1918 - 1919 pandemic from reading this, and several other books, is that it occurred in what had to be the perfect environment for such a disease. Thanks to the war, millions of young men were densely packed into army camps; troop and supply transport moved the disease rapidly about; there were worldwide food shortages; sanitation in many areas was nonexistent. No one could have come up with a better environment for infectious disease than the trenches of Europe. and, with the Wilson administration totally focused on the war effort, what government agencies that did exist failed to respond unil it was too late.
It’s a terrific book, and important reading in these times.
Read more about the greatest epidemics and pandemics in history.
Posted by The Editor on 04/30 at 06:55 PM
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