4 days ago

71: Christmas Disasters - Fire & Water Edition (The Annual MLT Ruins Christmas Special)

In this annual MLT Ruins Christmas Special, Jeremy takes us on a historical tour of the worst disasters to ever ruin the Christmas Holiday, with a specific focus on the elements of Fire and Water. From Halifax to Indonesia, from the Netherlands to Australia, there is no hiding from Mother Nature when she comes to ruin Christmas.

Thank you forever to Mr. Tim Leavy @ timleavy.com for crafting us a most impressive theme song for this paranerdalist podcast!

References:

AARP Injuries List: https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2022/surprising-holiday-health-and-safety-hazards.html

Christmas Tree Fire Stats: (https://www.nfpa.org/about-nfpa/press-room/news-releases/2023/holiday-season-contributes-to-december-as-the-leading--month-for-us-home-fires)

Library of Congress Fire: https://www.grunge.com/380961/the-true-story-of-the-fire-that-destroyed-the-library-of-congress/

Rebuilding the Library of Congress: https://gratefulamericanfoundation.org/what-sparked-the-1851-fire-that-devastated-the-collection-at-the-us-library-of-congress/

Italian Hall Disaster: https://www.mlive.com/news/2017/12/1913_italian_hall_disaster_was.html

Daeyeonggak Hotel Fire: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230302000240

Mont Blanc Explosion: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion

Great Flood of the Netherlands 1717:

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/the-deadly-christmas-flood-of-1717-5xp6w9q6g

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Flood_of_1717