The 1902 Mt. Pelée Eruption (Episode 47)
02/21/22 • 60 min
In the spring of 1902, Mt Pelée, a volcano on the Caribbean island of Martinique, began behaving a little strangely. First, there was the overwhelming stink of sulphur. Then, steam eruptions became visible, and ash began to fall. Next were snake attacks, mudslides, flash floods, tsunamis, and smallpox. At the foot of the volcano, in the town of St Pierre, people were torn between evacuation ... and voting in the upcoming election, in which Progressive and Radical candidates were facing off for a seat in French Parliament. On this episode, we're getting into why politics and volcanoes should never mix.
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources for this episode include:
“The Day the World Ended” by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, 1969
"The Eruption of Mt. Pelee", San Diego State University geology department, 2001
"Benchmarks: May 8, 1902: The deadly eruption of Mount Pelée" by J. Rosen for Earth Magazine, 2015
"The Unlucky Consul: Thomas Prentis and the 1902 Martinique Disaster" by W. Bent for American Foreign Service Association Journal, 2020
In the spring of 1902, Mt Pelée, a volcano on the Caribbean island of Martinique, began behaving a little strangely. First, there was the overwhelming stink of sulphur. Then, steam eruptions became visible, and ash began to fall. Next were snake attacks, mudslides, flash floods, tsunamis, and smallpox. At the foot of the volcano, in the town of St Pierre, people were torn between evacuation ... and voting in the upcoming election, in which Progressive and Radical candidates were facing off for a seat in French Parliament. On this episode, we're getting into why politics and volcanoes should never mix.
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources for this episode include:
“The Day the World Ended” by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, 1969
"The Eruption of Mt. Pelee", San Diego State University geology department, 2001
"Benchmarks: May 8, 1902: The deadly eruption of Mount Pelée" by J. Rosen for Earth Magazine, 2015
"The Unlucky Consul: Thomas Prentis and the 1902 Martinique Disaster" by W. Bent for American Foreign Service Association Journal, 2020
Previous Episode
The 1992 "Hot Coffee" Lawsuit (Liebeck vs. McDonald's Restaurants) (Episode 46)
On a chilly February morning in 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck ordered a 49-cent cup of hot coffee from a McDonald's drive-through. When she opened the top to add cream and sugar, the flimsy cup spilled 190-degree coffee into her lap, resulting in excruciatingly painful 3rd degree burns.
Mrs. Liebeck sued for gross negligence, asking McDonald's to improve their cups, lower the temperature of their dangerously hot coffee, and pay her $20,000 worth of medical bills; McDonald's countered with...$800. After a week-long trial, the jury found McDonald's responsible and awarded Mrs. Liebeck two days' worth of the fast-food giant's coffee sales, a sum of $2.7 million. No, the Golden Arches never paid her the full sum, and the press had a field day with "Woman Spills Hot Coffee, Wins Millions" stories.
On this highly caffeinated episode, we're looking into coffee safety, burn lawsuits, tort reform, and how hot you should really be drinking your morning beverage.
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources for this episode:
The McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case from Consumer Attorneys of California
McDonalds' Hot Coffee Case - Read the Facts NOT the Fiction
Liebeck v. McDonald’s: The Hot Coffee Case by Allison Torres Burtka
The Truth Behind the Infamous McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case by A.J. Serafini
Next Episode
Eddie the Eagle and the 1988 Winter Olympics (Episode 48)
In the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, a British ski jumper named Michael Edwards competed with enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and optimism. It had been a lifelong dream to compete in the Olympics, and he made the most of it, soaring to ... dead last in every event in which he competed. On this episode, the story of "Eddie the Eagle", skiing in England (it's harder than you think!), Olympic glory, Finnish pop music, and the joy of achieving your dreams and finding your niche.
Love the show? Support us on Patreon, at www.patreon.com/RelativeDisastersPodcast.
Sources:
Eddie the Eagle: From scavenging bins and living in a mental asylum to working at Glenshee by Gayle Ritchie
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/1886605/eddie-the-eagle-from-scavenging-bins-and-living-in-a-mental-asylum-to-working-at-glenshee/
Flying High by Stuart Jeffries
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/sep/03/sport.athletics
http://eddie-the-eagle.co.uk/
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