England: The Broad Street Pump - Lies - Extra History
Added 2015-12-12 09:40:26 +0000 UTC
John Snow faced disbelief from every side, but the truth behind his theories won out over time.
And don't miss the music video for the Broad Street Pump series!
Broad Street Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doteMFHPv18
Seattle went up too! Believe it or not the hills downtown are much, much milder slopes than the original ground the city was built on.
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:57:09 +0000 UTC
While people were walking around in the buildings, no less!
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:55:57 +0000 UTC
Yeah, and the coastal areas generally were cleaner so they had fewer infections going around. A sort of self-reinforcing prophecy.
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:55:41 +0000 UTC
I went on the Seattle Underground Tour last month, and I loooved it! Being underneath the street and watching people's feet go over the skylights right above you is a really cool experience.
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:40:51 +0000 UTC
It can never be more than 6!
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:40:13 +0000 UTC
Carrie has way too much fun finding those thumbnail poses, I think. ;)
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:40:03 +0000 UTC
Confirmation bias does make us believe that evidence supporting the things we want to be true is "more true" than evidence supporting things that would challenge our worldview. It's a basic human reaction, but definitely one to be aware of if we want to move ourselves past it!
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:39:49 +0000 UTC
One of the things I enjoy about the non-war series, like this and the South Sea Bubble, is that it's actually easier to see parallels to our modern world than it is with the war series. Instead of people thinking "Oh, that's a good story, but that war is over now" (although hopefully they recognize that these wars still have implications today), you can really see that things like bubble investing in the South Sea series is something that still happens today.
Extra History
2015-12-15 18:30:23 +0000 UTC
Rejecting Snow's evidence? People are doing it all the time. Example:
What could go wrong with flushing poop down to river, which supplies us with drinkable water? Miasma gets diluted do safe level anyway. Besides sever system costs a lot of money.
VS
What could go wrong with raising CO2 level in atmosphere? It's volcanoes that are doing all this. Besides CO2 emission reduction costs a lot of money.
Franek Korta
2015-12-13 19:19:38 +0000 UTC
Dunno if someone said this but: on people rejecting Snow's evidence, there is something called Conformation Bias. Basically you come in with a bias and then you stick to it, this is why some people believe, even with MASSIVE evidence, things that make most people want to smack their heads at a brick wall!
Adam "Lux-Vertas" Youdontneedtoknowmysurname
2015-12-13 15:38:57 +0000 UTC
James, your face on the thumbnail totally slayed me. As always your enthusiasm for these is so fun.
FizzPlease
2015-12-12 23:54:23 +0000 UTC
We should create some kind of number for the Walpole Degrees of Separation. Maybe even grade each Extra History episode with a WDS number.
Arturo Gutierrez
2015-12-12 18:23:54 +0000 UTC
You think raising Chicago was weird, Seattle buried the first floor of most buildings in order to raise the streets.
Paul Lenoue
2015-12-12 18:13:35 +0000 UTC
On why the Miasma theory was so well accepted, I think we forget how badly cities smelled those days. The smelliest parts of the city seemed also to be where the most sick people were. People who lived next to the coastal lines seemed so very healthy in comparison (like in the city of Bath). My grandma still considers the air from the sea the most beneficial to one's health...
Aldo de Leeuw
2015-12-12 14:57:17 +0000 UTC
Raising a city on jacks. Sounds bananas but if it works it works.
Masa
2015-12-12 14:36:41 +0000 UTC
Chicago is raised while Seattle sinks. Ha. :)
Nice job with the series!
Todd Carter
2015-12-12 13:39:52 +0000 UTC