April 19, 2001

The Definition Of 'Disaster' Is Culturally Relative

On the basis of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Exxon Valdez, I came to the conclusion that April is historically a bad month for man-made disasters. I need to modify that somewhat--it appears that if you look deeply enough into history, it's always a bad month for disasters. I didn't have to look too far today, though. On this day...

  • In 1989, an explosion in Turret #2 of the USS Iowa killed 47 sailors. And speaking of 47, this site goes a ways towards proving that there's nothing so pointless or obscure in the universe that there isn't a web page for it.
  • In 1993, the Federal Government stormed the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, killing 86.
  • In 1995, Timothy McVeigh (and Terry Nichols--why does everybody always forget about him?) bombed the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 165.

But if you shift your perspective to the other side of the road and the other side of the Atlantic, you get today's biggest disaster: The Shot Heard 'Round The World.

Posted by Chris at April 19, 2001 10:53 PM

Category: General Weirdness
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