Warnings, rescues and the rules they wrote · 5 stories
Great Disasters
Every disaster had a warning. These are the people who heard it.
Phrases you’ll meet
- The tip of the iceberg
- Women and children first
- SOS
Journey 1 · 79 to 1883
Fury of the Earth
A mountain buries two Roman towns in a day, a capital falls to earthquake, fire and sea on a holy day, and a volcano is heard three thousand miles away.
By the end of it, you can tell how the warnings were there each time, and how volcanology and earthquake science were born from them.
Journey 2 · 1666 to 1986
Human Error
A bakery fire takes a city, the unsinkable ship ignores the ice, an airship full of hydrogen burns in half a minute, and a shuttle launches on the coldest morning.
By the end of it, you can tell why every ship carries a lifeboat seat for everyone aboard, and how one ignored warning becomes a rule.
Journey 3 · 1347 to 1987
Invisible Killers
A plague kills a third of Europe, a flu hides behind a world war, and a blue powder glows in the dark in a Brazilian city.
By the end of it, you can tell how quarantine, public health and radiation rules were born from the people who saw the danger first.
