The Cherry Mine Disaster of 1909 | Episode 83

We’re going to hell! Well, not hell exactly. We’re going to rural Illinois, but for the purposes of this introduction, we are going to be spending time today in hell.
 
On today’s episode:  you’re going to learn why fourth graders make such poor employees; you’ll learn how to properly panic like a professional; and you will learn how to tell people to “get out” using nothing but a shotgun and morse code.

And if you were listening to this on Patreon… you would also learn the story of the Patron Saint who watches over people who explode; you'd learn why underground coal fires are the disaster you can tell your great, great, great, great, great grandchildren about; you would hear a quick anecdote about nicotine poisoning in the workplace and inappropriate banana usage; and you would find out who gets coal for Christmas.

This was another bad-day-at-work episodes, but it was a good one, because it happened in such a small, unassuming place, but had safety ramifications that spread around the world. This is dedicated to everyone who loves mining and mining disasters. And on that note, most people don't think about mining very often - so this is my love letter to the industry. You love mining, you ask? No, not overly, but in my opinion, our entire evolution as a society and as a species would have been impossible without men willing to climb into the earth to do the work too frightening or dangerous for the masses. On the upside, at least it pays well, and we do get the occasional story out of it.