London killer fog: 50 years ago

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Dec. 5-9, 1952: 8,000 people died in a killer fog in London.

The accounts are harrowing. Listen to Rosemary Merritt’s recollection. Her father died at home, and she says they had to keep the body in the front room of their home for 3 weeks because the usual facilities for burial couldn’t keep up with the sheer numbers. :eek: :frowning: She sounds amazingly matter-of-fact about it. I can’t help but wonder why the body didn’t decompose messily.

2

Good grief! Makes the pile up on a southern California freeway last month look like nothing:
http://newsobserver.com/24hour/nation/story/604499p-4673456c.html

3

Damn.

Visibility of 12 inches.

Damn.

4

I wrote my post after listening to her account but before the actual reports on NPR. She said the front room was kept locked and the body was in a coffin - presumably sealed and airtight.

5

Wow. You don’t about these kinds of things much.