In this episode of Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean discusses the horrors of a particular genetic disease that was, literally, sweeping through London in the 1700s. In 1666, the Great Fire of London consumed about 13,000 homes and caused the modern equivalent about $1.3 billion in damage. After the Great Fire, London officials made chimneys mandatory in all homes and buildings. All these new chimneys meant there was a big demand for sweepers. Who did they employ to clean these narrow, soot-filled chimneys you ask? Very young boys.
CreditsHost: Sam Kean
Senior Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer
Ghost Hunting in the 19th Century
Vampire Panic
We're Back! Distillations Summer Season Preview
Interview with Stéphane Bancel
The Disappearing Spoon: The Anatomy Riots
When a Hole in the Head is a Good Thing
The Disappearing Spoon: When Mosquitoes Cured Insanity
The Death of the Lord God Bird
Disappearing spoon: Chewing it Over—and Over and Over and Over
The Disappearing Spoon: What's the Longest Word in the English Language?
The Disappearing Spoon: Why Don’t We Have a Male Birth Control Pill Yet?
The Disappearing Spoon: Crowdfunding Radium
The Disappearing Spoon: Parking lot or Peking lot?
The Disappearing Spoon: Orphan Vaccines
Tales of Love and Madness from the Periodic Table
Predicting the Pandemic: An interview with Wendy Zukerman, Host of "Science Vs." Podcast
COVID's Hidden Toll on Nurses
Between Us and Catastrophe
Space Junk
Who Owns Outer Space?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
The Rest Is History