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
The Alchemical Origins of Occupational Medicine
Bonus Episode: Doing Science with an Invisible Disability
Science and Disability Part 2
Bonus Episode: A Short History of Disability in the United States
Science and Disability
Collecting Monstrosity
Preview: New Season Coming August 4th!
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Magda Marquet
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Robert Langer
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Mark Stevenson
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with John Maraganore
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Katrine Bosley
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with William Haseltine
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Susan Weiss
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Sue Desmond-Hellmann
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with John C. Martin
BONUS EPISODE: Spit Spreads Death
BONUS EPISODE: The Blooper Reel
Preview: We're moving to seasons!
How Philadelphia's Water Pollution Problems Shaped the City
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Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
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