Dark History - 103: The Dark History of U.S. Infrastructure: Train Derailments, Freeway Collapses, and Biblical Floods

Episode Date: September 13, 2023

Hi friends, happy Thursday! Welcome to the Dark History podcast.  So, literally a hundred years ago, America got a huge facelift. I’m talking about new water systems, roads, the whole fabric of the country basically. And, SHOCKER, it has not been updated since!!! That’s a long time without a little revamping, and today, I’m shedding some light on the nasty consequences of all that neglect. Episode Advertisers Include: Squarespace, Stitch Fix, Zocdoc, and ZipRecruiter Learn more during the podcast about special offers!

Did you know that the last time America's major pipes were replaced was over 100 years ago? Mm-hmm. Apparently, the water systems in this country got a C-grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers. We're not always supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world, and that's just one part of the infrastructure problem we have in America. Most of our bridges and freeways, I mean things that we use every day are in crucial need of repair and it seems like no one is doing anything about it. Why? Why you ask? Well that's a great question. Let's get into it. Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I like to welcome you to my podcast.

Dark history. Here we believe history and it doesn't have to be boring. I mean, yeah, it might be tragic. It might even be happy, but either way, it's our dark history, babe. So sit back, relax, and let's talk about that hot, juicy, history gas. Today we're talking about infrastructure, and my biggest problem with it is the word itself just kind of scares me. I mean, there's a lot of syllables, right? And it's like, what are you hiding? What does it even mean? Well, I found out. So infrastructure is the fancy word for the bones that make up our society.

I'm talking like transportation, sewage, water, schools, rich power supplies, some buildings, you know, and the government pays for them because it's an investment in how our country functions and works and hello, right? It makes sense. The only time you really hear this term brought up is during presidential debates, you know, they're always like, we don't have a support infrastructure. America's infrastructure is crumbling. And it's like, yeah, man, okay. And then, you know, as time goes on, it's something we kind of forget about once later, right? Well, here's the thing. After reading article, after article, after article, I'm like, yeah, infrastructure is everything. We need it.

Hello. Okay. Now, if you take a minute, and you've been, or you've just been watching the news lately, it kind of seems like cities or buildings are just like falling apart. And it doesn't make sense because nowadays,

taxes are higher than ever, right? And they're supposed to cover infrastructure. Right? So it's like, okay, what the hell? What the hell's going on? So imagine it's the 1930s. Okay, we're there. The Great Depression is happening. No one has jobs, no one has food. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is president, and he ends up passing an iconic piece of legislation and it was called the new deal. Yeah, it was basically a glow-up package for America. I mean, it was everything we have today that we tend to maybe take for granted. Like, roads, bridges, national parks, and all of that was thanks to this new deal where there was once dirt, there was now paved roads, where there was once a river, you know,

there's now a bridge where you can cross the river. Yeah, airports were funded, runways were constructed, people were flying in the air. I mean, this new deal saved America really. Money was being pumped into city power, and then suddenly there were now street lights. So after sunset, there was light, and you could see where you were going.

Could you imagine just like walking down the street and the one day there's light? I don't know, it would be mind blowing. Now there were tons of other sites to this new deal as well. Like employment was skyrocketing. There was tons of job creation. And it was huge for America. The new deal became commonly known as the greatest infrastructure

project in this country's history, despite the fact that it literally displaced and destroyed communities of color all around the nation. But put a pin in that, because I guess that's for another episode. Okay, so if this plan was so great then why are we still having issues with the today? Well, I guess it's because America hasn't like done anything, any updates or anything since 1940. And another reason why there's a huge strain on infrastructure is that the population, it just keeps growing. More people means more cars on the road, more water being used, and more people crossing bridges. Plus, we're experiencing way more intense weather events, like hurricanes, intense flooding, twisters, right?

God, I just watched that movie, it was wild, and heavy rain. They don't really have it, like this intensive weather back then, and just like that, almost 100 years have gone by since FDR gave America that face lift. And girl, we have not been moisturizing. Our tax money that the government is supposed to put towards repairing those roads and doing regular inspections on the bridges and sewage systems,

you know, to make sure that they're working. Yeah, a long time, that money ends up funding something else, you know, and it's like, hey, you guys, where are the receipts? Wouldn't that be nice? If you got a letter that said like, oh, your taxes paid for this stop sign. You don't tell you anything, they just take it. Do nothing, I don't know. Budget's hit cut, some new issues take priority, and infrastructure retrofitting, restoration, and maintenance, gets totally slept on. Politicians stop thinking about long-term goals, and before you know it, I mean, roads are crumbling, bridges are collapsing, and pipes are crusty. I mean, did you guys see that freeway overpass

in Philadelphia, the I-95? I guess it collapsed back in June of 2023. A gasoline truck was driving on the I-95, just like driving my name's own business, and then, it just like driving my own business, and then, cup, it just like blew up. The driver lost control of the truck. I mean, it flipped on its side.

And since this truck was carrying thousands of gallons of gasoline, when it flipped, it like caught on fire in the middle of the road. Sadly, the driver of that truck died, and a whole chunk of the overpass just collapsed. Now, I guess, like 160,000 cars drive on the I-95 every single day, so as you can imagine, when it collapsed, it just messed up everyone's commute.

A spokesman from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said that, quote, the structure quickly collapsed with the heat of the fire. And quote, "'Diamn, I was on the White House website, you know, yeah, they have a website, okay?' And I was just refreshing myself on the analytical perspectives of the budget of the United States government for the fiscal year 2024. And I came across some facts about bridges.

Yeah. As of the year 2021, there are 45,000 bridges in America that are in, quote, poor condition. I guess bridges are rated on a number system. Like a nine means the bridge is new, she's great, wow, she's a nine. And then a number four means like that bridge is shit. Well, there's a lot of wear and tear. She's been used and abused. And according to the American Society of Civil Engineers,

aka the ASCE. For every five miles of road in this country, one of them is also in poor condition. I think whenever any of us drive over a bridge, you're on a freeway, we just assume, well, actually, I don't even think we think about it. At least I don't like, I'm just driving. Like, that fucker's not using his blinker.

Fuck that guy, you know? You're not thinking about the road itself, hoping that it's safe. You just hope it is, right? Apparently, regular safety inspections are missed all the time on major transportation roads. Bridges in this country, they only get inspected of every two years, which is wild to think about

because elevators get inspected, like how often, once a month, the math ain't math in. And as you imagine, if things are going unnoticed or unchecked, I mean, it's not long before things just go straight to hell, right? Real quick. And that's exactly what happened with the big buy you cannot rail accident. Today's episode of Dark History is sponsored by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all-in-one platform to create your new website to help you succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or maybe expanding your internet presence, Squarespace makes it easy to build a beautiful website, engage with your audience, and sell anything, whether it's product or content or even your time.

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Now let's get back to this story. Okay, so the other nine I state, you know, I'm just Google in and Goggle in and I was Googling infrastructure disasters in America. As a lady does on a Friday evening. Thank you. And while doing so, one event just kept coming up over and over again. This was the worst train crash in Amtrak history and it had a lasting impact. I mean, some would say it changed how we ride trains in America altogether. I'm talking about the big buy you cannot rail accident.

Let's talk about trains for a second, okay? So back in the 1900s, taking a train sucked. Look, if you were traveling across country, that was really your only option. And this wanted to do like Oregon Trail, but that never really went well. I mean, inside the train cars, there was no air flow, no AC,

just hot air blowing around. And then like the bathroom situation was small and foul. And on top of that, you could be traveling for weeks and one of these things. And that was pretty much everyone's experience for trains. But one of the only exceptions at the time was a train called the Sunset Limited. So the Sunset Limited is one of the oldest trains in the United States. It's been in operation since 1894, and it's actually still around today.

And it was so popular at the time because you could take it any time of the year, no matter what the weather, what day it was. Yeah, it was great. So it was just like a very popular option. Now, the sunset limited was described as America's only coast to coast train. So you could take this thing from Louisiana

all the way to Los Angeles, from the beach to Mardi Gras, just like that. And it used to be a sleeper train. So passengers, they could upgrade, and they could essentially get like the wrong little hotel room on wheels. It was like an experience, a nicer experience. With the sunset limited,

you'd get to wherever you needed to go in a matter of days versus weeks. So for the first time, you could actually pay for a better traveling experience. And many did. Then by the 70s, the train industry was just hemorrhaging money. People didn't really care what kind of leather was on the train seats, right? And train companies were just losing millions of dollars. For example, when trains were popular in 1946, about 770 million people worldwide were riding the train. But by 1964, that number had dipped to about 298 million, so it was like less than half. So the government is paying attention to what's going on with the trains. They're all losing money. So they're like, we can't have this, we can't

have trains for all, you know, they're essential for America's economy. So they felt like they needed to step in and do something. So the government, they step in and they create a government-funded railroad company. It's called Amtrak. I know. Look, this alone blew my mind. I didn't know Amtrak was government-funded. You learn something new every day if you just try. Okay, so Am didn't know Amtrak was government-funded. You learn something new every day if you just try. Okay, so Amtrak. Amtrak, they took over almost every single train company in America, and they even took over the legendary sunset limited.

But now that Amtrak was in charge, I mean, things were different. I mean, it's government-funded. They don't like to have fun or spend money. There was now an Amtrak pass, for example, which was essentially like a bus pass but for trains. So that gave people access to a whole bunch of different trains in different cities. And people started, people started taking the train again, just for like the adventure, not necessarily to commute back and forth to work. I mean, great.

It was kind of like a little, you could just go to a new city the same day, like quickly. It's a whole new world. Everything's opening up. I forgot. We're talking about the big buy-you situation, right? Okay, so our story about the big buy-you accident all starts with a man named Willie Odom.

Now, Willie was the pilot of a tow boat. And I know, a pilot of towboat, I know what you're thinking. Bailey, pilot planes, I did not have to do with boats, but it does. A pilot works actually for the captain and they should both be able to direct the boat. The more you know, again, a pilot can drive a boat. But it kind of had me think,

he'd like imagine if a guy on a hinge, like in his bio was like, I'm a pilot. And then he'd go on a date with him and he brings you to like a tow boat. And then like, he's not even in charge, he's second runner up. I would be a little thrown off. On September 21st, 1993,

Willie was piloting a boat called the Movela. Now the Movela was towing six barges and a barge is like a big like a shipping container kind of and each of them are thousands of pounds. So the six barges were attached to the main boat, you know, the Movela that Willie was driving. You got it? Good. So this was going to be an overnight ride. So Willie and the boats captain were like taking shifts, you know, like you sleep, I'll stay up and then I'll sleep and then you stay up, you get it.

So sometime in the early hours of the morning, it's Willie's turn to get up so it gets up and he takes over steering Moffila. It's early and Willy's trying to like wake up. You know you got that like sleepy brain fog and when he finally comes to he realizes that he really has no idea where the hell they were. On top of that it was extremely foggy outside so he couldn't really see any direction. Well, what Willie didn't know was that the Movela had gone off course, and he was not prepared for this. His guidance system wasn't working. And on top of that, he didn't even have a map. I know. I was like, how are you going to be in charge of a boat, and you don't have a map? Isn't that like the first step of being on a boat? Have a map?

No, okay. Doesn't know where he is. Foggy, no map. 45 minutes go by. Willie's guidance system starts beeping. It's like, I like going crazy. It's letting him know that there's a boat up ahead. Now this is giving Willie like extreme anxiety

because it's so foggy, he can't see shit. Like, you know, is he gonna run into something? Ah! So he just keeps driving forward. Time goes by and next thing you know, one of Mavela's barges, like slams into something. But Willie, he doesn't know what it slammed into. So he just kinda like keeps on voting, but what he hit was not another vote.

It actually had slammed into a major bridge. The big bayou cannot bridge. So at this point, really doesn't know two important facts. One, that barge bump, it had caused some serious damage to the bridge. And two, that this little accident would redefine the transportation industry forever. Today's episode is brought to you by Stitch Fix.

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fix. That's stitchfix.com slash dark history. Stitchfix.com slash dark history. Thanks stitchfix! So the model I just hit that bridge right and heading right towards it was a little train called you may have guessed it the sunset limited. And on that same day, September 21, 1993, the sunset limited was carrying 220 passengers. And they were taking one of those famous coast-to-coast routes from Los Angeles to Miami. When the sunset limited stopped off in New Orleans to pick up some more passengers, it was discovered that that an air conditioner on one of the cars was out and on another car, the toilet was out of commission. And because of this, they tried to fix it and

the train was running about 30 minutes behind schedule. But they fix it all and they get on their way. At 2.53 a.m., the sunset limited was driving through Alabama, and its route passed right by the big by you cannot bridge. At this point, the bridge had been hit by Willie's boat, but the rails themselves, like, they didn't break apart. Normally, a railway system will have, like, a sensor, and if something's wrong with the tracks, it will alarm people so they know like the tracks are maybe not working. But the railway system, it wasn't registering

that anything was wrong with the tracks. All the conductor on the Sunset Limited Saw was a green light, like move forward. And sadly he had no idea that up ahead, the tracks they weren't broken, but the Movela had created a huge speed bump, like a ramble most. Now as soon as the train reached the bridge and hit those tracks, shit hit the fan.

We're all bad. The first train hits the newly created speed bump, flies off the freaking bridge, crashes headfirst into the water below, and sadly the train engineer in that car was killed right away. Then two train cars full of sleeping people follow that first car plunging straight into the water. Now, this water, they were landing in, was actually in Alabama by you,

which was famous for, it's snake infested waters. Yeah, so that just sounds like fucking awful. Now, some of the train cars that didn't land in the water were left dangling on the collapsed bridge. And one survivor of the crash, a man named Brian Logan, described what happened. I was woken up and half thrown from my seat by the sensation of the train pitching forwards, then violently to one side. It was dark when I opened my eyes, and the next thing I remember, the passengers on my carriage were filling up the aisle and out of

the train. Fuel from the dangling cars was just pouring into the water below. This caused humongous fires in the train cars. The train conductor actually managed to call 911 and was begging for any type of help that they could get. Most of the passengers didn't die right away from the impact of the crash and people were crying out for help. Some were in the water and they couldn't even swim. Just horrifying scene. Now people who had survived the crash, they helped pull out as many passengers as they

possibly could out of the water. But sadly, 48 people died and 103 people were injured. Most victims had died from drowning or they were burned alive or they died of smoke inhalation. Willie never emotionally recovered from what happened. His children even said that he suffered from PTSD and night tears. He reportedly could still see the fires and the bodies in the water. Right after the crash, he was investigated,

but eventually cleared of any criminal charges. That's because an organization called the National Transportation Safety Board released a report saying the root of the cause was it necessarily Willie's fault. First, Willie wasn't trained properly on how to navigate the waters under bad weather conditions. And second, the US Coast Guard didn't have a high standard

when it came to giving out licenses to operate boats that could maybe cause major damage. So he wasn't necessarily the one who should have been operating them both. So this was just a tragedy all around, but the public was even more horrified once they found out that this accident could have totally been avoided.

The big buy you cannot bridge had something called a quote, unfinished swing capability, which essentially means if something were to hit the bridge, the structure would be compromised because there wasn't a way for the boat to pass the bridge safely without breaking something. And that's exactly what happened.

Plus, investigators found out that if the train hadn't been delayed by 30 minutes in New Orleans, they would have passed the Movel before it hit the bridge. Honestly, I just feel like that's like rubbing salt in a wound, right? So they'd be like, oh, if only you weren't late, you're fault. The Movela immediately turned around

and like helped to do what they could to get survivors out of the fiery waters. And Willie himself ended up saving 17 people from the crash. In the months after the crash, the US Department of Transportation, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and even freaking Amtrak promised to create safer transportation rules, so none of this would ever happen again. They did make some changes like adding better radars

to those boats, so it would be more clear when a boat is about to hit, um, I don't know, a bridge, you know? But of course it's a little frustrating because why does it take a tragedy But of course, it's a little frustrating because why does it take a tragedy for these things to get solved? Infrastructure isn't just responsible for trains and bridges though. Did you know that it also handles all of our water, you know, where we keep it, how it gets to your house,

the pipes that get it from, you know, the water source to your shower. And in 1928, oh my God, I never heard of this before and it was just like my boy. Something horrible happened in 1928 that could have easily been prevented. I mean, it's tragic, it's haunting, and it's a huge part of Los Angeles history that, again, I never heard about. So if I haven't heard about it, maybe you haven't either, and that's why I'm here for you. Okay, I'm talking about the St. Francis Dam disaster. Can I be rid of this? I mean, either.

So this happened on March 12, 1928 at the St. Francis Dam. Now a dam. I hope you know what a dam is, but if you don't know, basically it's a wall that keeps a shitload of water contained, okay? And in the case of St. Francis, it was holding back 12 billion gallons of water, which was about a year's worth of water for the entire county of Los Angeles.

Important dam, right? The dam itself had been built by William Mahalind, who was a famous civil engineer. He was a really big deal in Los Angeles because whenever one started moving to LA, there really wasn't enough water for the growing population. Now, he engineered a pipe system to bring in water from a nearby source, essentially saving everyone

from drought, who's also like really shady and stuff too. And because of this, Mojoland went on to be named the chief engineer of the Bureau of Water and Supply in LA. So, big deal. And he even got a street named after him, a movie too, whatever you know. Mojoland had designed the St. Francis Dam with the idea that it would store water

for LA's growing population, but it was constructed on a foundation of some like questionable materials. You know what I'm saying? Like the dams builders used local clay, rock and sand. Yeah, sand. I'm not an engineer or anything obviously, but when you hear sand as a foundation,

it's like, oh, are you allowed to do that? What do I know though? Silly me. Over time, the dams foundation, it began to show signs of weakness. as a foundation and say, oh, are you allowed to do that? What do I know though, silly me? Elver time, the dam's foundation, it began to show signs of weakness. I mean, there were like water leaks happening and even mudsy bitch. And these things were apparently pretty obvious.

You could tell by looking at the dam that it wasn't doing so well and needed some updating. And for two years, it slowly eroded, but there was no action taken. Because why would they? Until on that fateful summer's day in 1928 when disaster struck. All right, we honest, we honest out there.

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I would recommend you go to zockdock.com slash dark history and download the ZockDock app for free. Then find and book a top rated doctor, Tudet. That's zockdock z, Z-O-C-D-O-C. .com slash dark history. Zock-Dock.com slash dark history. Around 1150 at night on March 12th, four large cracks in the dam suddenly gave way, broke, open, water-free. So all the water that the St. Francis dam had been holding back, along with thousands of pounds of concrete, suddenly just exploded into the canyon. It was a monstrous tidal wave of water, just estimated to be over 12 stories high.

Yeah, that's real big, you know, and it surged down into San Francisco,ido. This huge ass wave tore through the canyon where there were a lot of homes, okay? And these homes were ripped out of their foundation, uprooted trees, and collapsed bridges at super high speed. I mean, just taking lives. Taking lives with it. And because it was so late at night, which is like the scariest part of all,

most of the people were asleep, right? So when they were swept up in this little death trap wave, they didn't know what that... they didn't know what the fuck was happening. The people who were awake and survived might have thought the rumble of the water coming was maybe an earthquake, but they had no idea it was essentially a tsunami, even though like the dam was 54 miles away from the beach. The whole thing happened so fast and so violently that no one who witnessed the dam collapsing lived to even tell the tale. This water was apparently traveling at a million cubic feet per second.

Holy shit! Wow! Yeah, that's scary. I mean, I can't picture all fast, that is, but I know that can't be good. So the water is swept through the Santa Clarita Valley and ultimately landed in the ocean by Ventura. And at least 431 people were killed in the collapse of the St. Francis Dam.

Sadly, most of them drowned in that first tidal wave of the reservoir water. And it took a long time just to figure out how many people or how many lives were actually lost. Partly because many of the victims, the victims bodies, had floated with the water all the way to the ocean. And then once in the ocean were like carried

some even as far as Mexico. Another one of the reasons that we'll never know exactly how many people died is because this was an area that was filled with migrant workers and immigrants and honestly, just people the government didn't give a shit about. They were migrant workers and migrant families living along the canyon and in the area that the water had swept through. And the city settled with the survivors of the known victims and like awarded $5,000 per casualty to the families.

We're like $5,000 in due shit when you lost everything, your family, everything, you know? Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed and hundreds of lives were lost. And by the time the sun rose over Los Angeles, there were bodies and pieces of debris, trees, dead animals everywhere along the canyon. Apparently, boy scouts were sent into the canyon with flags. And when they saw a body, they would stick the flag into the ground next to it.

So, you know, it could be recovered, which is sad because why the boy scouts like leave them out of this, right? I don't know, but that's what they did, little traumatizing, isn't it? Now, something really spooky about St. Francis is that when it collapsed, the middle part of the dam,

like this middle section, which it has a kind of drainage system in it, it states still what the rest of the dam had collapsed around it, like on either side. The center section that remained standing had been given a nickname. It was called the tombstone, which is so creepy and very fitting because so many people had died, so many lives were lost and it kind of looks like a tombstone. Then it was demolished a year after the accident to prevent it from becoming a tourist attraction. So then the most fucked up part, a man named Tony Harnishfiger.

Harnishfiger sounds like I'm drunk and like slurring someone's name. My own Harnishfiger, right? Tony Harnishfiger. He worked at the St. Francis Dam. Yeah, so he started noticing that problems were happening with the dam and he even tried to do something about it. He noticed a quote, muddy leak in the curved concrete structure of the dam and called the city of Los Angeles about it like, hey, that dam is a little, is a little felt so William Holland,

himself actually was sent to go take a look at this concerning crack. And, you know, examine it. And William decided that the damn could use some work. But, you know, it really wasn't that urgent. So he and a deputy deemed the damn officially safe and returned back to the city in time for lunch. But literally, literally, I kid you not 12 hours later, the damn collapsed. I know, gasp, I was gasping. Imagine getting that call saying hundreds of people died because you

wanted to go have lunch. Yeah. Tony, his son and his girlfriend, they lived at the base of the damn and like a damn keepers cabin and sadly all of them were swept to their death following the collapse. And Tony's body, as well as his young son's body, sadly were never found. Fuck that moholing guy. Ultimately, this is a classic example of a disaster that could have been avoided with better infrastructure.

I mean, there were some pretty obvious engineering flaws that may have led to that dam's collapse, right? For starters, maybe they could have used better materials for the dam's construction. They could have done something called a geological survey to understand how solid of a foundation they were even building on. Years later, it was discovered that the ground

that the dam had been built on was prone to landslides. She's the waste. It's like, yeah, what have been nice to know that before you did, you built that shit, right? But Mojoland and his crew, they skipped some pretty like major steps, either to save time or money, but there were a lot of red flags

that went completely ignored. Can you hire him? Yeah, it's a job in itself. And you didn't know if you're an employer that's hiring, the average cost per hire is $4,700. I didn't know that, what the? If you're investing that much in a new hire, you wanna make sure that you're getting it right.

And let's be real time is money. So what's the most efficient way to hire you as? Zipper Cruder. Yeah, you can see for yourself. Right now you can try it for free at zippercruder.com slash dark history and experience the value Zippercruder brings to hiring. Woo! Zippercruder, they find more quality candidates faster. And once you post your job, Zippercruder's smart technology works quickly to find candidates that are qualified for you. Then, Zipper Cruder sends you a list of your best matches so you can find your favorites,

and maybe you got an eye on someone in particular. Well, Zipper Cruder will even let you send them a personal invite to apply. Wow! It's simple! Zipper Grooter helps you get hiring right. Four out of five employers who post on Zipper Grooter get a quality candidate within the first day. Oh my God, wow, I know. See for yourself. Just go to this exclusive web address to try Zipper Grooter for free before you commit. Zipper Grooter.com slash dark history,

D-A-R-K-H-I-S-T-O-R-Y. Again, that's zipperGrooter.com slash dark history, D-A-R-K-H-I-S-T-O-R-Y. ZipperGrooter, the smartest later I hear. The St. Francis Dam disaster is really a haunting reminder of the importance of good engineering and good infrastructure. And also, I don't know of the importance of good engineering and good infrastructure. And also, I don't know, taking care of important stuff before it breaks and potentially kills a lot of people. But it's not just the St. Francis dam we're talking about. I mean, there's thousands of dams that are literally on the brink of failure. Levy's pipes and dams across the country are

reaching a literal breaking point. And that's because the government has spent little money taking care of our almost 100-year-old water systems. Yeah, the last time, the last time we replaced most of the pipes in America was 1945. Oh god, yeah. Those same pipes are carrying the water we use every day. Some of us are literally drinking water from the same pipes that President Roosevelt drank from. Same C, according to the ASCE, a water main breaks somewhere in this country every two minutes. And every time something like this happens,

our water gets contaminated, which can put everyone's health at risk. And honestly, your rhythm does not stand a chance. The ASCE gave the country's overall infrastructure a grade. And what did we get? A C minus. And maybe to you, that C minus doesn't seem like a big deal. We're starting to see the consequences

of not giving a shit about infrastructure for years. On February 3rd, 2023, a train carrying a ton of hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, this train veered off the tracks and the train cars all collided like giant metal dominoes. All the chemicals on board crashed into one another and caused a giant explosion that released toxic fumes, smoke, and leaked contamination into the nearby water sources. According to officials, the incident killed

more than 43,000 fish and animals. Oh, and on top of that, people in town were getting sick. Some were experiencing like insane headaches, nausea, shortness of breath from exposure to the chemicals, and they couldn't even drink the water. And even though the media said the situation was quote unquote resolved, people to this day are still struggling

with chemical exposure health issues. And it once again showed us the importance of maintaining and upgrading our old-ass aging systems. There's a lawsuit that's going on right now that claims the Trink Company, quote, prioritized profit over safety by cutting down their budget on repair, service, and instruction. Apparently, the train crashed because the part of the train that guided the wheels, like, overeated. I know. I don't really know like the technical train stuff, but like something like that had happened. But if the train had been inspected, maybe regularly, experts say that this derailment

probably most likely wouldn't have happened. So just another maybe potentially avoidable disaster. Why are we here? Well, the reason I want to talk about infrastructure is because I know it's super random. But I felt like every time I watched the news, it seemed like there was another like building falling or bridge collapsing and it was just I had questions and when I have questions you can't stop me bitch from finding the answers. I wanted to know what the hell was going on. Who's looking after infrastructure? But like we've learned here, infrastructure isn't just about dams and bridges, it's everything.

It's about the water and our pipes, the power being there when you flip a switch, maybe not getting a flat on the way to the grocery store. We depend on infrastructure every single day. And now I know, infrastructure is like a box of chocolates. It's 100 years old, it tastes like shit. Let's maybe get a better box.

I don't know. The next time you're driving over a bridge, just remember, it could collapse. Go look out there, soldiers. The government doesn't give a shit about you. The good news is, as of 2021, Congress, okay, this is some good news, I like good news. The good news is, as of 2021, Congress seems to have

like kind of gotten their shit together a little bit, and they passed a bipartisan infrastructure deal that is supposed to rebuild America's roads, bridges, rails, and quote, expand access to clean drinking water and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. We'll see, right? Cheers. Well, friends, did you be have fun? Okay, great. Thanks for listening. Okay. Next week, we'll be talking about a billion-dollar company that is near and dear to so many of

us. It's a company that honestly dictates the start of every season. They're constantly in the news for their poor employee treatment, shady business practices, and delicious beverages. On our next episode, we'll be putting the spotlight on Starbucks! Yeah, you bitches, better go rush out and get your pumpkin spice lattes now, because next week you're gonna... It's gonna be over, I'm sorry, I'm gonna ruin it.

You're welcome, remember, don't be afraid to ask questions to get the whole story because you deserve that. Also, join me over on my YouTube where you can actually watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast, airs, and while you're there, you can also catch my murder, mystery, and makeup. I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make sure to use the hashtag darkhistory over on social media so I can see what you're saying. Now let's read some comments. User XD7RY3K and

5W had a little question for me. Quote, why aren't you doing makeup? End quote. Well that's a good question but wrong show. Dark history, I don't do makeup, murmistry, I do makeup, but I love you. Bye. Terry and Reason, three, four, two, left a comment on our tattoo episode from season two saying, I am a collector of tattoos. When I visit a new state, I usually come home with new ink.

So far, I have one from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Florida, and Hawaii. Wow, Terry, I love this idea. I don't get, I don't get out often, but when I do, I'm a little get a tattoo. You've inspired me. Thank you. Jade Beza, 232, had some episode suggestions,

which we love. Quote, Bailey, I love your show so much. I think dark history of cheerleaders or Costco would be interesting to hear from you. Wow girl, are you smoking the devil's lettuce? Cause like those are so random, Costco and cheerleaders. I like the cheerleader one.

I think that that could be interesting. I love that Costco, I'm sure they're shady. Thank you guys so much for leaving all of your comments, suggestions and feedback in the comments section down below. Don't forget to leave a comment because maybe yours will come up next week. And be nice. Thank you!

Dark History is an audio boom or original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian High, Junia McNeely from Three Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Nlowe from Made in Network. A big thank you to our writers, Joie Scavuzzo, Katy Burris, Allison Falobos, and me, Bailey Surion. Production lead, Brian Jaggers. Research provided by Sander Elmore and the Dark History Researcher team. Special thank you to our expert, Brandol and I'm your host Hi, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good rest of your week. You make good choices. I'm I'll be talking to you later. Goodbye!

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