How was the Great Stink stopped?

The government's response during the early days of the stink was to douse the curtains of the Houses of Parliament in chloride of lime, before embarking on a final desperate measure to cure lousy old Father Thames by pouring chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid directly into the water.

How did the Great Stink stop?

The smell was very bad, and common to the whole of the water; it was the same as that which now comes up from the gully-holes in the streets; the whole river was for the time a real sewer." The smell from the river was so bad that in 1857 the government poured chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid into the ...

Who solved the problem of the Great Stink?

Eventually, she figured out how to combine books, kids, and writing into one career-as a children's book author. Her debut picture book, "The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London's Poop Pollution Problem," was named a 2022 Robert F.

How did Joseph Bazalgette solve the Great Stink?

Sir Joseph Bazalgette's scheme

He and his team constructed a series of interconnecting sewers which carried the effluent eastwards and out to the Thames Estuary. Once away from the main centres of population, it would be dispatched on the outgoing tide.

How long did the Great Stink last?

July 10, 1858.] In 1858, a powerful stench terrorized London for two months. The source of what's now known as the Great Stink was the River Thames, into which the city's sewers emptied.

The Great Stink of 1858

How was Thames river cleaned?

A plan was finally agreed in 1865, in which an engineer named Joseph Bazalgette was appointed to lead the establishment of sewage system, pumping stations, as well as embankments in order to clean the Thames river, stop the cholera outbreak, and to support the livelihood of the people living in London.

What did Victorian England smell like?

Most fragrances in early to mid-Victorian times were delicate and floral. They were understated, feminine – and often simply conjured up the scent of a particular flower, such as jasmine, lavender, roses, honeysuckle…

When did Joseph Bazalgette finish the sewers?

Building London's sewers was the biggest civil engineering project in the world at the time. Sadly, delays to allow the embankments to also house new Underground lines meant that a final cholera epidemic hit London in 1866. The sewers were completed around 1870, with two extra sewers added about 1910.

How long did it take Joseph Bazalgette to build the sewers?

KING CHOLERA VERSUS THE SEWER KING

Over the next 16 years, Bazalgette constructs 82 miles (132km) of main intercepting sewers, 1100 miles of street sewers, four pumping stations and two treatment works.

What finally prompted the changes necessary to clean up the Thames?

The Awful Stinking Thames, “the Great Stink”, had finally reached the Houses of Parliament during the Heat Wave of 1857. This, along with the outbreak of cholera, forced the lawmakers to pass a law for cleaning the Thames.

When did London clean up?

In 1952 the London Smog Disaster claimed around 12,000 lives, after thick smog covered the city for five straight days. This led to the Clean Air Act of 1956, reducing the pollution in the air over time. By the 1960s politicians had decided it was time to clean up London's filthy public buildings.

What does cholera smell like?

However, the characteristic symptom of severe cholera ("cholera gravis") is the passage of profuse "rice-water" stool, a watery stool with flecks of mucous (picture 1). It typically has a fishy odor.

How dirty is Thames?

The River Thames is the cleanest river in the world that flows through a major city. This is a major feat considering that fifty years ago the river was so polluted that it was declared biologically dead. From 1830 to 1860 tens of thousands of people died of cholera as a result of the pollution in the Thames.

What does stinks a big one mean?

A major contention, complaint, fuss, furor, or scandal.

Did the Great Stink cause cholera?

It relied on the “miasma theory” which held that diseases such as cholera were caused by noxious fumes emanating from rotting organic matter. So the belief was that getting rid of the smell was helping to rid the city of Cholera, except that it wasn't—it was making matters worse.

How much did the government give Bazalgette?

Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, 1877

Parliament initially offered £2.5 million, somewhere between £240 million and over a billion pounds in today's values. Bazalgette carefully reviewed 137 different proposals to handle the poo problem.

Who invented the first sewers?

Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamians introduced the world to clay sewer pipes around 4000 BCE, with the earliest examples found in the Temple of Bel at Nippur and at Eshnunna, utilised to remove wastewater from sites, and capture rainwater, in wells.

How old are London's sewers?

London's 150-year-old sewage system is today struggling under the strain of the city's ever-increasing population – now nearly 9 million. Millions of tons of raw sewage still spill untreated into the Thames each year, especially after extreme weather.

Why did Joseph Bazalgette build the sewers?

By 1866 most of London was connected to a sewer network devised by Bazalgette. He saw to it that the flow of foul water from old sewers and underground rivers was intercepted, and diverted along new, low-level sewers, built behind embankments on the riverfront and taken to new treatment works.

How long did it take to build the London sewers?

The intercepting sewers, constructed between 1859 and 1865, were fed by 450 miles (720 km) of main sewers that, in turn, conveyed the contents of some 13,000 miles (21,000 km) of smaller local sewers.

Can you visit London sewers?

Who needs theme parks, when you can explore London's sewers? For normal visits, it is often open during Open House weekends. Crossness in South London and Abbey Mills, were London's two Victorian sewage pumping stations. Abbey Mills is not generally open, although Thames Water does do occasional tours.

How smelly were the Middle Ages?

They were ankle-deep in a putrid mix of wet mud, rotten fish, garbage, entrails, and animal dung. People dumped their own buckets of faeces and urine into the street or simply sloshed it out the window.

Was Queen Victoria smelly?

Specifically, Queen Victoria probably smelled – so much so that courtiers had to drop heavy hints that she might want to change her clothes and take a bath once in a while.

Did they have deodorant in the 1800s?

Deodorant Was Introduced in the Late 1800s

The first deodorant, made with ingredients that killed odor-producing bacteria, is believed to have been created by the brand Mum in 1888, according to Smithsonian Magazine.