We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Pemberton Mill. In 1860, the mill collapsed and then caught on fire in the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history. Original Air Date: April 2, 2023 Episode Sources https://www.in2013dollars.com/ https://en.wikip…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Granville Rail Disaster. A poorly located bridge support and wooden rail cars led to the worst rail disaster in Australian history. Original Air Date: March 19, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_r…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cypress St Viaduct. A double decker freeway that served as one of the approaches to the San-Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the viaduct collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Original Air Date: March 5, 2023 Episod…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Frank Slide. In the middle of the night in 1903, part of the town of Frank was buried under a rock slide in 100 seconds. Original Air Date: February 19, 2023 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank,_Alberta https://…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans. During construction, the northern section of the building collapsed in 2019 and is still under investigation. Original Air Date: February 5, 2023 Episode Sources https…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Juliana Bridge crane collapse in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. A poorly planned lift that had little to no consideration for safety led to the collapse of two cranes and a new bridge section in the middle of this small …

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Sudbury Effect. Undoing a century of damage, little by little and what went from green and lush, to black and barren, back to green again. Sudbury is now said to have the cleanest air of any city in Ontario. Original Air Da…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about PFOA/C8 Contamination (Dupont Scandal). PFOA has been poisoning living creatures in the Ohio river basin for decades. One brave lawyer took on a huge corporation in this real life David and Goliath story. Original Air Date: Dec…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about asbestos. Deadly little fibers that are in seemingly everything and can lay dormant for decades before wreaking havoc. Original Air Date: November 27, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos https://www.asbe…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Bhopal Gas Leak disaster in India. Due to malfunctioning safety systems and a lack of safety culture, many people were poisoned and their lives impacted forever. Original Air Date: November 13, 2022 Episode Sources https://…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Minamata Disease. How one small Japanese town suffered from decades of mercury poisoning. Original Air Date: October 30, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. Based on the movie Airplane!, this week’s mini failure is a bonus episode about the harrowing events of Trans American Flight 209. Trans American Flight 209 from Los Angeles to Chicago made a miraculous landing in Chicago after the flight crew was incapacitated…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Love Canal. After a decade of dumping toxic waste, the location was a bad spot to put a school. Even the chemical company knew it, but it would take years for the school board to understand the consequences of their decisio…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Exxon Valdez. The second worst oil spill in US waters that took decades to clean up. Original Air Date: October 2, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill Ways to get in touch with us Email…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the SS Sultana. A steamship that exploded and sank on the Mississippi River in 1865, claiming the title of the worst US maritime disaster. Original Air Date: September 18, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sult…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Gretna Rail Disaster. Too many trains, some of them knowingly unsafe, water cooler chatter about the war, and an unofficial shift change led to the the worst rail disaster in British history. Original Air Date: September 4,…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Ocean Tower. It was a 31 storey luxury condo tower that was demolished in 2009 after finding significant structural concerns. Original Air Date: August 21, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Tower http…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Ronan Point. A bad fitting and a lit match led to the collapse of the SE corner of this tower block in east London, UK. Original Air Date: August 7, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point Ways to get in …

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Johnstown Flood AKA that Great Flood of 1889. After heavy rainfall, the poorly maintained South Fork Dam failed, greatly impacting the unsuspecting residents downstream. Original Air Date: July 24, 2022 Episode Sources http…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire. A completely preventable fire that took the lives of hundreds and changed the shape of public assembly fire protection and life safety regulations. Original Air Date: July 10, 2022 Episode Sou…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids Ride in Australia. A failing pump caused a fatal accident on what was supposed to be a family friendly ride. Original Air Date: June 26, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thund…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the DOT-105 Rail Car Chlorine Gas Leak. An old rail car and ineffective maintenance procedures led to the release of 81,000kg of chlorine gas along the Ohio River valley. Original Air Date: June 12, 2022 Episode Sources https:/…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Millenium Tower in San Francisco, which has been sinking and leaning since it was completed in 2009. Original Air Date: May 29, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Tower_(San_Francisco) https://www…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Minnesota Metrodome. A combination of a pressurized structure and a fabric roof requires a lot of maintenance to keep the roof up there doing roof things. Otherwise it collapses like it did in Minneapolis. Original Air Date…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Apollo 1. What was meant to be a non-hazardous test for the first crewed mission to the Moon, turned out to be a devastating event for NASA and space travel in general. Like all the engineering failures we’ve covered on this sh…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Kursk Submarine (4:30); a Russian Submarine that sank during a naval training exercise (13:40). The recovery of the ship was less than optimal (16:30) and there were many things to blame, some real and some conspiracy (23:1…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Seattle Kingdome. A venue that had design issues from the start; poor design, leaks, and some really bad baseball and basketball teams are the legacy that remains for the Kingdome. Original Air Date: May 1, 2022 Episode Sou…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the London Beer Flood. A giant wall of beer smashed the brewery wall and sent a huge wave of beer down London streets. Original Air Date: April 17, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood Ways to ge…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Boston Molasses Flood. Over 100 years ago, A wave of molasses flooded the streets of North End in Boston and took out everything in its path. Lessons were learned and new regulations were added to prevent this type of incid…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Kankaria Amusement Park Ride Accident in western India. This accident occurred when the cable connecting the counterbalance with the shaft, and the shaft itself, snapped midair while 30+ people were on the ride. Like pretty…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Tous Dam in Spain. Four years after the dam was completed, heavy rainfall overtopped the dam and flooded low lying areas downstream. Original Air Date: March 6, 2022 Episode Sources https://damfailures.org/case-study/tous-d…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Standard Oil Building in Chicago. During construction, a section of the exterior marble cladding fell off the building, leading to a complete recladding in the early 90s. Original Air Date: February 20, 2022 Episode Sources…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Land O Lakes Sinkhole in Florida. In July 2017 a sinkhole swallowed two houses and condemned many nearby houses. Original Air Date: February 6, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_o%27_Lakes,_Florida htt…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion. On October 20, 1944, a gas leak at Cleveland gas storage facility led to an explosion and fires in a nearby residential area. Original Air Date: January 23, 2021 Episode Sources https://en…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Mars Climate Orbiter. Due to unit conversion errors, a space probe crashed into the Martian surface, a really, expensive mistake, setting back Mars data collection for years. Original Air Date: January 9, 2022 Episode Sourc…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Gimli Glider. Units are hard, but important. What was thought to be a full refuel was only 45% of the required fuel load, leading to an emergency landing at former RCAF Station Gimli. Original Air Date: December 12, 2021 Ep…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Knickerbocker Theatre Collapse in Washington, DC. One really bad snow storm, resulted in the collapse of a crowded theatre. Original Air Date: November 28, 2021 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_Th…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Big Blue Crane Collapse at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Original Air Date: November 14, 2021 Episode Sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXr1IeWbP10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Blue_Crane_collapse https://www.taproot…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cantara loop disaster, which still ranks as the largest hazardous chemical spill in California. Original Air Date: Octobber 31, 2021 Episode Sources https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=17248 https://en.wikipe…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the CIS Insurance Building in Manchester. To stop the mosaic tiles from falling off the building, they installed photovoltaic panels. Original Air Date: October 17, 2021 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIS_Tower W…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Walkie Talkie Building in London, UK. The building that can melt a car and knock over pedestrians. Original Air Date: October 3, 2021 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Fenchurch_Street https://www.youtube.com…

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Lake Peigneur. The entire lake drained into a salt mine in a matter of minutes. Original Air Date: September 19, 2021 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Peigneur Mine Safety Report - https://babel.hathitrust.org…

This week's engineering episode is about earthquakes (4:50). Seismic engineering has progressed over time to make sure we’re prepared (13:40) for earthquakes and the tsunamis (21:25) they cause. Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus episodes - https://www.patreon.com/failurology Photos/Sources/Summary from this episode - https://www.fai…

This week's engineering failures are from our mini failure library. We’re talking about PFOA Contamination (2:00) and the Sudbury Effect (16:05). Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/ Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus episodes - https:/…

This week's engineering failures are from our mini failure library. We’re talking about the Bhopal Gas Leak (1:40) and Asbestos (16:05). Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/ Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus episodes - https://www.patr…

This week's engineering failures are from our mini failure library. We’re talking about the Love Canal (1:45) and the Minamata (15:00) Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata,_Kumamoto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Big_Pollution_Diseases_of_J…

Engineering News – Underwater LIDAR Prototype (1:20) This week's engineering failure is the Lac Megantic (5:10). 10 years ago, a train traveling from Montreal (9:40) derailed in downtown Lac Megantic and changed the town forever (22:20). Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus episodes - https://www.patreon.com/failurology Photos/Sources/…

Engineering News – Fluid Based Light Filtering Technology (0:40) This week's engineering failure is the Surfside Condo Collapse (4:25). We get into the construction of the tower and all the factors that led to the collapse (17:00). Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus episodes - https://www.patreon.com/failurology Photos/Sources/Summar…

Engineering News – Balance Beam Robot (5:10) This week's engineering failure is the Motorsport Safety Pt 2 (7:55). In the second episode of this two part series, we discuss pitlane safety (15:00) and the HANS device (21:10). Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus episodes - https://www.patreon.com/failurology Photos/Sources/Summary from …

Engineering News – NASCAR is Going To The Moon (1:50) This week's engineering failure is the Motorsport Safety Pt 1 (5:55). In the first episode of this two part series, we discuss early motorsport safety (15:35) and some significant safety upgrades that have been implemented over the years (19.45). Check out our Patreon page for Mini Failure bonus…