Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Womack
I just finished sound design on a feature about this disaster. It is a fascinating little piece of history that includes the rather unpopular fact that Boston was a hub of the "triangle trade," a trade that involved, amongst other things, slaves, mollasses, and rum, all traded in a triangle of ports from Africa to the West Indies to America. By the time of the disaster, the molasses had been used to create armament for WWI.
In this case, the company treasurer was in charge of executing the building of the molasses tank that failed. He had no design or safety experience and show little concern with structural reliability or safety; he only cared about the bottom line. What came of the disaster was the modern system of architects and engineers signing off on and publishing their designs and inspectors checking out those designs and watching construction to ensure public safety. Before that disaster it virtually didn't exist.
Bob
|
Thanks for the additional details Bob! Always good to have more info about the origin of some of the regulations and bureaucratic procedures that are so familiar in modern life; what are annoyances now were rooted in outrage about gross neglect of safety concerns and public health...
And I guess you are right: most facts about slavery are rather unpopular... Not a facet of our country's history that is so uplifting, or that inspires pride.