Let me explain why I’ve been away for so long. Back on November 8, 2018, my home town of Paradise, California burned down, along with my family’s house that contained much of the sentimental items attached to my deceased mother and father. My brother was able to evacuate safely with the neighbors but his cockatiel was left behind and died in the flames. Since the fire, I have been busy working on completing a full house inventory list for insurance along with a two-week trip to salvage what I could from the ruins. I was able to find quite a few sentimental items – those made of ceramic or metal, that is – and take some photographs, which has helped with the healing process, but seeing all of my mother’s gardens and the enormous ponderosa pine trees that I grew up with destroyed was immensely distressing. After years of reading about and obsessing over fire tragedies, it feels odd to have suffered one first hand. I’m still busy with the inventory along with working full-time, so I don’t have a great deal of time to devote to other hobbies such as this newsletter, but I’ll try to get the occasional fact out. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Today’s Galvanized Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Cadmium is a chemical element with symbol Cd and atomic number 48. Cadmium can mainly be found in the earth’s crust. It always occurs in combination with zinc. Cadmium also consists in the industries as an inevitable by-product of zinc, lead and copper extraction.
There have been several instances of cadmium poisoning, and it has been known to kill within days. Inhaled cadmium oxide fumes are particularly dangerous, and this was how a team of construction workers was poisoned while working on the Severn Road Bridge in England in 1966. They used an oxyacetylene torch to remove steel bolts but were unaware that the bolts were galvanized with a thick layer of cadmium to prevent corrosion. The fumes that were given off poisoned them and the following day the men were all ill, experiencing breathing difficulties and coughing violently. One of them had to be taken to the hospital, where he died a week later of acute cadmium poisoning. The others were also admitted for treatment but they survived.
Culled from: The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison
A Mysterious Tragedy
May 15, 1964
A fire-singed car, a body wrapped in a sheet, charred remains of clothes on the street, policemen inspecting the scene, a few bystanders gathered to watch. It all makes for a classic spot news photograph and for something of a mystery as well.
Covered by the sheet is a woman identified as Mrs. Frank Risse, age 63. Investigators later determined that she’d burned to death when a bowl containing flammable insect spray ignited and set her clothes on fire as she sat in her car outside her house on Iglehart Avenue in St. Paul. Her body engulfed in flames, she managed to get out of the car and walk a few steps before a neighbor and a passing motorist were able to beat out the fire. She was dead by the time firemen arrived.
Mrs. Risse’s son later told police he didn’t know why his mother would have had insect spray in the car, which she never drove. Nor could he explain why a pack of matches was found outside the car, since she didn’t smoke. But it was learned that she’d walked to a nearby drugstore to purchase the spray, returned home with it, and died in the mysterious fire a shot time later.
Culled from: Strange Days Dangerous Nights: Photos From the Speed Graphic Era
Ahhh! Sweet Comtesse. It’s been a decade, and I’m delighted to catch up on the archives!
I was wondering if you would make a MFDJ about Paradise burning down. I lived about a 30 min drive SSE at the time, and the thick smoke made me cringe to think about what (and who) I was breathing in when I ventured outside. As the citizens of Paradise fled to neighboring towns, everyone decided to welcome them by raising rents $300! And the incineration of the old trees was very bizarre to say the least. I was thinking about you when the event happened.
Greetings! No, I don’t know that I’ll do a MFDJ about Paradise. I did talk about it at the time of course, but I prefer to dig up facts from more ancient-er times. Yes, that was a horrible day – one that changed my life forever. Thank you for writing!