In London's Great Stink of 1858, the smell from untreated human waste and industrial effluent being pumped onto the banks of the River Thames was exacerbated by the low levels of the river in the hot summer weather. The cause was the inadequate and archaic sewerage system, which poured waste into the river. Victorian doctors still believed in the miasma theory, that smell transmitted contagious diseases, rather than microorganisms; three outbreaks of cholera prior to the Great Stink were blamed on the ongoing problems with the river. Local and national administrators who had been looking at possible solutions accepted a proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette (pictured) to move the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers that sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area. Pumping stations were built to lift the sewage from lower levels into higher pipes, and two of the more ornate buildings, Abbey Mills in Stratford and Crossness on the Erith Marshes, are listed for protection by English Heritage. Bazalgette's plan introduced three embankments to London in which the sewers ran—the Victoria, Chelsea and Albert Embankments. The work ensured that sewage was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames and brought an end to the cholera outbreaks. Although Bazalgette planned for the sewers to support a city of 4.5 million, the system still operates into the 21st century, servicing a city that has grown to over 8 million.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stink

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1280:

Reconquista: Troops of the Emirate of Granada defeated those of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of León in the Battle of Moclín. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mocl%C3%ADn_(1280)

1858:

Edgardo Mortara, a six-year-old Jewish boy, was seized by papal authorities and taken to be raised as a Roman Catholic, sparking an international controversy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgardo_Mortara

1894:

Led by French historian Pierre de Coubertin, an international congress at the Sorbonne in Paris founded the International Olympic Committee to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin

1972:

Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to prohibit gender discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funds, which allowed for huge growth in women's sports for student athletes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX

1985:

A bomb attributed to the Sikh separatist group Babbar Khalsa destroyed Air India Flight 182 above the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

unbeknownst: (followed by to) Without the knowledge of. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unbeknownst

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We have to act now … and not one of us can do it without the other. Maybe I am a monster … I don't think I would know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. … But we need to go.   --Avengers: Age of Ultron https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Avengers:_Age_of_Ultron