I’m certain I’ve written about Chernobyl before, so I hesitate to bring it up again today. However, Chernobyl was the worst nuclear accident in the history of the world. And it just so happens that it occurred on this date, April 26, 1986.
The nuts and bolts of things follow. It was the number 4 reactor in the nuclear plant that went kapow. It blew up, sending radiation spewing across Europe as far north as Sweden. Really, it probably affected everyone worldwide.
I’m glad I don’t live in Russia. Everything is so clandestine there. We Americans are always saying we want transparency. That is a thing of empty wishes in the land of the Russians. I’m not sure they have ever seen such a thing.
After the explosion, one town, in particular, was in the direct path of the immediate fallout. That was the town of Pripyat. Dozens and dozens of people began to fall ill immediately after the disaster. But, as the Soviets will do, the town was not immediately evacuated by authorities. This eventually happened a day later.
Those sick residents were told only to bring essentials and that they would return in three days. The authorities were trying to keep things quiet. Details of the disaster were very thin at the time. And, the Soviet Union did not admit an accident had occurred until two days later. Even when they did come out and admit to an “incident,” they downplayed it in the media.
We know how it went. We’ve heard all the details. But I will say this. Their “three-day estimate” for returning to the area was slightly askew. Since 1986 a ‘Zone of Exclusion’ has been set up around the Chernobyl plant. The experts have concluded that the surrounding area will not be safe for at least another 20,000 years.
An incident of a different kind happened about 60 years earlier in history. This one took place in London, England. A horrible fire tore through Madame Tussauds in 1925. Apparently, the scene looked like a chamber of horrors, as fired destroyed hundreds of life-like characters.
The blaze occurred on March 18, 1925. It took several teams of firefighters an hour and a half to extinguish the site. There were melted faces and bodies everywhere. One can see the parallel between this, and Chernobyl.
No real people perished, however. Instead, there were replicas of members of Parliament, world leaders, sports personalities, historical characters, movie stars, and infamous criminals. All up in smoke. The biggest candle in history, most likely.
This whole ordeal put Madame Tussauds out of commission for years. I mean, when one is in the business of sculpting wax, fire is the last thing one wants. The entire top floor was destroyed by fire. And the lower floors took on heavy damage with water.
The business took three years to make a comeback. Whether it was luck or good planning, the wax molds had been stored at a separate site. So making the figures again was much easier. After much work, Madame Tussauds reopened on this date, in 1928.
A date of disasters.
I should also mention that today is former First Lady Melania Trump’s birthday, 1970.
And also that of Rudolf Hess, 1894, the German Nazi Deputy Fuhrer.
Some things go without saying, then, I suppose. Sometimes, a world of disastrous chance.
==========
“It’s hard to believe in coincidence, but it’s even harder to believe in anything else.”
― John Green
=========
“Coincidences are spiritual puns.”
― G.K. Chesterton
========
“Million-to-one chances…crop up nine times out of ten.”
― Terry Pratchett
========
Disastrous chances alike
