

The worst blizzard in recorded history: the 1972 Iran blizzard
There are several ways to determine the worst blizzard in recorded history. Property damage and infrastructure repair cost money, but what stands out to me is loss of life and human and animal suffering.
Given that, the 1972 Iran Blizzard has to be at the top of the list.
We don’t normally think of Iran as a place where blizzards occur. Sure, they have mountains that get a lot of snow, but not everywhere else!
In reality, much of Iran has a semi-arid climate with high mountains and valleys that can experience all four seasons.
However, much of the country, like the United States, is located in an area where “extratropical” (outside the tropics) cyclone formation occurs.
Extratropical cyclones drive weather across much of the Earth and are commonly referred to in our region as low pressure systems, frontal systems, or synoptic lows—the latter less so because it is a more technical term in meteorological settings.

The 1972 Iran blizzard was an extraordinary event, as you’ll see in a moment.
The storm lasted seven days, from February 3 to February 9. However, several snowstorms in January had already blanketed the western half of the country.
Over the course of a week, heavy snowfall and below-freezing temperatures buried many rural areas under 10 feet of snow. Snowfall totaled up to 26 feet in parts of southern Iran.
This caused widespread tree damage and power outages, as well as burying homes and villages in enough snow to cover a two-and-a-half-story building. It’s difficult to picture.

The death toll was unprecedented because there was no way to dig tunnels out of those homes that were so deeply buried in snow, no food, no medicine, no transportation, and no power to heat homes.
More than 4,000 people perished, with no survivors in some villages.
Rescuers attempted to provide food and aid but were compelled to flee when a second blizzard hit the nation a few days later on February 11.
The Great Blizzard of 1899 in February of that year was the deadliest blizzard in American history in terms of fatalities. The superstorm in March 1993 had the highest monetary cost.




Why This Belgian Bar Makes You Trade Your Shoe for a Beer
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Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
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How Greek prime minister in 1830’s tried to spread the potato in Greece
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The day Iceland's women went on strike
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How Dmitri Mendeleev Developed the periodic table of the elements
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The Arabia Steamboat: Unearthing a 19th Century Time Capsule from the Missouri River
The Arabia was a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856. Over time, the river shifted 800 meters to the east, eventually turning the site of the sinking into a field. The steamboat remained under 45 feet of slit and topsoil until 1988, when it was excavated. The mud, as it turned out, was such a great preserver that most of the artifacts on board were found to be intact. They even found jars of preserved apples that were still edible!

Nuclear bomb accidentally dropped on North Carolina in 196
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Ea-Nasir: world's oldest written customer complaint
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The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
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Shizo Kanakuri’s 1912 Olympic Marathon Finished 54 Years
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The true story of Annie Oakley, legendary sharpshooter
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Juliane Koepcke: The Teenager Who Fell 10,000 Feet And Trekked The Jungle to survive
In 1971, a high school student was sucked out of an airplane after it was struck by lightning. She fell 10,000 feet to the ground while still strapped to her chair and survived. Only to endure a 9-day trek to the nearest civilization.

The story of a man who spent 72 hours with 72 venomous snakes to prove they only bite when provoked
In the 1980s, an Indian man spent 72 hours in a glass cabin with 72 snakes, some of which were extremely venomous. His aim was to prove that snakes only attack when provoked. Remarkably, he was not bitten once in those 72 hours and even set a Guinness World Record in the process.

The World’s First Seismograph: How Ancient China Detected Earthquakes 1,800 Years Ago
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The Forgotten Story of Semipalatinsk and the Soviet Nuclear Experiments
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Top 10 most cruel medical procedures that are being used today
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The 440-pound bear named Wojtek and his World War II battle against the Nazis
Polish troops raised an orphaned bear cub during WWII. He enjoyed drinking beer, and was trained to salute. He became officially enlisted as a member of the forces, and helped carry artillery during battle.

Underground Railroad to Mexico freed thousands of slaves in 1829
Slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829. Slaves were escaping to Mexico, and slaveholders in the US were aware of this. The US attempted to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, which would have required Mexico to send back escaped slaves to the US. But, Mexico refused, arguing that slaves were free as soon as they set foot on Mexican soil.

Henry Ford, The man popularizing the concept of the weekend off
Henry Ford was the first Industrial Giant to give his employees both Saturday and Sunday off in the hope of encouraging more leisurely use of automobiles and thus popularizing the concept of the "weekend."

The Bizarre (And Magical) Duel Between Chung Ling Soo And Ching Ling Foo
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Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small

3 men lived on top of a billboard in tents for almost 9 months
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how Ferris wheel invented
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