The Unpleasant Truth About Progress: Lessons from the Great Stink The Great Stink of 1858 is often remembered as a quaint tale of Victorian era neglect. However, this story has more than a few lessons for our time.
As London's population swelled from 1 million in 1800 to over 2. 5 million by 1850, the city's infrastructure struggled to keep pace.
The Thames had become an open sewer, choked with human waste, garbage, and industrial pollution. This was no mere nuisance; it was a public health crisis waiting to happen.