1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (73 page)

542

FACT :
A four-month heat wave in the summer of 1980 led to an estimated 10,000 deaths and
$48.4 billion in damages
.
Four months is not a heat wave—it’s a heat tsunami.

Lori Sharn and Carol J. Castaneda, “Human Nature Adds to Weather Death Toll,” USA Today, July 8, 1999,
www.usatoday.com
.

543

FACT :
In July 1995, a sudden and severe heat wave
killed over 700 people
in Chicago in just three days.
Come January, they’ll be begging for that heat in Chicago.

Lori Sharn and Carol J. Castaneda, “Human Nature Adds to Weather Death Toll,” USA Today, July 8, 1999,
www.usatoday.com
.

“BusinessWeek: Storm Watch,” BusinessWeek,
www.images.businessweek.com
.

Paul Douglas, Restless Skies: The Ultimate Weather Book (Sterling Publishing Company, 2007).

544

FACT :
Excessive heat causes not only physical stress, but psychological stress as well, to a degree that
causes an increase in violent crime
.
“My client pleads not guilty by reason of global warming, your honor.”

Eric Klinenberg, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2003).

545

FACT :
Scientists have discovered evidence of an asteroid collision 3½ billion years ago that
likely created a massive tsunami
which swept around the Earth several times, flooding everything except the highest mountains and wiping out nearly all life on land.
So just about the time you get your cave dried out and recarve all those stick figures on the wall, here comes the fucker again.

“Tsunami Facts: How They Form, Warning Signs, and Safety Tips,” National Geographic News, April 2, 2007,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

546

FACT :
Mount Washington, New Hampshire was the site of the
highest recorded wind velocity
in the United States clocking in at 231 miles per hour in 1934.
I’d heard that New Hampshire blows.

Sabrie Soloman, Sensors Handbook (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1998).

547

FACT :
In February 1959
a single storm dumped 189 inches of snow
on the Mount Shasta Ski Bowl, the greatest snowfall ever recorded.
The area is now known as the Mount Shasta Ski Dome.

“Sierra Snowfall Records,” Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum,
www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com
.

548

FACT : Tsunami waves can be as long as sixty miles
, occur as far apart as an hour, and be powerful enough to traverse entire oceans without losing significant energy. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 traveled as far as 3,000 miles to Africa and still arrived with enough force to kill people and destroy property.
Who sticks around for an hour after the first tsunami hits?

“Tsunami Facts: How They Form, Warning Signs, and Safety Tips,” National Geographic News, April 2, 2007,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

549

FACT :
Tsunamis
can travel unnoticed
in deep water as fast as 500 miles an hour, and cross an entire ocean in less than a day.
Sneaky bastards.

“Tsunami Facts: How They Form, Warning Signs, and Safety Tips,” National Geographic News, April 2, 2007,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.