The Manchester Woolworths Inferno of 1979 | Episode 72

If you’re like me and you would rather burst into flames than go shopping, have we got the story for you…

Special shout out to my UK listeners! On today’s fresh new episode: we’ll see how cold and aloof British parents can be; we’ll see how bad psychology makes some shoppers believe they are practically immortal and fire proof; and we’ll see which planet in our solar system has better, more breathable air than was available in today’s story – and hint, it’s not Earth.

Let me mention, there are actually three disasters in this episode. The actual disaster in Manchester, another one at an IKEA right off the bat, and that poor Woolworths that Hitler hated? He hated it with a rocket. And the reaction of some victims of this disaster would lead to the creation of an actual area of study for academics interested in the bizarre behaviour of people in emergency situations. We've had people walk into burning buildings before because of trauma, but this will be something completely different.

At the time this episode took place, it was the worst fire-related tragedy since WWII, but we'll also discover how this disaster changed the history of home and business safety and ended up saving thousands of lives.

Special celebrity guests include retail super juggernaut, Frank Woolworth; hated former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher; poison obsessed Swiss physicist, Walter Jaeger; worst mother in the world, Catherine McGuinn; British author and redneck enthusiast, George Orwell; former President Donald J. Trump; former Philippino dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda; and the former wealthiest man in America, Sam Walton.


And if you were a Patreon supporter, you would also enjoy an additional 9.5 minutes where we discussed:

•   where Philippino dictators and Donald Trump fit into NYC’s real estate dick measuring contest

•   where American rednecks came from

•   the conspiracy surrounding Mattress stores on every corner across the US

•   and we’ll took a minute to find out just how much Hitler hated Woolworths

If the idea of getting episodes a little early and ad-free with ridiculously interesting extra material strikes you as a good thing, you can find out more at:

www.patreon.com/funeralkazoo

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