Short Stuff: Great Smog of London

# Stuff You Should Know Summary

This episode dives into the Great Smog of London, a catastrophic five-day air pollution event that struck the city in December 1952 and fundamentally changed environmental policy forever. The hosts explore how a toxic combination of factory smoke, car emissions, home chimneys, and fog created a nearly impenetrable smog so thick that people couldn't see their own feet, forcing movie theaters to close and buses to stop dead in their tracks. Beyond the immediate chaos, they discuss the tragic human toll—estimates ranging from 4,000 to 12,000 deaths—and how this environmental disaster was so severe it prompted the British government to pass the Clean Air Act just four years later, making it one of the earliest major pieces of environmental legislation.