You Think You Have It Rough Until You See What Rough Looks Like
5/7/24
Yesterday marked the 87th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster. The Hindenburg was a German dirigible (also called a zeppelin), the largest rigid airship ever constructed. In 1937 it caught fire while attempting a landing in Lakehurst, NJ (nothing good ever happens in Jersey) and 35 of the 97 passengers and crew died. One person on the ground also died (probably because they thought they had time to run away from a falling balloon).
So, the next time you’re traveling and you’re stuck in traffic, or the train is delayed, or they run out of Diet Coke on your airline traveling at 500 mph, think for a second before you complain. The people who came before you used to travel by blimp.
And they probably didn’t complain either. Imagine telling your friends that you floated over their house and saw how small their pool looked? To travel by airship was cool. The Hindenburg’s passengers could travel from Europe to North and South America in half the time of the fastest ocean liner, and they traveled in luxurious accommodations the airlines couldn’t match.
But after more than 30 years of passenger travel—and tens of thousands of passengers flying over a million miles on more than 2,000 flights without a single injury—the era of the passenger airship was over in a few fiery minutes.
One spark of electricity.
A balloon filled with hydrogen.
Boom.
If you’ve never watched a video of the disaster, watch the YouTube video below (it’s only a minute long). For some reason, I guess because Americans were so awestruck by zeppelins, there was a broadcast of the event. That’s where you hear the famous line, “Oh, the humanity!“
But my favorite line is when the broadcaster says “I can’t talk, ladies and gentlemen” as he continues to talk. He is, of course, terribly emotional about what he’s witnessing.
You don’t find that kind of emotionality in today’s travel. Flying has become almost boring—that is, or course, unless you’re on a Boeing plane. In that case, start those cameras rolling.
#RandygetsatoyzeppelininAChristmasStory
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