FAILUROLOGY

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Gretna Rail Disaster. Too many trains, some of them knowingly unsafe, water cooler chatter about the war, and an unofficial shift change led to the the worst rail disaster in British history. Original Air Date: September 4, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Ocean Tower. It was a 31 storey luxury condo tower that was demolished in 2009 after finding significant structural concerns. Original Air Date: August 21, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Tower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_voluntar...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Ronan Point. A bad fitting and a lit match led to the collapse of the SE corner of this tower block in east London, UK. Original Air Date: August 7, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point Ways to get in touch with us Email - thefailurologypodcast@gmail....

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Johnstown Flood AKA that Great Flood of 1889. After heavy rainfall, the poorly maintained South Fork Dam failed, greatly impacting the unsuspecting residents downstream. Original Air Date: July 24, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood Ways to...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire. A completely preventable fire that took the lives of hundreds and changed the shape of public assembly fire protection and life safety regulations. Original Air Date: July 10, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids Ride in Australia. A failing pump caused a fatal accident on what was supposed to be a family friendly ride. Original Air Date: June 26, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_River_Rapids_Ride https://www.courts.qld.gov.au...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the DOT-105 Rail Car Chlorine Gas Leak. An old rail car and ineffective maintenance procedures led to the release of 81,000kg of chlorine gas along the Ohio River valley. Original Air Date: June 12, 2022 Episode Sources https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Repor...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Millenium Tower in San Francisco, which has been sinking and leaning since it was completed in 2009. Original Air Date: May 29, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Tower_(San_Francisco) https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/m...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Minnesota Metrodome. A combination of a pressurized structure and a fabric roof requires a lot of maintenance to keep the roof up there doing roof things. Otherwise it collapses like it did in Minneapolis. Original Air Date: May 15, 2022 Episode Sources https://en.wikipedi...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about Apollo 1. What was meant to be a non-hazardous test for the first crewed mission to the Moon, turned out to be a devastating event for NASA and space travel in general. Like all the engineering failures we’ve covered on this show, and as tragic as it was, there is a lot to lea...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Kursk Submarine (4:30); a Russian Submarine that sank during a naval training exercise (13:40). The recovery of the ship was less than optimal (16:30) and there were many things to blame, some real and some conspiracy (23:10). Engineering News https://www.sciencedaily.com/...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Seattle Kingdome. A venue that had design issues from the start; poor design, leaks, and some really bad baseball and basketball teams are the legacy that remains for the Kingdome. Episode Sources ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdome Ways to get in touch with us Twitte...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the London Beer Flood. A giant wall of beer smashed the brewery wall and sent a huge wave of beer down London streets. Episode Sources ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood Ways to get in touch with us Twitter - https://twitter.com/failurology Email - thefailurolog...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Boston Molasses Flood. Over 100 years ago, A wave of molasses flooded the streets of North End in Boston and took out everything in its path. Lessons were learned and new regulations were added to prevent this type of incident from happening again. Episode Sources https://...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Kankaria Amusement Park Ride Accident in western India. This accident occurred when the cable connecting the counterbalance with the shaft, and the shaft itself, snapped midair while 30+ people were on the ride. Like pretty much all of the ones we cover on this show, it wa...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Tous Dam in Spain. Four years after the dam was completed, heavy rainfall overtopped the dam and flooded low lying areas downstream. Episode Sources ● https://damfailures.org/case-study/tous-dam-spain-1982/ ● https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/generate_chart_e.html...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Standard Oil Building in Chicago. During construction, a section of the exterior marble cladding fell off the building, leading to a complete recladding in the early 90s. Episode Sources ● https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/two-buildings-two-cities-one-prob...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Land O Lakes Sinkhole in Florida. In July 2017 a sinkhole swallowed two houses and condemned many nearby houses. Episode Sources ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_o%27_Lakes,_Florida ● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_nVB1RDIcw ● https://www.winknews.com/2017/08/12/geo...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion. On October 20, 1944, a gas leak at Cleveland gas storage facility led to an explosion and fires in a nearby residential area. Episode Sources ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_East_Ohio_Gas_explosion ● https://case.edu/ech/article...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Mars Climate Orbiter. Due to unit conversion errors, a space probe crashed into the Martian surface, a really, expensive mistake, setting back Mars data collection for years.  Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/m...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Gimli Glider. Units are hard, but important. What was thought to be a full refuel was only 45% of the required fuel load, leading to an emergency landing at former RCAF Station Gimli. Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider#Aftermath https://simpleflying...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Knickerbocker Theatre Collapse in Washington, DC. One really bad snow storm, resulted in the collapse of a crowded theatre. Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_Theatre_(Washington,_D.C.) Ways to get in touch with us Twitter - https://twitter.com/fai...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Big Blue Crane Collapse at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Episode Sources • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXr1IeWbP10 • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Blue_Crane_collapse • https://www.taproot.com/collapse-of-big-blue/ • https://blog.thinkreliability.com/case-study-the-day...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the Cantara loop disaster, which still ranks as the largest hazardous chemical spill in California. Episode Sources ● https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx? DocumentID=17248 ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunsmuir,_California ● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUCWoziQnSY Wa...

We’re releasing episodes from our mini failure library while we’re on production hiatus. This week’s Mini Failure is about the CIS Insurance Building in Manchester. To stop the mosaic tiles from falling off the building, they installed photovoltaic panels. Episode Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIS_Tower Ways to get in touch with us Twitter - https://twitter.com/failurology Email - thefailu...