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The Great Stink and the politics of London's sewers

In the hot summer of 1858, sewage in London's River Thames produced a stench that disrupted life around Parliament. Sewer proposals already existed before this Great Stink. The story turns on the gap between having an engineering plan, authorizing it, funding it, and building the network.

8–10 min

Questions you could explore

  • What can make an old proposal suddenly politically urgent?
  • What evidence would separate the smell's political influence from other reasons the sewer project advanced?

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4–5 min

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4–6 min

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5–7 min

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