mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
by - November 28, 2008 - 9:30 AM
Ask anyone what Iceland is known for and they’re likely to rattle off things like the sagas, Steinn Steinarr, whale hunts, geothermal power, black pudding, and, of course, Björk. But toward the end of the 18th century, Iceland was known for something terrible, something that changed temperatures around the world, something called Laki.
Laki is a volcano that erupted in a big way during the summer of 1783, spewing out 3.4 cubic miles of killer basalt lava, throwing it more than 4,500 feet in the air (by comparison, Mount St. Helens, released 0.3 cubic miles worth). The effects of the poisonous fluorine/sulfur-dioxide compounds were felt the globe over, creating a serious change in temperature that led to famine, death, and destruction far off the shores of the little island.
Here are 6 documented instances, though certainly there were many more:
1. Fifty percent of Iceland’s livestock population (including 75% of the sheep) was wiped out by the eruption itself, or the poisonous cloud lingering in the atmosphere. A Lutheran priest named Jon Steingrimsson living at the time in southern Iceland wrote, “The horses lost all their flesh…the skin began to rot off along the spines. The sheep were affected even more wretchedly. There was hardly a part on them free of swellings, especially their jaws, so large that they protruded through the skin…Both bones and gristle were as soft as if they had been chewed.”
2. No livestock meant no food. One quarter of Iceland’s population was lost due to starvation.
3. The dark cloud moved into Europe as the summer wore on, killing thousands. Some estimate that about 23,000 Brits died from the sulfur dioxide during August and September alone. After an abnormally warm summer (the hottest on record until 1995) temperatures began to plummet the following winter. As the cloud dissipated, gasses trapped high in the atmosphere reflected the sun back out into space. Europe was, on average, 2ºC cooler that winter. Back in Iceland, it was about 5ºC cooler.
4. It was also about 5ºC cooler in parts of the U.S. Ice floated down the Mississippi through New Orleans and out into the Gulf. (Yes, that’s right: ice in the Gulf of Mexico!) Laki was also responsible for the largest accumulation of snow New Jersey has ever seen, and the Chesapeake Bay remained frozen that winter far longer than ever before or after.
5. In Japan, the abnormally cold winter led to famines over the next several years as the rice harvests were lost. As many as 1 million people died as a result.
6. In Africa, Laki wreaked havoc on the monsoons and the Nile didn’t rise as normal. No water meant no harvests, which led to famines and plague. By 1785, a sixth of Egypt’s population had been killed off, or left the country.
Comments (12)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
Am I missing something?
Why is this the first time I’ve heard of this? I mean, Vesuvius messed up Pompeii in devastating though archaeologically advantageous ways and Mount Saint Helena blew in my lifetime; but this seems like the sort of major world event that should be studied at some point in 17 years of formal schooling.
Good article.
posted by EMStoveken on 11-25-2008 at 10:27 am
And here I thought Iceland was famous for international banking….and the crash thereof.
posted by blitzen on 11-25-2008 at 10:52 am
Fascinating. Thanks for the education!
posted by Beth on 11-25-2008 at 11:23 am
Great article, David. As EM noted, one is left to wonder why these cataclysmic events don’t seem to register on our world history radar.
I suspect your transcription software inserted “their” where you meant “they’re” in the first line.
Anyway, keep them coming. Good stuff.
posted by Tom on 11-25-2008 at 11:26 am
For another fascinating account of a cataclysmic volcano eruption, read Simon Winchester’s “Krakatoa, The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883.” That eruption was 100 years after Laki, and even more devastating. The sound of the Krakatoa eruption was noted as being heard over 3000 miles away…that’s like Mt. Saint Helens being heard on the east coast.
posted by 8rustystaples on 11-25-2008 at 11:46 am
Really interesting article. Thanks for writing it. I agree with previous people who question why this was never taught to us in school. It’s fascinating, and impacted so many people. I would have much rather learned about this kind of thing in school than about wars. Keep up the great work, mental_floss — this is why I love this website.
posted by Rachel on 11-25-2008 at 11:56 am
Great Article. I am currently go to an environmental college, and I find information like this amazing. Good job in keeping everything short, factual, and to the point.
posted by Matt on 11-25-2008 at 1:59 pm
Fantastic post! My thesis in graduate school was on a correlation between ecological history and human psychiatry during said era, and I am very familiar with this occurance. I had forgotten some of the statistics of this occurance, so it was neat reading them again! Thanks so much!
posted by Ophelia on 11-25-2008 at 2:13 pm
Good article about a little known tragic event. And to speak as to why it’s not widely taught…simply put it happened in Iceland…though it did have devastating effects around the world, Scandinavian history, geography, geology, anthropology and so for forth are often glanced over if even taught in American schools. It wasn’t until I learned I was Icelandic and Swedish in origin till I started doing my own research about Scandinavia.
posted by Greg on 11-25-2008 at 3:53 pm
Incredible article!
posted by Dawn on 11-26-2008 at 4:23 am
2012, is coming, NASA scientists already getting sun polarity anomalies
these minor events are nada compared to 60 milion years ago, and most recently 5000 BC give or take a few years
good luck,
I will be in my cave in El Salvador, chained to the floor
posted by Senor Pescado on 11-27-2008 at 3:45 pm
Ha Ha! The funny thing is that my sister’s name is Lakshmi, but we call her Laki at home.
posted by Hareesh on 11-28-2008 at 7:46 am