Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/07/watch-the-hindenburg-disaster.html
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Hm. Does that count as a comment on the current Zeitgeist, Jason?
I hope not.
I really do.
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We must bailout the Hydrogen dirigible industry! Put these people back to work!
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Right? Fake news, those people all made it to their destination.
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Somewhat unrelated, but a super fun family movie:
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Media experts: “twitter encourages crude, sensationalist abbreviation”
1937 in the British Pathé archives:
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Well, roughly two-thirds did, 35 died out of 97 on board, plus one on the ground.
Also, it wasn’t the hydrogen inside the cells inside that caught fire initially, it was the outer membrane, which was coated with a mixture of cellulose dope and powdered aluminium, basically solid rocket fuel.
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It’s not the one with the “Oh the humanity” guy?
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Same accident, but he didn’t work for Pathe newsreels.
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Hydrogen burns nicely enough, given a spark or any source of ignition whatsoever.
Here (from 4:21) are the four newsreels, with movie/tv reenactments before, synced with the Herbert Morrison audio
Not one of them filming when the fire started, helpfully enough!
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I think I have a little something just in case you’re concerned it’s not on the nose enough for our current political moment:
This is why I come to BB, for the “hey guys look at this old video” posts.
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there’s a minute footage seems to have been omitted of the impact… etcetera
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Honestly that Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator would have been a lot more entertaining if they’d spent more screen time on the story of how he secretly outfitted a rocket-powered superhero to fight Nazi spies.
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That music … Grieg? Anyone know?
Not sure if this is available in cameras but, for years now in digital audio, the capture device can be continuously buffering which means you can record a take ‘after’ you hear it.
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On a lighter note, I have a joke about this footage but given the gravity of the content a feel it would go down like a…
Actually hydrogen is tricky to burn. Hydrogen is a very dispersive gas, H2 molecules want to as get far away from other H2 molecules as possible. Emptying a tank into a large room would not produce an explosion or even be very flammable. Only when you contain and it’s mixed with oxygen at a proper ratio will it burn or explode. It is used in gas chromatography as a carrier gas routinely. When enough leaks in the oven and ignites it barely blows the door open. This is one of reasons it’s considered a good choice to power vehicles because it is safer than many alternatives.
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