TIL that whales were saved from massacre when kerosene appeared (1860s) because, until then, whale oil was widely used as illumination fuel.
TIL that whales were saved from massacre when kerosene appeared (1860s) because, until then, whale oil was widely used as illumination fuel.
You're viewing a single thread.
Similarly, ice was saved from massacre when refrigeration was invented.
There was a railway built to my town which had a big industry supplying ice to the large cities in the south. There was a long conveyor belt built into the lake leading to a large building stuffed with saw dust that kept ice well into the summer. It created a lot of winter work for the locals that dried up after refrigeration was invented. The railway lost its usefulness and also got torn up. And now the bay doesn't even freeze anymore.
When did the bay stop freezing?
Fun fact to add: it gave farmers a winter income, right when they weren't busy.
It's been less and less for the last ever. It did freeze over solid, as did all the Great Lakes, about 10 years ago but that seems to be an outlier. Now there's been not much by the shore let alone any for ice fishers. I'm talking about Georgian Bay, off Lake Huron.
Wow, how did the bay know that we wouldn't need its ice any more? Nature's miracles never cease!