LONDON'S RIVER TURNED MURKY: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sought in the heat of summer, 1858. But it was not merely the sun that parched the metropolis. An even more repellent force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial discharges had transformed London's lifeblood into a foul-smelling mire. The stench was oppressive, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone and

The year 845 AD. A chill wind whistled across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent emanating from salt and fear. The Norsemen had arrived, a ravenous swarm of warriors seeking glory. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their flags fluttering in the wind. A city once proud now trembled beneath the threat of th