Today’s Clinking Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
On December 6, 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a munitions ship (the Mont Blanc) collided with a vessel in the Narrows of the harbor, triggering a catastrophic fire and explosion that destroyed much of the city and killed over 1,600 people and injuring over 9,000. Many of the injured had been staring out the window at the burning vessel when it exploded, resulting in horrifying facial injuries from broken glass. Dr. George Cox, a local eye surgeon, operated for more than three straight days. Here is an excerpt about his efforts:
After the operating room was organized to his satisfaction, Cox walked the wards picking out an hour or two’s work. He checked first one eye and then the other by gently lifting their swollen lids, if there were any lids. “Eyelids were cut into literal fringes and in addition to removal of the ball, one often had to hunt among the swollen scalp to find material to reconstruct a set of lids. In many cases there were no more eyeballs. It was as if the ball had been laid open and then stuffed with pieces of glass or sometimes crockery, brick splinters, and on palpation, they would clink. Pieces of glass were driven clean through the eyeball and one found it necessary to feel about in the orbital tissue before dressing the case. Pieces of glass as large as an inch square or larger were found.”
Culled from: Curse Of The Narrows