The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire has been the subject of many books and documentaries, and its story much too large for an episode of the history guy. But recent discoveries have illustrated also the fragile nature of history, as much of the record of one of the most famous events in American history almost became forgotten history.
The appeal of one strange object, which achieved dizzying popularity in my lifetime, and today lives on mostly for nostalgia, is not so difficult to explain. All you need to do is turn one on and wait.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.