Articles

The Swamp That Worked

The Iroquois Theater Fire: Chicago's Forgotten Inferno

The Iroquois Theater was "absolutely fireproof." That's what the advertisements said. On December 30, 1903, a spark from a stage light ignited a curtain, and 602 people died in fifteen minutes — women, children, families packed in for a holiday matinee. The exits were locked to prevent gate-crashers. The "asbestos" fire curtain was made of wood pulp. It remains the deadliest single-building fire in American history.

The Max Headroom Incident: TV's Only Unsolved Hijacking

On November 22, 1987, someone wearing a Max Headroom mask hijacked the signals of two Chicago television stations. For 90 seconds, viewers watched a distorted figure make bizarre statements, moan, and get spanked with a flyswatter. The FBI investigated for years. Nobody was ever caught. It remains the only unsolved broadcast signal intrusion in American history — and one of the creepiest unsolved mysteries of the analog TV era.

The Eastland Disaster: Chicago's Forgotten Titanic

On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland capsized in the Chicago River while passengers were still boarding for a company picnic. 844 people died — more than the Titanic's American death toll. The ship never left the wharf. It remains the deadliest single-vessel disaster in Great Lakes history, and somehow, it's been almost completely forgotten.