Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
214,636
edits
Hindenburg: Difference between revisions
m
no edit summary
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (added trope) |
mNo edit summary |
||
Line 13:
Nobody is sure what happened that day, inquiries held afterwards suggested everything from a lightning strike to deliberate sabotage, although most tests, including those from ''[[MythBusters]]'', indicate that it was a combination of factors. The most likely scenario is that a discharge of static electricity ignited a small amount of leaked hydrogen gas, which quickly grew into an unstoppable chain-reaction. Whatever caused it, the crash of the ''Hindenburg'' is an iconic moment in the histories of aviation and broadcasting. It was the end of the use of airships for passenger flights.
{{tropenamer|The Hindenburg and its horrific last flight is the [[Trope Namer]] for:}}
* [[Oh, the Humanity!]]
{{tropelist|The ''Hindenburg'' and its horrific last flight are examples of the following:}}
* [[Broadcasting in the United States]] - A historic moment remembered (and replayed) even today.
Line 18 ⟶ 20:
* [[Intrepid Reporter]] - Herb Morrison is remembered as a hero by radio and television newscasters. He had a long and successful life and career. His assistant Charlie Nehlsen, who actually operated the disc recording machine, should also be remembered; he had the presence of mind to adjust the needle back onto the disc after the massive explosion had jarred it askew (you can hear this, right after Morrison says, "It burst into flames," if you listen carefully).
* [[Made of Explodium]] - Airships were supposed to use helium, which is very stable and nonflammable. But this was available only in and from the United States, which had [[Holding Back the Phlebotinum|imposed a ban on overseas sales for strategic reasons]]. The Germans used the less expensive (and extremely volatile) hydrogen gas instead. If that was not enough, the construction materials involved compounds commonly seen in incendiary weapons, though not in the proportions that would normally be volatile.
** Later studies show that it can't all be blamed on the use of Hydrogen. It's not as volatile as many believe it to be—Hydrogen will only explode when used in extremely compressed quantities. When it burns instead of explodes, it emits a smokeless, clear, cool(er than normal fire) flame (and of note, around 80% of fire deaths are the result of smoke inhalation, not burns). A study done by the University of Miami demonstrated this: they took two cars, one gasoline-powered and one Hydrogen-powered, and penetrated the tanks, igniting them. The gasoline, being liquid, pooled at the source and eventually exploded into a ball of fiery death. The Hydrogen? It was a gas, so it dissipated much more quickly, and it merely burned its fuel supply and sizzled out with very minimal damage. This is not to say that the Hindenburg was
* [[Nazi Germany]] - The ''Hindenburg'' bore prominent swastikas, Plus, many of the people involved with the ''Hindenburg'' were, of course, Nazis. Its first flights involved dropping leaflets to urge people to vote for Hitler for chancellor. However, manager Hugo Eckener, head of the Zeppelin company and longtime captain of the ''Graf Zeppelin'', was an outspoken anti-Nazi. In fact he quickly named the airship "Hindenburg" after Germany's then-president, before the Nazis could name it the "Adolph Hitler."
* [[Newsreel]] - Most people at the time saw the silent footage from the video cameras, or [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47x9q5-C2k something like this]. Morrison's audio recording was only dubbed onto these films many years later.
| |||