Record-Breaking PR Stunt Ends in Citywide Chaos

Lake Peigneur

On November 20, 1980, a Texaco oil rig accidentally drilled into a salt mine under Lake Peigneur in Louisiana. The mistake caused a whirlpool to form in the lake, which sucked in the drilling platform, 11 barges, 65 acres of land, and countless trees. Shockingly, nobody died—the workers were able to escape thanks to a well-designed evacuation plan.

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The More You Know

  • Garfield used to own G-Mail.
  • The largest volcano in the solar system is three times taller than Mount Everest.
  • Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd dusted off their Ghostbusters costumes to visit a terminally ill child who was a fan of the film and wanted to meet them.
  • People write love letters to trees in Australia via email.
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