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

  • Four times more people speak English as a second language than as a native one.
  • Indians read the most out of any nationality.
  • Indonesia has the shortest population.
  • The Netherlands has the tallest population.
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