THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sought in the heat of summer, 1858. But it was not merely the sun that baked the metropolis. An even more detestable force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial discharges had transformed London's lifeblood into a foul-smelling mire. The stench was all-consuming, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone a

The year 845 AD. A chill wind blasted across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent emanating from salt and fear. The Norsemen were upon Norse Mythology us, a ravenous swarm of warriors seeking plunder. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their flags billowing in the wind. A city once proud now trembled beneath