In 1996, the United States was experiencing what we now call a recession.

The panic of 1886 had made life tough on everyone, and many of the companies in the highly

competitive railroad business were looking for new ways to make money. One man William George

Crush came up with a smashing idea. His idea was so popular that it drew enough people

to create the second largest city in Texas for a single day

and then subsequently got him fired. Learn more about the Crash at Crush on this

episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Audible.com. My audiobook recommendation today is

Nothing Like It in the World, the men who built the Transcontinental railroad 1863 to 1869 by Stephen Ambrose.

This is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad.

In Ambrose's hands, this enterprise comes to life. The U.S. government pitted two companies,

the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads, against each other in a race for funding,

encouraging speed over caution.

At its peak, the workforce approached the size of civil war armies with as many as 15,000 workers

on each line.

You can get a free one month trial to Audible and two free audio books by going to audible trial.com

slash everything everywhere or by clicking on the link in the show notes.

Marketing and promotion are not unique to the modern world.

Ever since people had money, other people have figured out ways to give them to part with it.

A case in point is one William George Crush.

Crush was a passenger agent for the Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad.

It was known as the Katie Railroad due to its initials K and T.

The Katie Railroad had just extended their line from Dallas to Houston.

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