On March 25, 1911, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in American history took place.

In the middle of Manhattan, a fire broke out in a garment factory that killed 146 people.

Most of the deaths were totally preventable, and the legacy of that incident had repercussions that still exist today.

Learn more about the Triangle Shirt Waste Factory Fire and its legacy on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Before I get started talking about the Triangle Shirt Waste Factory Fire, I probably need to explain exactly what a shirt waste is because it isn't a word that most people are familiar with anymore.

A shirt waste was a woman's garment which was a type of blouse with elements elements taken from men's shirts and a collar.

A waste was a general term for a woman's top, which is a use of the word which is no longer

used today.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shirt waists were worn by most women in that era.

If you see any photos of women from this period, such as suffragettes, they are most probably wearing a shirt waist.

With that being said, Manhattan was a very different place

110 years ago. Today it's almost entirely residential and white-collar

businesses. Back then, however, it was a hotbed of industrial activity.

Newly arrived immigrants could get work, albeit low-paying work,

at any number of factories in Manhattan.

Garment factories were popular places for young immigrant women to find work. These factories were much better known as

known as sweatshops.

The Triangle Waste Company was founded in 1900 by two Russian Jewish immigrants,

Isaac Harris and Max Blanc, who became known as the shirt-waist Kings.

The woman's shirt-waist business was a huge industry.

Ready-made off-the-rack clothing became popular with women who were just beginning to enter

the workforce.

The Triangle Factory was located on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of what was then known as the

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