Hello everyone and welcome back to Scary Interesting into another edition of some of the worst disasters in history.

Of all of the topics covered on the channel, there is only one that combines all the factors that make caving terrifying with loss of life on an industrial scale.

Since humans began to dig tunnels into the earth, the total loss due to mining is almost incomprehensible.

And so in this video, we're going to look at two disasters that have added to this horrific reputation.

As always, viewer discretion is advised.

By the early 1900s, coal was well established as the lifeblood of American progress.

It fueled railroads, industry, and homes across the nation, and its demand was insatiable,

and nowhere was its extraction more vital than the coal-rich hills of West Virginia.

As the coal industry boomed in the first two decades of the 20th century, peaking in

1918 million tons of ore produced, mine owners continued to expand much to the peril

and exploitation of the average mine worker.

The pay was minimal, the hours were long, and their lives were essentially owned by the

coal companies, which monopolized not only the work, but the very towns where the miners and their families lived.

In these company-owned towns, inflated prices at company-owned stores ensured that wages

cycled straight back into corporate pockets, keeping workers in the relentless trap of debt

and dependence. Yet, this was still nothing compared to inside the mines. Every

single breath of miners were thick with coal dust, causing chronic illnesses like

black lung disease. Meanwhile, currents of dangerous methane gas lurked throughout the tunnels

and corridors waiting for a careless spark. Poor ventilation exasperated these dangers,

allowing invisible gases to accumulate unchecked.

Mines were also claustrophobic, narrow confines that forced men to stoop as they worked,

with the rock above threatened to collapse at any moment.

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