Hello everyone and welcome back to scary interesting and to some of the worst disasters in history.

As a warning, the second disaster in today's video is so disturbing and so gruesome

that it led to radical and sweeping changes across an entire industry.

And so, although the events are fleeting and nondescriptive, they are still highly disturbing,

so viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley was once a powerhouse of energy production for the United States.

Thanks to the area's massive deposit of anthracite, which is a type of coal up to six times

more valuable than regular coal, the Wyoming Valley played a significant role during the

American Industrial Revolution.

And due to this and other factors, it saw a wealth of success during World War I as the

employment rate skyrocketed with the need for coal increasing.

But unfortunately, this boom wouldn't last indefinitely as alternative fuel sources started

to enter the marketplace.

By the time World War II began in 1939, the demand for anthracite wasn't nearly what it

once was, and while most blue-collar industries raked in money as they supported the American

war effort, the Wyoming Valley was very much in decline.

And obviously, things didn't get any better after the war ended, as unemployment rates

for the region were some of the highest anywhere in the nation.

The industry held on as best as it could, and many mines in the area were still operational

by the late 1950s.

However, conditions and ethics were sketchy at best as the companies

that owned the mines pushed to produce as much anthracite as possible. This was an approach that

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