Between 1800 and 1850, London’s population boomed in unimaginable ways. The city’s population of one million burst into three million over the course of 50 years. The epicenter of the British Empire suddenly became an “open sewer,” unable to cope with the rapid growth of the city’s population. The strain on public health and the urban sanitation system was unimaginable, and the Thames transformed from a source of drinking water into a cesspool.
What happened in 1858 when the summer heat amplified the scent of three million people’s waste? Click on to find out more about "The Great Stink" crisis that caused public outrage and changed the future of sanitation.