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Portrait of Joseph Bazalgette, the architect of London's sewer system

In London's Great Stink of 1858, the smell from untreated human waste and industrial effluent being pumped onto the banks of the River Thames was exacerbated by the low levels of the river in the hot summer weather. The cause was the inadequate and archaic sewerage system, which poured waste into the river. Victorian doctors still believed in the miasma theory, that smell transmitted contagious diseases, rather than microorganisms; three outbreaks of cholera prior to the Great Stink were blamed on the ongoing problems with the river. Local and national administrators who had been looking at possible solutions accepted a proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette (pictured) to move the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers that sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area. Pumping stations were built to lift the sewage from lower levels into higher pipes, and two of the more ornate buildings, Abbey Mills in Stratford and Crossness on the Erith Marshes, are listed for protection by English Heritage. Bazalgette's plan introduced three embankments to London in which the sewers ran—the Victoria, Chelsea and Albert Embankments. The work ensured that sewage was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames and brought an end to the cholera outbreaks. Although Bazalgette planned for the sewers to support a city of 4.5 million, the system still operates into the 21st century, servicing a city that has grown to over 8 million. (Full article...)

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June 23: Victory Day in Estonia; Jāņi in Latvia; Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg

Pierre de Coubertin

Eumerus

Eumerus is a genus of small hoverflies. They have a distinctive smooth round abdomen, powerful back legs, and yellow hairs around the scutellum, as well as a flat hairy face and a reentrant upper crossvein on the wings. The genus contains 281 known species, making it one of the largest genera of flies. Some species are considered pests of ornamental flowers.

Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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