Why is the Leaning Tower of Pisa leaning?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a monumental icon in Pisa, Italy. It is a must-see attraction to tourists. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built as a bell tower for the Cathedral.
The construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa began on August 14, 1173. The Leaning Tower of PIsa had stood straight for about 5 years but when the third floor of the tower was built in 1178 the tower began to lean very slightly. The reason why the tower had started leaning is because the clay that they used to build the tower wasn’t sturdy enough to hold the tower upright. Because of that, the tower started to slip downwards until the tower found its weakest point.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was a lack of knowledge and a careless mistake. It was a lack of knowledge mistake because they should have researched what materials were good for the tower so that is would stay straight. It was also a careless mistake because they should have checked the ground so that the tower wouldn’t slip downwards so that it wouldn’t have caused the tower to lean. The people who built the Tower of Pisa learnt that they should have checked the soil that they were building the tower on and should have used stronger materials.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa has affected the world today because is a popular tourist attraction and special part of history. Till this day the Leaning Tower of Pisa is known for its famous lean.
Would you have ever imagined a ship that caught on fire and over 400 people died?
The night of the 17th of November 1874, the Cospatrick was in South Atlantic,
several hundred kilometres southeast of Cape Town heading to Auckland, New Zealand.
The Cospatrick fire had been noticed when somebody saw fire and smoke crawling fast on the floor. The reason why the fire had started was because a crew member or a passenger probably had been stealing some cargo on the ship and set it alight with a candle or matchstick. The cargo was straw or some similar material. The fire had gotten stronger because of the flammable goods stored with the cargo like palm oil, coal, turpentine, spirits and other flammable oils. Since the fire had been on the Cospatrick, 470 of those passengers and crew aboard that ship had died and perished into the flames but 3 out of the 473 passengers had survived that horrifying experience.
The mistake was a careless and a practical mistake. It was a practical mistake because the person shouldn’t have set fire to the cargo. It was also a careless mistake because I think that he/she might have been stealing and dropped the candle or match accidently. I also think that he/she might have done it on purpose. The consequences of this mistake was that 470 people died on that ship and there was nothing they could do about it. That person who caused the disaster probably learned not to steal again and never set fire to anything. It has affected the world today because it is known as New Zealand's worst civil disaster.
The fire on the Cospatrick had caused none of the emigrants to make it to New Zealand because New Zealand was still thousands and thousands of kilometres away. Since this event had happened this has been New Zealand's worst civil disaster.
Wrong coordinates?
The day of the 28th November 1979, Air New Zealand flight 901, plunged into Mt Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica. There will 257 people on board and all of them died instantly.
Apparently the plan to Antarctica had changed and that caused the accident. 19 days before the flight to Antarctica the crew had discussed the flight plan to Antarctica but the plan that they loaded on the aircraft flight management computer was different and no-one told the crew that it had changed. The mistake was that the person who changed the plan had not informed the crew and this is the reason for the plane crash. Jim Collins, the pilot of that plane had thought that he was flying over flat land because the layer of snow on the mountain was white and so were the clouds. This blended together so the surface looked flat like that of Mcmurdo sound but he was actually flying towards a 3794 metre high active volcano called Mt Erebus and that's how the disaster was caused.
It was careless mistake because the person had changed the plan and didn’t tell the crew members and pilot. The consequences were that 257 people died. People learned that not to change a plan without the crew members permission and also tell them. It hasn’t really affected the world today but it has affected New Zealand. It is shown as documentaries and people still talk about his disaster.
The disaster evolving the plane that crashed into Mt Erebus is a horrible disaster and is a part of history that will never be forgotten.
Leaning Tower of Pisa Memoir
I am John Burland and my team are thinking about a plan of how to make the Leaning Tower of Pisa straight. We had made our plan and had run simulations and computer models to see if the plan might actually work. So we thought about it and went to the Leaning Tower of Pisa which hopefully wasn’t going to be leaning anymore. We stood in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa with our tools loaded in our hands. “Well,” I said, “Let’s get to work.” The first thing we are going to do is take out soil from the tower’s northen foundation so that we could make the tower straight. As I bent down with a shovel in my hand and scooped one handful of soil, I thought to myself, “Will the Leaning Tower of PIsa, still be the Leaning Tower of Pisa after all of this work.”
Cospatrick on fire Memoir
It was about !2 am and I was walking around the deck to see if everything was fine. Everything was fine so I headed to my room to sleep. About half hour later I had fallen into a deep sleep and until I was woken up from this excruciating scream. “Fire!!!!!,” I heard someone scream. I had woke up and the deck was full of smoke and fire was pouring from the forehatch. People were screaming and were very scared. The crew on the boat was fighting the fire but they couldn't control the fire. Everyone was jumping into lifeboats so my wife and I jumped into one of the lifeboats. We were on the lifeboat for two days without food or water. Some people had died during that time and some people who were alive were drinking and eating the ones who were dead. Suddenly we felt the boat sinking slowly and at the last minute my wife, I and the doctor jumped in the ocean. As I jumped into the ocean I tried to swim up to the surface but had no strength too. My wife and the doctor were in the same situation as me. As I took my last breath I remember the water flowing into my body. The next minute I knew that I was gone.
This is a perspective of Henry Mcdonald, a 2nd captain of the Cospatrick.
Erebus Plane Disaster Memoir
“Hello everyone, my name is Jim Collins and i am your pilot for today’s venture to Antarctica,” As I am speaking the plane just took off to the air. It is now about 12:30pm and our Flight 901 is about 70 kilometres away from Mcmurdo station, Antarctica. This is where we are going to land. Since we are at high altitude, Mcmurdo communications told us to proceed 3050 metres and proceed visually. I started dropping lower but at 12:45pm the communicators advised me to another 610 metres. I looked at the air flight navigator to see where I am going. As I was flying, I saw below the plane that the surface of the ground was crystal white. It was so beautiful. It is 12:49pm and suddenly the deck altitude device starting beeping a warning. I couldn’t figure out the problem. Then all of a sudden “Boom, crash,” the plane had hit the side of Mt Erebus and before I knew it I was dead.
Bibliography
Link for Info for Mt Erebus Plane Disaster Memoir
Link for Info for Erebus plane Disaster
Link for Leaning Tower of Pisa Memoir
Link for Info for Leaning Tower of Pisa
Link for Info for Leaning Tower of Pisa