Loki's Revenge

Among the ancient Norse Gods stands the figure of Loki, a trickster, whose deceptions caused the death of a God. Some say that when disaster strikes without warning, it is Loki deceiving his victims, blinding them to danger.

The Black Friday Bushfires: In January 1939, the state of Victoria, Australia, was suffering through one of the worst heatwaves in history. Temperatures reached 112.5 degrees in Melborune and 438 people died. The dry temperatures and extremely strong winds caused raging bushfires to ignite, burning millions of hectares of land. Tragedy continued to strike on 'Black Friday', the 13th of January, 1939, when strong northerly winds fanned the flames of several different fires, which caused them to combine and create a massive wall of fire. The fire swept across the state of Victoria, killing 71 people and destroying entire townships. It would prove to be one of the most disastrous fires in Australia's history. A Royal Commission later recommended that a State Fire Authority be created to prevent future tragedies.

The Windsor Gas Explosion: At 2 o'clock in the afternoon of October 26, 1960, the busy Metropolitan Department Store in downtown Windsor suddenly exploded from within. The store was filled with housewives and children doing their afternoon shopping. Meanwhile, 2 repairmen in the basement were working on the furnace, unaware that gas was filling the room and stealthily filling the area. The blast lifted people off their feet and hurled them through the front windows. Most of the shoppers ejected onto the street suffered cuts and bruises. Employees and shoppers at the back of the store were not so lucky. The collapse of the rear wall pulled the people at the lunch into the basement, tons of steel, glass and concrete falling on top of them. 10 people died in the explosion.