Free Stuff Friday: Are a disaster junkie? There’s a website for that!

Disasters happen.

I’ll admit it. I’m obsessed with the Titanic disaster. If I could dive down to the wreck and explore it room by room, I would.

Turns out I’m not alone in my fascination with the tragic chapters in history.

Gendisasters.com specializes in curating the events that touched our ancestors’ lives. They’ve archived the newspaper articles on accidents, air disasters, bridge collapses, fires, floods, hurricanes, steamboat explosions and more.

Here’s my dad listening to storytime at the hospital. This was the first of many times he’s made the newspaper.

What can I say? Our lives aren’t terribly newsworthy until disaster strikes. My father first made the newspaper at a year old when he ended up in a hospital sick ward. To this day, I’m not sure why that was newsworthy. I guess cute, sick babies sell papers.

Gendisasters catalogs accidents by state so it’s easy to click on articles. Even better, they’re further cataloged by town.

The Lioness was enroute to Natchitoches, when a load of gunpowder exploded. Fifteen people died, including a congressman.

I have to admit: I had no idea Louisiana’s experienced so many steamboat explosions.

Check it out: http://www.gendisasters.com/