Virginia, July 4, 1816: Water in the cisterns froze and it snowed. Virginians couldn't know that the year before, in a world far away, a volcano was causing their dark, cold summer.
After a thousand years of peace, Mount Tambora in Indonesia began rumbling in early April 1815. On April 15, a cataclysmic eruption took 4,000 feet off the top of the mountain, spewing ash and gas 25 miles into the atmosphere. Ten thousand people died instantly. The effects were world-wide as a haze of dirt and dust blocked sunlight. Crops failed. Animals died. A world-wide famine ensued.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
