Parliament ignored a sewer until it smelled

London, eighteen fifty-eight. Parliament has ignored a river of sewage for years. Until it reached their windows.

Three years earlier, a famous scientist told the newspapers: the Thames is a real sewer.

Minister: Dreadful. We shall look into it next year.

Then came a heatwave. The smell climbed in through Parliament's own windows.

Their fix: soak the curtains in chloride of lime, a disinfectant. It failed.

Minister: This is an outrage! Why did nobody warn us?

Within weeks, they passed a bill to build a new sewer system.

Minister: Now, a committee on why it took so long. Next year.

Clerk: Bucket's ready for next year, sir.