Boxing Day History: The Tsunami
For all of the American readers (both of you), December 26 is known in many parts of the world as Boxing Day. In America, it’s just called “the day after Christmas”. In Canada, this day is celebrated by shopping. In Australia, there’s a big cricket test played and a big yacht race is held. In England, you usually get another day off from work so you can go to the bookies, the pub, eat another turkey dinner and watch telly. It’s called Boxing Day to annoy people trying to figure out why it’s called Boxing Day. Ah, tradition!
But Seriously
However, in 2004, Boxng Day had a completely different meaning for millions of people. It will be linked here on out with the Asian Tsunami, where over 220,000 people were killed (some estimates put the death toll at over 270,000, and some over 300,000 so I’m being conservative here). It was triggered by an earthquake far out at sea, which produced the monster wave.
What About The Animals?
Whenever I hear of a natural disaster, I wonder about the animals involved. There’s always help for people, but animals seem to always get the shaft. But some animals in the path of the killer tidal wave did manage to survive. Although this first clip is a minute and a half advert for a full-length DVD from FirstScienceTV, it’s still good food for thought:
Next up, a slideshow in German with a great soundtrack showcasing some of the deep sea fish washed ashore by the tsunami. They didn’t survive, but at least they were probably dead before the water receeded. Here’s a nice clip to watch right before going to bed:
And, a reminder that some people did give a damn about the animals caught in the path of the tsunami and for other natural disasters in the world:
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