#s bend

  By Tim Harford

"Gentility of speech is at an end," thundered an editorial in London's City Press, in 1858. "It stinks!"

The stink in question was partly metaphorical: politicians were failing to tackle an obvious problem.

As its population grew, London's system for disposing of human waste became woefully inadequate. To relieve pressure on cess pits - which were prone to leaking, overflowing, and belching explosive methane - the authorities had instead started encouraging sewage into gullies.

However, this created a different issue: the gullies were originally intended for only rainwater, and emptied directly into the River Thames.

That was the literal stink - the Thames became an open sewer.

S-Planter

Putting the binding on my ‘joker’ corset!

I didn’t intend for it to be purple green and grey….

I also added an extra bone because I was getting wrinkles. It’s the central one in the second picture.