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High-speed collisions between locomotives became mainstream entertainment on 9th September, 1896, when Joe Connolly - AKA \u201cHead-On Joe\u201d - staged the first of the 70 deliberate trainwrecks with which he entered the record books.\nThe trend lasted until the 1930s and attracted tens of thousands of spectators to state fairs across the United States. The events were responsible for maiming and even killing some witnesses - but this did nothing to affect their popularity.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the wreck of Texas\u2019s notorious \u2018Crash at Crush\u2019; explain how the Depression ultimately killed off the spectacle forever; and tot up Head-On Joe\u2019s Iowan Box Office receipts\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018For 40 Years, Crashing Trains Was One of America\u2019s Favorite Pastimes\u2019 (Atlas Obscura, 2019): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/staged-train-wrecks\n\u2022 \u2018Iowa State Fair attractions: Spectacles like train crashes, elephants used to entertain\u2019 (Des Moines Register, 2019):\nhttps://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/columnists/courtney-crowder/2019/08/16/iowa-state-fair-attractions-train-crashes-elephants-plane-crashes-war-shrapnel-cannonball-spectacle/2019050001/\n\u2022 \u20181932 Iowa State Fair: Roosevelt/Hoover Train Collision\u2019 (Kinolibrary, 1932): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci5l0ljjVBw\\\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.\xa0\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices