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Aviation in the 1920s could be a lethal business, as proven on 16th August 1927, when only 2 of the 15 planes that entered The Dole Derby - a $35,000 contest to fly from California to Hawaii - successfully reached their destination.\xa0\nThe brainchild of pineapple magnate James D. Dole, the competition inspired the public imagination - and a crowd of 100,000 people - but claimed the lives of TEN participants.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the inefficient and dangerous aeronautics of the time; explain how winning team Woolaroc were able to distinguish themselves ahead of the pack; and reveal how the modern-day Dole company have distanced themselves from such provocative promotions\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018Fifteen Planes Enter, Two Planes Leave - The Deadly Dole Air Race\u2019 (Atlas Obscura, 2011): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/morbid-monday-deadly-dole-air-race\n\u2022 \u2018Dole Air Race: The Daring and Pioneering Conquest Across the Pacific\u2019 (STSTW, 2018): https://www.ststworld.com/dole-air-race/\n\u2022 \u2018Army Officers Hop Off For Hawaii\u2019 (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW1brsdc_fM\nImage courtesy of San Diego Air & Space Museum\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! 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.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices