2. There was once a recluse who never left his home. The only time anyone ever visited him was when his food and supplies were delivered, but they never came inside. Then, one storm winter night when an icy gale was blowing, he had a nervous breakdown. He went upstairs, turned off all the lights and went to bed. Next morning, he had caused the deaths of several hundred people. How?
Added 1 January 2007
Hint: This may have occurred anywhere between 1862 and 1990.
Solution:
He was a lighthouse keeper who switched off the lighthouse.
Electric illumination in the form of carbon arc lamps was first employed at lighthouses at an early date, even while oil lamps were still in vogue. The first of these was at Dungeness, England, in 1862, followed by a number of others.
In the beginning of the 20th century Swedish inventor Gustav Dahlén invented the AGA Lighthouse which effectively made lighthouse keepers obsolete. However, for many years lighthouses still had keepers, partly because lighthouse keepers could serve as a rescue service if necessary. Improvements in maritime navigation and safety such as GPS have led to the phasing out of non-automated lighthouses, with the last keepers removed in the 1990s. Today there are a few keeper-run lighthouses left in existence; the vast majority, however, have been fully automated.
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