A Town Called Asbestos
- Published on: 21 May 2018
- In Quebec, Canada, there's a town called Asbestos. It's an alarming name, one that conjures up images of lung disease and mesothelioma. So now that the town's asbestos mine, once the largest asbestos mine in the world, has closed... why haven't they changed the name?
Dr Jessica van Horssen's book, "A Town Called Asbestos", was invaluable for my research. Its ISBN is 9780774828420, and it can be ordered from most libraries and bookstores.
Her five-part YouTube series starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-66YqEHkzA
The Story of Asbestos (1922): https://archive.org/details/0929StoryOfAsbestos
According to Plan: The Story of Modern Sidewalls for the Homes of America (1952): https://archive.org/details/Accordin1952
The Gruen Transfer: How To Sell Asbestos, Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIpxelbkI0I
USGS public domain microscopy of asbestos: https://usgsprobe.cr.usgs.gov/picts2.html
The Canadian parliament quote is an official Hansard translation from the original French: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/201/301/hansard-f/35-2/153_97-04-10/153SM1E.html#9543
I'm at http://tomscott.com
on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomscott
on Facebook at http://facebook.com/tomscott
and on Snapchat and Instagram as tomscottgo - Runtime : 4:30
- tom scott amazing places asbestos quebec jeffrey mine mesothelioma asbestosis a town called asbestos
COMMENTS: 40
-
cj c 1 days ago
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with or suspects they have mesothelioma, and has worked in the town of asbestos you may be entitled to financial compensation . call (888)888-law , that's (888)888-law .
-
stevenevents 5 days ago
I remember how they'd move us kids into new classrooms, so that they could replace the asbestos in the ceilings throughout the building. ☣
-
Kevin 6 days ago
The mayor just announced that they will be changing the name! They are open for suggestions, let's get creative..
-
Elim 1 weeks ago
Who else thought of this video after the news was announced that Asbestos is officially changing its name?
-
m01mast3r 1 weeks ago
They will soon change the name of the town.The habitants have been asked for suggestions, the new name should be announced in 2020
-
SardaukarQC 1 weeks ago
...and they just (Nov 27) announced that they will change the name of the town in 2020.
-
Jerome L. 1 weeks ago
Well, it's changing name, but people aren't happy about that. They will pick a new name next year ... I can only hope for Towny McTownface
-
Ellie Boucher 1 weeks ago
They announced on the city’s facebook today that they were going to officially change the name in 2020. Apparently, it wasn’t optimal for economic development?
-
Zachary Pelletier 2 weeks ago
I have family that owns residences near asbestos and the lakes nearby are very nice. Please don't just refuse to visit and make fun of it. C'est très beau et je recommende juste venir voir pour vous même
-
Emilie Poirier 2 weeks ago
We speak French, and the French word for asbestos is amiante. People don’t associate the name Asbestos with amiante, it’s just the town’s name.
-
Stanislav Tsapaev 4 weeks ago
Meanwhile in Russia we have a town called Asbest, where asbestos is still being mined...
-
Mario Merlo 1 months ago
You should come to Casale Monferrato in Piedmont, Italy, to see how much Asbestos was part of the ives of the inhabitants
-
Apodis 1 months ago
Nicely done Tom. It's easy to mock, but they were providing a product the world wanted. The consumers are just as involved as the people of Asbestos, maybe more.
-
𖥠 ꧁Æ♱ℍᴲᮄℜᴲⅅ꧂𖥠 1 months ago
If they hate the attention so much then they should change their name. They can't have their damn cake and eat it too.
-
Lata Bhoj 1 months ago
I might look dumb to ask this but what is wrong with the name asbestos? I don't get it
-
Step Back History 1 months ago
Oh hey I took a Canadian history class in undergrad taught by Jessica Van Horssen
-
hellcat1988 1 months ago
"The were polite, of course... They're Canadian." That quip genuinely had me laughing out loud. I'm surprised more people don't talk about tramp's masters over in russia that have his picture on their asbestos products.
-
Murphy Carey 1 months ago
Asbestos in French is amiante. Asbestos has no real meaning except for the name of a town in French. People most likely didn’t want to talk to you because of that and also because they are French and simply cannot speak adequate English to understand what you are saying.
Pull down the description for all the references and sources I used in this video! And do research the history of Canada and asbestos; there's some quite dark decisions made there.