I was working in construction as a young man and was on a job where a coworker fell over 80 feet to his death. He left a wife and two young daughters. The guy was a journeyman with years of experience and was an expert mountaineer. One mistake can kill. Climbing and building massive infrastructure projects is inherently dangerous work. Be safe out there and remember- we all deserve to go home at the end of the shift!

I've been to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery a number of times and it never fails to move me looking at the ages of the poor souls that are there. RIP.

I was working with a room mate years ago on a ski resort midrise in Breckenridge. We were laborers cleaning up on a high floor with no power or lights. My buddy, very poor eyesight, asks me to check out a darkened area he had been fumbling around in. He came inches from stepping off down the elevator shaft. Sights were not as safe back then.

1:50 - Chapter 1 - The suez canal 4:35 - Chapter 2 - Burma siam railway 7:00 - Chapter 3 - White sea/baltic sea canal 9:40 - Chapter 4 - Transcontinental railroad 12:50 - Chapter 5 - Karakoram highway

"I will drag this country into the industrial era, even if it kills you" -- Stalin, probably

Simon, taking over the internet and educating the world 🌎 😘

"Although with Stalin, people are going to die anyway." lmao priceless

The fact this man has about 5 channels yet still puts all this effort into each one is ridiculous

How about an episode about the massive, half built and now abandoned underground super particle collider in (where else?) Texas?

When I was in my teens, a local hospital (St. Josephs, across from Mission) did an expansion. One time, a worker was moving a concrete form platform to be taken to the next floor. They both fell off, with the table falling on top of the person. Amazingly, there were two 50 gallon drums where the person fell. Because of this, they received some bad injuries, but weren't killed. I believe this was around 1980-85.

Thank you for showing the Australian wreaths and flags in the section on the Burma railway. It's rare that Australia and/or New Zealand (Aotearoa) are recognised in cases like this.

Simon we've still got some critters here in North America. (Bears, wolves, cougars, coyote) some less inhabited areas can be a little sketchy sometimes

As someone used to breathing regularly, I would not fancy a drive on the 16,000 foot elevation portion of the 'friendship highway'.

Do a special just on roadways and how something we take for granted has changed the world!

Let’s now forget when the governor tried to get ride of the town of Rock Ridge because of the quicksand in the way of the railroad.

My grandpa used to deliver steel and beer by the truckload to the construction workers in New York, he finally asked what they were using all of the beer for and one of the supervisors told him if the workers didn’t get the beers they didn’t go up there (referencing the guys walking on the beams of the building frames with no harnesses)

04:00 There still are no locks in the Suez-canal, Simon. Confused with the Panama-canal I guess?

Thank you so much for this channel. You always come up with interesting topics and the depth of research is readily apparent. Thanks, again.

The thing is, getting all that safe equipment everywhere would be nearly impossible if those hand-built roads and channels weren't made in the first place. It's still unbelievable how people managed to do it all in the middle of nowhere. Woods, wild steppe, northern woods/swamps/boulder fields (yes, that's how it is in Karelia and Finland). It was all impassable barriers before.

I'm slowly watching you chuck in OG Business Blaze jokes into your other side channel's hahahaha. Nice one bro haaha

The Panama canal gets worse when you consider the tens of thousands who died in the first attempt to dig it (by the French) which was given up, the US project later continued in its tracks.

Would the events listed in Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire' would make a good Biographics video?

That was very interesting and informative, thank you Simon!

Luv those Chapters touch Simon. Nicely done!

Prior to recent events I worked as a rigger for live entertainment. Videos like this really make me appreciate today's safety standards.

Watching Simon express wonder at the length of a year is an example of the kind of moment the keeps me watching the videos of his many channels.

I assume the date when you mentioned Isma'il Pasha was supposed to be 1863, not 1683. :) Other than that, it's a great video!

Legend answer the the original section of the Great Wall of China cost upwards of a million people lives. I know there's not a way to vet that but surprised that that didn't make the list at least for an honorable mention

Superior work sir, excellent delivery thank you

How about a video on the engineering feats of the Southern Pacific Railroad (western transcontinental railroad), including speed of construction during Trans-Cont. construction, the snow sheds w/ cab-forward engine, Tehachapi Loop, and Colorado River redirection.

Thank you, Simon. That was very interesting. We frequently watch documentaries re: disasters of all types including construction mishaps. I lived in Plymouth, MA. It is located at the beginning of the peninsula called Cape Cod. In order to cut out traveling around said peninsula, the Cape Cod Canal was built. When I was a child, we would often go and picnic in the dunes along canal. The are 2 huge(to me) bridges crossing canal. We would walk along canal road. There is a placque on one wide cement pillar. It states that during construction, workers(?3) fell far into pillar where cement was being poured. It was fascinating to me. Thanks, Simon! Mary from FL 🌴

Good Channel, interesting answers to basic questions, time spent enjoyably .

I've watched it twice now. Everything I wanted and more Connor! Thank you 🎉

Simon, you're a legend mate.. i learn so much from all your videos, and i can't get enough.. keep posting mate, because i keep watching! Cheers from Denmark!

Also more archeology projects would be greatly appreciated! There are a few ongoing right now that are extremely fascinating

Having worked as a Civil Inspector for the past forty three years I appreciate the advancement of safety philosophy. During my career working much of time on highways roads and bridges including expansion projects by far the most dangerous aspect has been working in or adjacent to traffic. The average motorist is only somewhat cognizant of the hazards in work zones and less than average motorists are downright dangerous. The number of vehicle caused fatalities and near misses far exceeds those from the construction itself.

Thanks Simon for more great info. I think it's important to learn about these projects and the human toll it takes to compete them. Especially because so many could have been prevented if the administrations in charge held the value of life in higher regard. May the workers rest in peace and their sacrifice be remembered 🙏

Isma’il Pahsa banned forced labor in “1683” ?!?! 🤨.....I’m surprised your editor didn’t catch that date 🤷🏽‍♂️

I'm literally about to go to work, I'm in construction :/

I absolutely love all you're work keep it up .

Knew someone who worked on the Death Railway during WWII. It haunted him for the rest of his life.

the first quote about us watching more if death is involved was 100% spot on. I clicked just because of the title (False - I clicked cause I watch ALL of Simon's 100 channels. All Hail Simon.)

The Quebec Bridge disasters, yes there were two, deserve an honorable mention although between them they only took 88 lives. The bridge first collapsed during construction in 1907 and then again in 1916. We Canadians are persistent however and the bridge was finally completed in 1919. It still operates today carrying 3 lanes of cars, one of rail, and one of pedestrians.

THIS is what I need more of

Just subscribed, great presentation, 👍👍👍👍👍👍

No locks on the Suez, my friend. It’s all at sea level. Sailed through it myself not long ago in fact. Just straight through.

Loved this

EAR&H had lots of beast related deaths. No tigers but the lions did their work. The movie "The Ghost and The Darkness" features some of it.

Willow Island: 51 workers were killed when part of a cooling tower being built at the Point Pleasant power station collapsed. Still the deadliest construction accident in US history

Excellent video

He always doesn't want to ask if we enjoyed his videos. I'm gonna get the ball rolling. Simon i enjoyed the video.

Always interesting & informative. I spend more time on your videos than I do working in a week. True. 🤷🏻

Years ago I fell from a roof and was saved by my harness. I was working on removing some hazardous material from the roof of a building that had been used by the Govt in the 80s-90s. It was built to withstand bad weather, snow in particular. On the day I was working, it was particularly hot. At some point during the buildings life, they had coated the roof with a type of asphalt that was very slippery when hot. I was working about 4 or 5 feet feet from the edge when I slipped. It was like a slip and slide, I couldn't grab on to anything as I neared the edge and I had made the dumb mistake of leaving my harness on a little loose so as not to hinder my movement. I was stuck dangling from the roof for a few minutes, I was left with a nasty bruise but my man parts were safe.

How about an episode on the real bridge on the river Kwai?

"Playing with firearms," Simon chuckles. No, seriously, it's America. People do that here.

Just a suggestion Simon: It would be great if you could mention the source for all these info

Subscribed✌️🌟

Douglas Park next to Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska has the story of the transcontinental railroad with several artifacts like train wheels, maps, and a steam locomotive and diesel locomotive.

Good video 👍

SIGNIFICANT BRIDGES. 346.4 m (1,136 ft) iron bridge across Kwae Yai River at Tha Makham km. 56 + 255.1 90 m (300 ft) wooden trestle across Songkalia River km. 294 + 418 56 m (184 ft) wooden trestle across Mekaza River km. 319 + 798 75 m (246 ft) wooden trestle across Zamithi River km. 329 + 678 50 m (160 ft) concrete bridge across Apalong River km. 333 + 258.20 60 m (200 ft) wooden trestle across Anakui River km. 369 + 839.5

Simon, you're material and presentations are getting better, and more entertaining all time, lol!

Great episode.

You misses the Madeira-Mamoré railway, also known as Railway of Death or Devil’s railroad, of 20k workers from more of 25 nations 8-10k died of tropical diseases, native attacks, bad nutrition and other reasons.

Talking about workers being eaten made me think of the Maneaters of Tsavo. Not sure which channel that would even fit into, maybe a sideproject?

3:20 1683? Damn, steam engines and the Suez Canal are older than I thought. Kinda like the Ming Dynasty from the 1500's BC.

@Sideprojects At 3:25 Simon says forced labour was abolished in 1683. I believe he meant 1863. The Suez Canal was built in the 19th century, after all, not the 17h.

Thank you

I'm very grateful that you talked about the Railway Bridge of Burmese Railway. It should be Number 1 of the 7 Manmade Wonders of the World. Poor souls! A truly heartbreaking story.

What a great video

Another source that is good about “rounding the horn” is “Two years before the mast” by Dana. Dana spent 2 years on the trade with California to obtain cow hides for the leather trade and there are mentions of the triangle trade between Hawaii-California-Peru. The hides needed to be softened prior to shipping as they were hard and stiff from the Missions and Rancheros.

Between 8,000 to 20,000 people died building the New Basin Canal in New Orleans, which connected Lake Pontchartrain and what is now downtown.

Great video Mr Simon. When he mentioned the camps for the American transcontinental railroad (gambling, drinking, and playing with firearms) a typical party at my relatives' house sounds exactly like that. 😂

Loved the video, Simon! but I think you meant 1863 instead of 1683 when talking about Isma'il Pasha! (3:24)

4:00 There aren't any locks in the Suez Canal today either.

You should cover Canada’s railway through the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, where I Chinese labourer per mile was killed. They were told if they voluntarily carried and poured highly volatile Nitro Glycerin charges by hand, they could bring their family to Canada as immigrants. Many Chinese ‘volunteers’ were blown up inside rocky tunnels when they tried to pour the charges.

Yaaaa ! My grandfather was an engineer building diversionary dams,and bridges,in the jungle, in support of the Panama Canal project. Cool...

I rode the KKH on the roof of a bus from Xinjiang to Islamabad back in 89'. The roof of the bus seemed safer the way buses tended to plummet off the road and into the Indus River below. I wanted the illusion that I would be able to at least jump to safety should our bus veer off course. Besides; the insides of the vehicles were so over cramped and overloaded with people, and smuggled goods, and sickness was rampant. The roof offered a spectacular view and fresh air albeit subfreezing temps. We sat with our backs to the wind and our backpacks propped up as windbreaks . The Khunjerab Pass is officially 16,000' in height and the name translates to Pass of Blood due to the many smugglers and bandits that preyed upon the unsuspecting and weary travelers along the root. Thanks for the video and the rush of memories that came flooding back.

3:23 1683???

The "Stalin Canal" took life every meter of its length. They collected bones and then laid the last canal gate in concrete.

All construction are inherently deadly process during and after the projects. All parties need to prepare for all of the disasters ! Excellent discussions. Regards.

I think it would be interesting if you did videos on events in video games. xD I like your narration style!

One bridge fails everyday in the USA....there’s a whole program dedicated solely to replacing delapidated bridges

Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

"There were no locks like there are today. And since the seawater flowed freely, the level changed with the prevailing tide which meant crossings often hairy for heavily laden ships." 4:00 Well, it is true that there were no locks back then. But the Suez canal still has no locks even today. They aren't needed to be fair. That the water level changes a bit depending on the tide and that this effects shipping through the canal is somewhat known, but generally speaking the canal authority keeps some track of this fact and ensures that ships don't get stuck due to it. Though, the Suez canal gets blocked more than once a year regardless.... Though, usually not by one of the world's biggest cargo ships. Somehow having a canal in the middle of a sandy desert prone to storms is a good recipe for poor visibility and ships running aground at the less deeply trenched edges of the canal. The Suez canal also used to have an infinite height limit, but then Egypt and Japan decided to build a non opening bridge over it in the mid 90's, a bridge that is only providing 70 meters of clearance, the Suez max is 68 meters tall for some buffer. Now, 68 meters is fairly tall to be fair, far taller than most ships on the seas. But the bigger issue is that the bridge makes it hard to build a second lane on the canal.

“This one is all about the world’s deadliest construction projects because for some reason. When things collapse and people die, you guys watch the videos more…….so, yay!👍🏻” I’m dead, That intro funny and true 😂💀

Excellent video. Sadly, construction is still one of our deadliest occupations.

Your mention of Nanga Parbat reminds me of just how much I want to see (after your geographics Everest video) a Geographics video that runs through the 14 '8000ers'. The 14 mountains over 8000m High. Where they are, when they were first climbed, the major hazards and the fatality rate . . . Maybe with some of the interesting stories associated with them. Nanga Parbat (9th highest mountain on earth) for example, was the only 8000er to be first summited solo. The guy who did it? Hermann Buhl? Well here's the Wikipedia version of his story: The final push for the summit was dramatic: Buhl continued alone for the final 1,300 metres (4,300 ft), after his companions had turned back. Under the influence of the drug pervitin (based on the stimulant methamphetamine used by soldiers during World War II), padutin, and tea from coca leaves, he reached the summit dangerously late, at 7:00 p.m., the climbing harder and more time-consuming than he had anticipated. His descent was slowed when he lost a crampon. Caught by darkness, he was forced to bivouac standing upright on a narrow ledge, holding a small handhold with one hand. Exhausted, he dozed occasionally, but managed to maintain his balance. He was also very fortunate to have a calm night, so he was not subjected to wind chill. He finally reached his high camp at 7:00 p.m. the next day, 40 hours after setting out.[28] The ascent was made without oxygen, and Buhl is the only man to have made the first ascent of an 8,000-metre (26,000 ft) peak alone.

Simon, I would like to see an episode that compares and contrasts the German Autobahn and US Interstate Highway systems.

Great video Simon but I watch your videos simply because with death or not your videos are legendary. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

So, all the deadliest projects are either canals, railroads, or highways -- i.e., transportation conduits along the surface of the globe. And yet the projects you would think would have frightening numbers of construction-related deaths, such as skyscrapers, communications towers, and other vertical edifices, have very few if any fatalities.

the first project that came to mind was the Hoover Dam, but with just over 100 deaths it doesn't come close to making it onto a list like this

Yep. I am definitely seeing a little Blaze bleed over for sure. Keep going Simon no legs the OG Blazers are watching

Thank - you .

Hey Simon, I have a suggestion for a video. When I was younger I read a book based on a US civil war nurse and her life. She was some how in every major battle of the US civil war and the way they told the story was amazing. Do you think you could go over some of the greatest nurses in history or even he specific story of "Gentle Annie the true story of a civil war nurse" the book is old and hard to find now a days. Thank you

R504 Kolyma Highway in Siberia, the Road of bones, possibly 1 million dead.

What was the death rate among sailors doing the run round Cape Horn, just as a comparison to the transcontinental railway? Moreover, I feel that the Kolyma highway, aka "Road of Bones" could have a spot on a list like this. Wikipedia claims that 250.000 - 1.000.000 people died during the construction.

"Drinking, prostitution, and playing with firearms" accurately describes most of my military career.

Your voice will be sooo good for podcasts. I can't stop listening you😋

I'd like to see a mega project video on the Suez Canal. I'd also like to see one one the Panama Canal. The transcontinental railroad was covered in another video, so maybe we can get these two as well.

You should add links to the other videos you mention in your description …. can’t expect me to search all your channels