The River Thames, which flowed right past the Houses of Parliament, had become a swirling soup of raw sewage, industrial waste, and dead animals. With a brutal heatwave cooking it like Satan’s crockpot, the smell got so bad that lawmakers reportedly soaked their curtains in chloride of lime just to survive sessions. Spoiler: it didn’t work. Londoners were literally gagging in the streets. Newspapers roasted politicians for ignoring the problem, doctors panicked about “miasma” (Victorian science-speak for deadly bad vibes in the air), and the city’s elite were suddenly reminded that, yes, poop smells even when you’re rich. The crisis finally forced Parliament to cough up the cash for a massive sewer system designed by the ultimate Victorian hero, Joseph Bazalgette. His underground labyrinth of pipes saved London from future stink-pocalypses—and also prevented thousands of cholera deaths. Dude deserves a statue made of Febreze cans.