Monday, April 1, 2024

Dave Matthews Band Dropped 800 Pounds of Human Waste on Chicago Sightseers 14 Years Ago Today

little lady boat cruise chicago incident

While the photo in question is satirical creation, the Dave Matthews Band bus driver pleaded guilty in 2005 to dumping waste in the Chicago River the previous year. Passengers on a tour boat below the bridge where the septic tank was emptied said "a cascade of a 'brownish-yellow' substance rained on them," the Chicago Tribune reported. A DMB tour bus, while crossing the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago, dumped 800 pounds of waste from the bus’s septic tank, which fell on the passenger sightseeing boat Chicago’s Little Lady in the Chicago River below. Roughly two-thirds of the 120 passengers on board were soaked. It trends every year on social media because it’s gross, it’s funny, and no passengers suffered any long-lasting physical health effects, so it’s okay to laugh at it the same way you’d laugh at an episode of Jackass. After initially denying that he had emptied bus's septic tank over the river, driver Stefan Wohl eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 150 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.

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Later that month, he knew all too well when the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit, demanding $70,000 from the band for violation of environmental laws, and citing video evidence for the claim. The First Amendment protects satire as a form of free speech and expression. The Onion uses invented names in all of its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental. The Onion is not intended for readers under 18 years of age. While the incident described above did occur in 2004, the photograph, which has circulated via social media for years, is not an accurate representation of the event.

Sofia Trams & Buses

Everyone's dad was reading the DaVinci Code.And the Dave Matthews Band dumped 800 pounds of feces onto a crowded tour boat from Chicago's Kinzie bridge. “In August 2004, at this very location, a DMB tour bus dumped 800 pounds of poo on some people. A local tour bus company official said he had never heard of a bus unloading liquid waste into the river from a bridge. Charter bus companies typically contract with disposal companies to get rid of their waste or dump it at their own disposal sites, he said.

Dave Matthews Tour Bus Dumped 800 Pounds Of Poop On People Taking A Chicago River Cruise 18 Years Ago Today

The Sophia wasn’t taking on water initially and Captain Locke hoped the ship could float free off the reef at high tide. He reassured the passengers that they would be able to get off the reef, and not to panic. As for the rescue efforts, he did not want to risk lives in such rough water. At least 353 passengers and crew lost their lives in the wintry waters near Vanderbilt Reef that year, yet, surprisingly few members of the general public know about this historic event. This could be attributed to the fact that the shipwreck occurred just days before the end of the First World War. Newspapers were highlighting the Armistice that ended the war and headlines were focused on the increasing fear of Spanish influenza rather than the news of a tragic shipwreck in Alaskan waters.

The boat’s crew swabbed the deck clean and set off only slightly delayed for the 3 p.m. Witnesses said they had just begun the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s 1 p.m. Tour when they passed under the bridge and a cascade of a “brownish-yellow” substance rained on them.

little lady boat cruise chicago incident

The offer of a full refund from Chicago’s First Lady Cruises wouldn’t have done much to alleviate matters as the company took the boat out of service to wash it down with disinfectant. Claims for ruined clothes followed – but worse was to come. They say that when in a city you’ve never visited before, you should look up. That’s just what nearly 100 tourists were doing aboard the Chicago’s Little Lady boat on the afternoon of Aug. 8, 2004, as the vessel took them under the downtown Kinzie Street Bridge during an architectural tour. They’re usually more expensive, like 2 leva an hour in a green zone, but it is totally hassle-free. There are usually private lots every couple of blocks, so opt for that over street parking if you don’t have a local SIM that has extra lev on it to be used for parking.

The Eastland Disaster Killed More Passengers Than the Titanic and the Lusitania. Why Has It Been Forgotten? - Smithsonian Magazine

The Eastland Disaster Killed More Passengers Than the Titanic and the Lusitania. Why Has It Been Forgotten?.

Posted: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Nearly every restaurant or bar you go to will have WiFi, and there is free WiFi in a lot of the parks as well (though not all) as well as along Vitosha Boulevard. WiFi in Sofia is generally stellar, some of the fastest in Europe (I honestly find it better than Romania outside of Bucharest). My home internet, which is the cheapest option, is usually 45 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload, but sometimes it’s even faster. A ticket costs 1 leva 60 stotinki (about 80 euro cents) and can be bought inside the metro at the ticket booth or from the ticket machines, which can give small amounts of change.

It splashed right onto unsuspecting sightseers on a boat passing underneath the Kinzie Street Bridge. It was a day that would live on in Chicago lore, known in the city as Poopgate. Well, certainly not any of the passengers on Chicago’s Little Lady. Nor Dave Matthews, his band, or the driver of the bus, Stefan Wohl, who later pleaded guilty to the dumping. Chicago Police initially couldn’t figure out who did the dumping, resulting in the then Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley holding a press conference, in which he released a videotape used as evidence that the DMB tour bus did the crime.

The cleanup from the actual dumping of the waste probably took a couple of days. "I have been in touch with many of the people who were on the boat, and none of them suffered any lasting health effects," then–Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Robert Egan told the Tribune in 2005. The band, known for huge outdoor shows, a string of hits and environmental activism, later donated $50,000 to the Chicago Park District “to begin the healing process,” according to reports. “We feel very badly for these people who have had this day’s event ruined,” said Bastiaan Bouma, vice president of marketing and tours for the foundation. In 50 years of operation, the tour has never experienced something like this, he said. Some passengers became sick from the smell and made use of the boat’s lower-deck bathrooms, Bass said.

He noted the band would “continue to be co-operative in this investigation.” Eventually, Stefan Wohl admitted he’d done the deed. The 42-year-old, who was driving violinist Boyd Tinsley’s bus, had dropped the load into the Chicago River while he was the only person aboard the bus, presumably in a bid to save himself a trip to an authorized waste depot. The Chicago Tribune reported the tourists had been bathed in “foul-smelling, brownish-yellow slurry that ruined their clothes and made several of them sick.” None was reported to have suffered any long-term ill effects, though several went to a hospital.

Passengers shouted that police should be called and demanded the boat be turned around. Within minutes, the tour headed back to the dock at Michigan Avenue and Lower Wacker Drive, speeding as “fast as the boat would go,” Lund said. On Monday's anniversary, Chicagoans and beyond took to social media to continue to remember that infamous day. We also have articles for popular day trips from Sofia like Plovdiv, the Rila Lakes, Buzludzha. If this will be your first time in Bulgaria, check out our Bulgaria Trip Planning guide. If you plan to visit Sofia as a digital nomad as many travelers do, there are a lot of great coworking spots that cater to the digital nomad crowd.

It’s a good idea to be covered in case you have an accident or fall victim to theft. Travel insurance will help you recover your expenses and continue to enjoy your trip. You need to send a text with your license plate number via SMS to the number listed.

And any other service, such as massage, nails, salon, etc. we recommend tipping about 10% as long as you are satisfied with the service. After the incident, the boat returned to its dock where passengers were given refunds. No serious injuries were reported though several passengers did get a checkup at a local hospital. Bouma said that he was told that someone recorded license plate numbers from the bus or buses and reported the plates to police. He said he hoped to know the name of the company by Monday morning and would demand the company’s buses be inspected for defects. “Our driver has stated that he was not involved in this incident,” a spokesman for Matthews said.

We’ve hosted dozens of friends during our years in the city, and we’re chock full of useful Sofia travel tips that we think will make your time in the city far more pleasant. In the aftermath of the shipwreck, the Daily Alaskan stated that, “Vanderbilt Reef has long been regarded as a menace to navigation.” Vanderbilt Reef, located about 30 miles north of Juneau, is about seven miles long. For the majority of the time, it lies just below the surface of Lynn Canal and is no more than 12 feet above the surface at any given time. In 1918, safety markers were limited; the Sentinel Island Lighthouse was four miles away and a buoy from U.S. coastal authorities was only visible in daylight. Canadian Pacific had submitted a request in 1917 for the installation of a light on the reef, but they were rejected due to lack of funds during times of war.

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