I found this photograph in the National Archives. It was taken on April 10, 1944, so it’s a little outside our timeframe here on Old Spirituals, but it’s a magnificent picture. They named it Electricity over Vesuvius. It’s the electricity that amazes me. Can you imagine what the ancients thought when the volcanoes erupted long ago?
The NARA photo came with this inscription: “Night photo of Mt. Vesuvius in eruption, shows red hot lava streaming down the mountain and an accumulation of static electricity cracking over the fiery crater.”
National Archives
I was wondering what a volcanic eruption sounds like and came across some videos by a man named Giuseppe Distefano, who studies Mt. Etna. He takes the most incredible footage and there’s no sound except the wind and the sound of the explosion.
Here’s one example:
I read a book once about cultural events in the 1920s (I don’t recall its name) and it included some anecdotes about how people around the world reacted to the tragic and shocking death of Rudolph Valentino. One story that sticks with me was that two of his teenaged fans in Japan were so overcome with despair at the news that they had leapt into a volcano in response. It sounds too wild to be true but you never know!
Rudolph Valentino
old spirituals 
Anyone who has witnessed the steel making process can appreciate the heat of a volcano eruption. Molten iron and steel are over 2,000 degrees and glow like lava erupting from of a volcano. The heat that radiates from an iron or steel production furnace, if close enough, will warm your face . . . even redden it. To look inside a furnace to observe the “bath” of iron/steel requires a dark shade of cobalt blue glasses. I assume the same is true for observing a volcano’s lava.
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Wow, I have never been close to steel making or a volcano. Why do you need glasses to look? Is it to protect your eyes from the heat or is it blinding? Either way, that’s fascinating. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know!
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Like a chef, a Furnace Operator must see the liquidity of the “bath” of molten steel. Like a Welder that wears a face shield with dark glass to protect his eye from “welder’s flash”, it allows the furnace operator to see through the glare at the liquidity of the molten steel and protect his eyes. The same reason we are encouraged to wear dark glasses when looking at an eclipse. I was a Safety Engineer for 2 years in a steel production division inside a fully integrated steel plant. It was required for my career progression.
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You ought to write a book, Jax. You make ordinary things interesting!
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You are very gracious, but I am a far cry from being an author. It is likely the anecdotes I can write about that are “interesting.”
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I’m not being gracious on this point. It’s really true.
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wow!!! What awesome power! Unfortunately I can imagine a couple of star struck teenagers doing something foolish in a moment of grief.
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I wouldn’t go back to being a teenager for love nor money!
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My husband and I cruised to Hawaii for our 40th wedding anniversary. Our ship cruised around the islands and one port was at Hilo where we visited Volcano National Park. There were miles of what looked like asphalt from previous eruptions and each was marked with the date. There was an active volcano and signs indicating that going further was at your own risk due to unstable ground. It was fascinating place!
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What a cool vacation! You said the areas that had been covered by lava look like pavement? Isn’t it wild to think how well preserved Pompeii is under all that volcanic ash? Must have happened so quickly!
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I had no idea Vesuvius erupted in ’44. I knew Etna has been active off and on, but the only thing I associate Vesuvius with is Pompeii and Herculaneum and that was an AWFULLY long time ago, lol.
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Yes! The eruption must not have been as disastrous in 44 as before. But still tremendously powerful!
I would like to see it but you couldn’t pay me to live nearby! 🌋
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