The Great Fire of London: A Toast...to Survival (Mostly)
Ah, the Great Fire of London. A roaring good time for no one (except maybe the pigeons who enjoyed a smorgasbord of roasted everything). We all know the story (hopefully): bakery fire gone rogue, city ablaze, panic in the streets. But what about the body count? Here's the thing, folks, the numbers get a little smoky.
The official record: As thin as gruel
Officially? A measly six people kicked the bucket. Six! That's less than the number of times you'll trip over rogue socks this week. Sounds fishy, right? Well, fire back in the 17th century wasn't exactly paperwork central. Record keeping was about as reliable as a toddler with a crayon, and identifying burnt bits of, well, anything, proved a tad tricky.
Historians cough and say "Actually..."
Modern historians are a skeptical bunch. They squint at that number six and say, "Nah, that can't be right." The fire raged for four whole days, chomping through tinderbox houses like a starving dragon. Surely, more folks must have become crispy critters than that?
The truth is out there (probably)
The most likely answer? We'll never know for sure. The fire likely claimed more lives than officially recorded, but the exact number is lost to the ashes of time (along with some perfectly good pie). Estimates range from a few hundred to a couple thousand – a sobering reminder of the fire's fury.
So, how many people DIED in the Great Fire of London?
The answer? Dun dun DUNNNNNN History says, "¯_(ツ)_/¯"
But hey, at least most of us survived to make memes about it, right?
FAQ: The Great Fire of London, Survival Edition (Because hindsight is 20/20)
How to survive a fire? Don't be a medieval Londoner. Seriously, those buildings were practically designed for flames.
How to put out a fire in the 17th century? Mostly with buckets and a whole lot of hope.
How to avoid being a fire statistic? Maybe lay off the rogue fireballs, like that guy who got blamed for the whole thing (spoiler alert: he was innocent).
How to deal with the psychological trauma of a giant fire? Therapy wasn't exactly a thing back then. Pubs, probably. Lots of pubs.
How to learn more about the Great Fire of London? Crack open a history book (or ask me, I'm a pretty good source...most of the time).
