The article is about a Channel 4 (UK) documentary series called Catastrophe. I found the following excerpt particularly interesting. I don't remember ever hearing about the 1783 toxic cloud over Britain, and now wonder whether this had any influence on early British-American relations, or any long-lasting historical impact. Toxic Cloud Over Britain In 1783 in Laki, Iceland, a volcanic eruption occurred, spewing out gas and lava for eight months and covering an area of 200sq miles in molten rock. The Laki eruption produced huge quantities of sulphur dioxide, burning people’s eyeballs, scorching the skin off livestock and killing plants. The...