Pea soup fog
Encyclopedia
Pea soup, or a pea souper, is a type of visible air pollution
, a thick and often yellowish smog
caused by the burning of soft coal. Smog, a portmanteau of hi"smoke
" and "fog
", can be lethal, and even the healthy may be inconvenienced by it.
where the smoke from millions of chimney
s combined with the mists and fogs of the Thames valley
. The result was commonly known as a London particular or London Fog, which then, in a reversal of the idiom, became the name for a thick pea and ham soup
.
An 1871 New York Times article refers to "London, particularly, where the population are periodically submerged in a fog of the consistency of pea soup..." The fogs caused large numbers of deaths from respiratory problems until the early 20th century, when homes began migrating to the suburbs and use of coal for industrial activities became more efficient or was replaced by electricity.
, when 4,000 additional deaths were reported in the city over a couple of days, leading to the passage of the Clean Air Act 1956
which banned the use of coal for domestic fires in urban areas. The overall death toll from that incident is now believed to be around 12,000.
Sherlock Holmes
stories contain only a handful of references to London fogs, and the phrase "pea-soup" is not used. A Study in Scarlet
(1887) mentions that "a dun-coloured veil hung over the house-tops." The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
(1912) describes "a dense yellow fog" that has settled down over London, and later notes, "a greasy, heavy brown swirl still drifting past us and condensing in oily drops on the windowpane".
In the phrase "pea-soup fog," the implied comparison may have been to yellow pea soup: "...the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted" (Frances Hodgson Burnett
, A Little Princess
, 1892); "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes," (T. S. Eliot
, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
, 1917); "London had been reeking in a green-yellow fog" (Winston Churchill
, A Traveller in War-Time, 1918); "the brown fog of a winter dawn" (T. S. Eliot
, The Waste Land
(1922); "a faint yellow fog" (Stella Benson
, This is the End). Inez Haynes Irwin, writing in The Californiacs (1921), praises what was then the superior quality of California fog, saying it is "Not distilled from pea soup like the London fogs; moist air-gauzes rather, pearl-touched and glimmering."
In the animated television Christmas feature Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
(1964), the characters Rudolph, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius are travelling through a thick fog when the following exchange takes place: Yukon Cornelius: "This fog's as thick as peanut butter!" Hermey: "You mean pea soup." Yukon Cornelius: "You eat what you like, and I'll eat what I like!"
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
, a thick and often yellowish smog
Smog
Smog is a type of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine...
caused by the burning of soft coal. Smog, a portmanteau of hi"smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
" and "fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
", can be lethal, and even the healthy may be inconvenienced by it.
London
Such fogs were prevalent in UK cities, especially LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where the smoke from millions of chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s combined with the mists and fogs of the Thames valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
. The result was commonly known as a London particular or London Fog, which then, in a reversal of the idiom, became the name for a thick pea and ham soup
Pea soup
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made, typically, from dried peas. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity; it...
.
An 1871 New York Times article refers to "London, particularly, where the population are periodically submerged in a fog of the consistency of pea soup..." The fogs caused large numbers of deaths from respiratory problems until the early 20th century, when homes began migrating to the suburbs and use of coal for industrial activities became more efficient or was replaced by electricity.
Clean Air Act
The worst recorded instance was the Great Smog of 1952Great Smog of 1952
The Great Smog of '52 or Big Smoke was a severe air pollution event that affected London, England, during December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the...
, when 4,000 additional deaths were reported in the city over a couple of days, leading to the passage of the Clean Air Act 1956
Clean Air Act 1956
The Clean Air Act 1956 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in response to London's Great Smog of 1952. It was in effect until 1964, and sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Health for Scotland.The Act introduced a number of...
which banned the use of coal for domestic fires in urban areas. The overall death toll from that incident is now believed to be around 12,000.
Cultural references
Contrary to popular impression, the Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories contain only a handful of references to London fogs, and the phrase "pea-soup" is not used. A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
(1887) mentions that "a dun-coloured veil hung over the house-tops." The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow...
(1912) describes "a dense yellow fog" that has settled down over London, and later notes, "a greasy, heavy brown swirl still drifting past us and condensing in oily drops on the windowpane".
In the phrase "pea-soup fog," the implied comparison may have been to yellow pea soup: "...the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted" (Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
, A Little Princess
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
, 1892); "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes," (T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, commonly known as Prufrock, is a poem by T. S. Eliot, begun in February 1910 and published in Chicago in June 1915. Described as a "drama of literary anguish," it presents a stream of consciousness in the form of a dramatic monologue, and marked the beginning of...
, 1917); "London had been reeking in a green-yellow fog" (Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, A Traveller in War-Time, 1918); "the brown fog of a winter dawn" (T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
, The Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
(1922); "a faint yellow fog" (Stella Benson
Stella Benson
Stella Benson was an English feminist, travel writer, and novelist.-Early life:Benson was born to Ralph Beaumont Benson , a member of the landed gentry, and Caroline Essex Cholmondeley at Lutwyche Hall in Shropshire in 1892. Stella's aunt, Mary Cholmondeley, was a novelist. Stella was often ill...
, This is the End). Inez Haynes Irwin, writing in The Californiacs (1921), praises what was then the superior quality of California fog, saying it is "Not distilled from pea soup like the London fogs; moist air-gauzes rather, pearl-touched and glimmering."
In the animated television Christmas feature Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...
(1964), the characters Rudolph, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius are travelling through a thick fog when the following exchange takes place: Yukon Cornelius: "This fog's as thick as peanut butter!" Hermey: "You mean pea soup." Yukon Cornelius: "You eat what you like, and I'll eat what I like!"
See also
- Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO)Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO)Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation was a system used for dispersing fog from an airfield so that aircraft could land safely...
- an aircraft landing aid intended to allow safe flying during the extremes of 'Pea souper' fog