American Civil War soldier deaths disease 2024 estimate

Civil War soldier deaths were mostly from disease

≈2 in 3 deaths

A 2024 recalculation using newly available census records put American Civil War soldier deaths at about 698,000. Roughly two-thirds died from disease rather than battle.

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Benjamin Franklin saw electricity as one substance

Benjamin Franklin proposed that positive and negative electricity were two states of the same electrical substance, rather than two separate fluids. He also helped establish the idea that electric charge is conserved.

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Lake Nyos's gas release killed thousands

1,700–2,000 people

Lake Nyos is a volcanic crater lake in Cameroon. On 21 August 1986, it released carbon dioxide, killing between 1,700 and 2,000 people.

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