A Deadly Day: The Bath School Explosion 1927 | Plainly Difficult Documentary

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for watching, check out me other bits! Outro song:kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep2shp2rppeFb7M Instagram: instagram.com/plainly.john/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/Plainlydifficult Merch: plainly-difficult.creator-spring.com Twitter:twitter.com/Plainly_D

[@ArDeeMee]

Yeah, uhm. That AI video at the end is atrocious. =X

[@debbieellett9093]

Love your channel, so well researched and presented too! Wish I could afford to be a Patron, however medical bills make it difficult to eat,get my food, basically the US medical insurance stinks.

[@thilsiktonix]

I clicked on the AI video link by accident, and proceeded to have an existential crisis. Ouch.

[@thilsiktonix]

@@debbieellett9093 Good luck out there man. It's okay.

[@BrandonHiller-eb2bp]

Did you know kids from all over America sent in pennies to be melted down to make the copper memorial statue for those killed?

[@mandy8558]

My great-grandmother was one of the survivors of this incident. She made it out with minor injuries, and she always said how lucky she was because several of her classmates (including the one who sat right in front of her) died from the bombing. Thank you for covering this!

[@Sj430]

​​​@@paulwalsh2458I have heard about it. I just don't know much about it.

[@irysh9]

@@Sj430 I am the device that went off. I know much about it.

[@onomis]

That must've been traumatic, especially at that age

[@mikigirl18]

I'm glad she got out of there mostly uninjured, and I hope the rest of her life went well.

[@mandy8558]

@@mikigirl18 She did! She lived a very long life, having 13 kids and way too many grandkids and great-grandkids before passing in 2005.

[@crazyguy32100]

Most Plainly Difficult disasters are caused by human neglect. This one is caused by human malice.

[@anteshell]

The line between malice and neglect is being drawn in the water.

[@van3158]

@@anteshell100%

[@BenoitRAG3]

I DON'T EAT PICKLES, THEY DISGUST ME!

[@gregmeyer9595]

This is literally the first thing I thought about when I saw the title of today’s video. (The main comment, not the pickles thing)

[@drrocketman7794]

Domestic terrorism.

[@CaelanAegana]

For those of you who are curious: US public schools are still funded by property tax assessments, which are subject to public vote. This is the primary reason why the schools most in need stay the most underfunded, and why local school boards are powerful entities vulnerable to corrupt influences.

[@declaringpond2276]

not to mention that their public funding is solely based on the districts drawn up for them, which are always drawn to separate race and class

[@CaelanAegana]

@@declaringpond2276 Not always, but yes there are a lot of states and localities that draw their zones that way. Some states have better laws than others to protect against that.

[@declaringpond2276]

@@CaelanAegana eh, I live in the Bluest state, california, and it still has redlining district issues.

[@ryelor123]

I think that's because of childless people and people who's children have grown up that see schools as a waste of money and don't like kids being allowed to exist. Common for established upper class people in this country to have contempt for lower-class children.

[@CaelanAegana]

@@ryelor123 Hold off on the class warfare, dude. We could make school funding way more equitable just by equalizing per-pupil funding at the state level. Fewer people in the US are having kids because it costs so much money, not because they dislike kids. That's been proven by surveys.

[@jaredrobbins4440]

I (regrettably) joked about my brother-in-law being from Bath once, and he deadpan told me his great uncle was killed that day. He’s read all the history and could never get over the smile Andrew Kehoe gave people that day as he drove by… This event really wiped out a whole small township generation.

[@genesisknight9948]

Oof, that must have been a painful wound to open without meaning to

[@ethanniedorowski116]

Smile? Jesus 😢 what a pos

[@drkatel]

I would love to know whether Kehoe was less angry & reactive prior to his head trauma. He might’ve been wacky from the start but there’s mounting evidence of major personality/mental health changes following traumatic brain injuries.

[@Inexpressable]

When he mentioned the head injury I absolutely thought it was gonna be followed by him saying it changed his personality and behaviour. I believe it probably did make him more irrational.

[@norsuist]

Reminds me of Charles Whitman, the clock tower shooter who had a brain tumour

[@drkatel]

@@Inexpressable Yes, it’s hard to believe it had no effect.

[@drkatel]

@@norsuist Exactly! Charles Whitman’s tumor and both Richard Ramirez & David Berkowitz had pretty significant head injuries by history. At least there’s much more awareness today & more caution in contact sports (but far from enough.)

[@paradisebreeze1705]

I work with one

[@PetalPalmer]

Wow what a tragedy this was. Thank you for shedding light on this story.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@Sing_A_Rebel_Song]

Must admit I’m surprised to see you here 😂 I’m a huge fan lol

[@melissaparling4058]

I spent a large part of my childhood in the Bath community, thank you for bringing this story to the wider public.

[@bigchungus711]

I also spent a large part of my childhood in baths.

[@mencken8]

But none dare call it “domestic terrorism,” too early, right?

[@TheeGlocktopus]

The Kehoe family moved to Mason afterwards, and their descendants still live there to this day. I went to school with a couple of them.

[@fredashay]

Sad how such a kind person turned evil. His uncle foreclosing his mortgage and taking his farm while his wife was suffering tuberculosis seemed a bit cruel excessive instead of trying to to work things out. I'd be angry at those circumstances, too.

[@BlackMoonHowls]

@@fredashay Insensative.

[@AshLilburne]

Mister Music.. Thank you. Your ability to tell a genuine story yet still have respect for those not quite mentally sound may be misunderstood by the youtube comment majority. But personally, thank you. Respect to all those that suffered

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@legion999]

Respect, for this Kehoe guy? Why??

[@AshLilburne]

@@legion999/videos Not sure where you got that narrative from. Enjoy the video! xo

[@kawaiiarchive357]

I'm glad that people have always been interested in filming events even if it's a tragic one. We shouldn't ignore the past even if it is disturbing.

[@Arterexius]

I wholeheartedly agree. We tend to repeat what isn't thoroughly shown to be a bad idea

[@mynym4543]

It’s probably a similar psychological phenomena to why we remember bad memories better or like to watch videos like this one - the more we know about potential disasters, the more our brain can generate plans on how to deal with them if they happen to us. Recording disasters might just be a different expression of that same desire.

[@Arterexius]

@@mynym4543 I believe you're right

[@DeadlinePhil]

It's truly horrifying what destruction can result from the wrath of a single person.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

Absolutely. Particularly horrible when they choose to target children... 😭 In such a small community, I can only imagine this kind of trauma would've deeply affected a whole generation of residents, even if it's not an incident that is well-known outside that area...?

[@carterhicks7441]

The scientific revolution didn't help this issue. The power a single man can possibly hold is much greater today than anytime in the past. Terrorist attacks only seem to get worse now :(

[@thorin1045]

i would think more than one people needed to enact the property tax, the single most destructive form of tax, oh, you meant the guy with the dynamite?

[@adamwalkervfx]

"Just look what I've done to this city with a few sticks of dynamite and a couple of bullets."

[@psychoticax645]

“Anyone has the power to change the world” holds true here.

[@Cydonia2020]

I lived in Lansing for 16 years and remember the story often being told of the Bath bombing. As I understand it, it was the largest terrorist attack on the United States until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

[@Sj430]

The Oklahoma city bombing is well talked about. The bath bombing does not get enough attention and talked about.

[@theoverunderthinker]

@@Sj430 probably the more recent a tragedy and the better visual record you have of it, the more it gets talked about.

[@11CharlieJMAC]

@@theoverunderthinkerplus he did this because he was mad about taxes and the government. So obviously they’re going to try to cover this story up. I lived in Lansing and Holt for 23 years now in Washington State.

[@MarianneKat]

Thank you for doing this video!! I've always lived near Lansing and I was an icu nurse for 30 years at the hospital most of the children and adults were brought to. The nurse's stories still echo in the halls. As news got out thru telephone, the nurses came in to help, some (esp surgical and pediatric nurses) staying 3 days or more on site. I was once privileged to care for a (now elderly) child survivor, his brother sadly died in the explosion. This was one of the country's deadliest intentional bombings prior to Oklahoma City. There is a memorial statue on the school site, along with the bell that used to be on top of the school to this day. Many locals can still trace back to relatives, friends, or neighbors who were lost that day. It was truly devastating. Bath is, to this day, a sleepy bedroom community of the state capitol Lansing Michigan, USA.

[@HwoarangtheBoomerang]

This guy? @jaredrobbins4440 2 hours ago (edited) I (regrettably) joked about my brother-in-law being from Bath once, and he deadpan told me his great uncle was killed that day

[@MarianneKat]

@@HwoarangtheBoomerang oops

[@Maplenr]

Bath still has the echoes of this calamity ringing through it. Almost everyone I've talked to from there has a story of someone they know/ knew who lived through it or lost somebody to it.

[@j.k.8773]

My best friend has family connections to that disaster, and he does his best to help the museum in any way he can

[@reachandler3655]

I've seen several docs about this, but this is the first time I've seen moving pictures of the aftermath, or heard about kehoe's history. I wonder how much that head injury effected him? Would these events have taken place had he not been injured? Thankyou for covering this tragedy with respect.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

Good question! I find it pretty terrifying the degree to TBAs can warp people's personalities, esp. around paranoia and anger management. 😬 To my mind, this extensive a degree of planning & apparent malice (and his directing deliberate violence & cruelty against children, defenseless animals & an ill woman, no less) suggests there may have been some personality issues extraneous to his injury...? But I am not an expert at all.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

It sounds like his ability to regulate anger and impulse control was affected

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@anna_in_aotearoa3166 Lots of us have violent fantasies... Look at the LITANIES of villains and the mayhem dreamed up for movies, novels, comics, manga, anime, video games... The horror genre alone dips rather deeply into levels of malice that (before it was written or sketched out) hadn't been recorded in history before... EVEN a lot of the so-called "docu-dramas" and "based on true events" stories are embellished beyond what actually happened "for dramatic effect"... The psycho's simply aren't vile enough... The difference is that most of us "normal sane people" don't act on it beyond sharing the odd cartoon or drawing a painting even a full-on novel or movie scripted and produced... BUT that's ALL fiction. It didn't happen... We have movie magic... camera fakery and props that look "real enough" or medical books and scientific texts we can use to get the reality "close enough" for the effect to work. TBI's like Kehoe suffered can damage the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for more than planning. It's the cause and effect part of us that calculates our action have consequences... It helps govern our impulse control so we don't get motivated to actually act out our violent fantasies on other people. By many accounts, Phineas Gage's TBI (which WAS severe, in case you haven't stumbled on his story yet) SEVERELY altered his personality for the rest of his life. He was originally reputed to be a quiet man, thoughtful and professional. He was diligent enough to be a top pick on his crew and celebrated his status with his particular tamping iron, for setting explosive charges for the railroad. Even back in the day, folks DID have a healthy respect for explosives and pyrotechnicians... BUT after his "recovery" he was loud, obnoxious, and had a fiery temper, supposedly quick to profanity and further into the obscene. We have to accept that the historical time may have polluted the reputation from the truth a bit... BUT it's pretty clear that brain injuries can and DO cause real shifts in personality... even if it's only the newly added stresses of a mental shortcoming that didn't exist before the injury and the memory of when the victim really WAS better at things... had it easier... etc. That can't be any fun. In any case, I'm no expert either. Not every case follows the way Gage went... Every injury is a bit different, just like people are individuals and quite unique on that level. It's still worth acknowledgment as long as we're looking into the psychological aspect of a case. I don't think it takes so very much actual damage to lower that boundary where a fantasy has been kept fantasy for it's obviously vile ramifications... and once that gets lowered, it's no longer "Clearly unacceptable". When it's no longer Clearly unacceptable, then there are only terms by which it can become "correct" to that individual... AND THAT is scary. ;o)

[@JellyFilledEmpanada]

Did I miss something about him hurting his head before he (a college educated electrical engineer) threw water on an oil fire covering someone he was known to have issues with or beating a horse to death?

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

@@JellyFilledEmpanada Yep, 2:09 was injured & in coma before he moved back to live with his dad & step-mum, and took up farming. After which (albeit just later in the same year, sounds like?) all the awfulness with alleged step-mum murder and animal abuse started... 😵‍💫

[@aurasphere647]

I've never commented before, but with this one being close to home. It's cool to see a bit of history near by, even if it was a tragedy.

[@RileyLulich]

Thank you for covering this! I grew up near Bath and it has always broken my heart that nobody seems to remember this horrific tragedy. When I was younger, we would visit the graves of the children to honor them. I hope that your coverage of the massacre will help bring it back into the world's memory.

[@castorj.b.1257]

Can't help but think the death of his step-mother was also intentional. As someone trained in mechanical engineering, he would have known that oil-fire and water don't mix.

[@Motoko_Urashima]

That doesn't strike me as intentional, people often do stupid things in a panic. but I doubt he was really upset about it.

[@angelachouinard4581]

He'd also have known how to rig the stove.

[@dfuher968]

I also cant help but wonder, if that fall, that put him in a coma, might have caused some brain damage. They wouldve had no way of detecting brain damage back then, it would be "oh, he woke up from the coma, hes ok". But brain damage can remove inhibitions, change personalities and so much more. Thats absolutely no excuse for such pure evil, but it might explain something, as he seems to have gotten on well b4 the injury, and the problems only started afterwards - from the death of his stepmother, to his general short temper, being violent towards his animals etc.

[@mjmooney6530]

He became a psychopath. Genius and madness wrapped up in one package.

[@nightintheruts617]

He not only wanted to blow up the school but he also wanted to murder all the children in the town (children who couldn't even vote and had nothing to do with raising taxes) that's just pure evil, especially considering how much it took him to prepare for it, he had so much time to think about it and reconsider, it takes a real evil, selfish, POS to even think about something like that. He was FAR more than just a "criminal" and true "criminals might be made" but anyone capable of something like that was born evil from day ONE 💯

[@usagi32211]

It takes a special kind of monster to kill innocent children as a way to punish a community.

[@jeffkaczmarek3577]

So the soldiers who bombed and invaded Iraq are a special kind of monster?

[@ryelor123]

Not entirely. Northerners at that time tied personal respect to institutional rank and fatherhood. He couldn't attain the latter and lost the former. I'd imagine he hated children because he saw them as a source of respect for other men but something he couldn't have. Since northerners at that time didn't value strangers lower than themselves on the hierarchy, murdering children wasn't considered that serious of a sin. Remember that in his time, forced abortion, child abuse, and spousal abuse were very common yet ignored by society(except early feminists who fought against all 3 of those things). Fortunately our society is more individualistic now which means that we have more mass violence events but the people harmed in them are more often than not not entirely innocent. Either an interpersonal dispute gets out of hand or someone is lashing out at a community they feel is knowingly hostile towards them. As unpopular as it is to say, I think some mass violence is a good thing because it helps make society understand that people need to be better towards each other and it brings to everyone's attention the conflicts which would otherwise go unnoticed in previous societies.

[@ryelor123]

@@jeffkaczmarek3577 The difference is that the guy in this story was harming his own community and even people close to him. Soldiers in war are harming complete strangers in a foreign land. Also, in geopolitics, the inaction of one party doesn't mean another party is guaranteed peace and prosperity. Iraq was a lot weaker and more messed up than anyone except Saddam knew. Had that war not happened, its likely that Iran would've just conquered everything and became a major problem nation.

[@ryelor123]

@@jeffkaczmarek3577 If you want to be angry at people in the past, just remember that the Underground Railroad in the 1800s was mainly a child sex trafficking network.

[@jeffkaczmarek3577]

@@ryelor123Bombing children is never OK, even if their foreigners. 2003 isn't the distant past, the camo costume wearing welfare queens who bombed Iraq are still alive to ridicule, and even worse, those socialist sponges are still suckling from the teats of the taxpayers.

[@Deweywinkle]

I've never heard an inkling of this event before. Crazy how much history like this falls through the cracks. Thanks for the vid!

[@shiftypersona]

Idk why but it always makes me happy when it's sunny over there for ya. You deserve the sunshine in your life, Mr. John. Thank you for your wonderful videos. ❤🎉

[@shellymb]

John, thank you so much for covering this bombing. Im nurse at the Lansing Hospital those burn victims where brought. Because of these event's that hospital developed a Burn Unit and a pediatric ward. I learned of the bombing from my aunt whom had a relative, a pastor in the town. I have seen many photo s of the destruction. Our whole country should have paid more attention to this event.

[@RunningInLondon]

Wow! I grew up in Muskegon Michigan, and now live in Canada. I drive through Bath Township every time I go back for a visit. I've never heard of this. Thankyou! Nice way to start my afternoon. Love from a currently sunny and breezy, northwest corner of London... Ontario 😂😂

[@davidprice7075]

My pastor once used the Bath School Massacre in one of his sermon and was surprised I knew what he was talking about.

[@grmpEqweer]

Just noting that serious head injuries can lead to the sort of irrational aggression Keogh displayed.

[@enderkatze6129]

"Criminals are made, not born" But not all criminals are made by others' actions.

[@star-boltlover9609]

Maybe someone had some bad genes

[@KHAYREE-kc]

I don’t get what you mean

[@Merennulli]

I'm always amazed at the petty, horrible behavior of some of the people who choose to involve themselves in local government, but as horrible as that has been in the communities around me, I'm so thankful it never went this far.

[@ComissarYarrick]

This event is practicaly compleatly unknown outside the US. I learned about it purely by accident - I was reading on TV tropes about Columbine ,and Bath booming is referenced there as The deadliest school related disaster in US history.

[@frednone]

There is no more dangerous animal on Earth than a human with nothing left to lose.

[@ryelor123]

Spelled "lose" wrong. But yeah, that's true. However, the main factor that causes violence and especially mass violence is a perception by someone that they aren't getting respect that's owed to them. Pretty much every one of these incidents comes down to that since sociopaths just prey on innocent people and move from person to person and legitimately crazy people don't tend to commit mass violence since schizophrenia exists to benefit one's society/group and not to turn a person into a weapon.

[@esteemedmortal5917]

The absolute selfishness and callousness is breathtaking. And as usual, taking absolutely no accountability for his actions or poor choices. I can’t stand people who murder in cold blood and have the gall to call themselves the biggest victim. I wish he had survived and lived many weeks in agonizing pain.

[@Vok250]

The scary thing is that this sentiment has not left the American conscience. We literally got politicians in office who hate schools, hate taxes, and hate children. Politicians who call for violence when the vote doesn't go their way...

[@thirstfast1025]

Have you ever covered the Lumpur Sidoarjo disaster? If not, I think it's right up your alley. People blaming their mistakes on natural processes. It wasn't explosive, but it's been devastating. Worth your kind of exposition. Cheers!

[@cf1925]

It's kind of chilling knowing the other explosives under the South Wing didn't go off, otherwise so many more children would've died. Incredible job as always, and keep being awesome! :D

[@LtNomad304]

I used to live two blocks from where that happened. I still live in the area. There is a small memorial there today. Most people, even in the area have no idea it happened.

[@ryelor123]

Well, part of the reason they don't know about it is that a lot of people in northern towns moved there from the south or are the children of people who did. Northerners just quit reproducing so, well, finders keepers.

[@karadevlieger6560]

the cuppola from the school somehow wasn't damaged, it's in the memorial park to this day. and there's a beautiful copper statue of a girl holding a cat in the museum...

[@MightyMezzo]

I had no idea there was film of the aftermath. BTW, there wasn’t much of Kehoe to bury. Some people grabbed bits of him as souvenirs.

[@HwoarangtheBoomerang]

Lol. People were more morbid back then.

[@otdosa]

As you usually do. Damn.

[@jemmabean]

​@HwoarangtheBoomerang were they? Gaddafi got torn to pieces by a mob in 2011. Make enough people angry enough at you and this is how you will end up, doesn't matter when it is.

[@davidg5898]

I dig the pensive openings you've started using. They really set the mood.

[@patrickdurham8393]

Any man can become a monster with the right impetus.

[@darksu6947]

I had an impetus one time. It burned like hell every time I took a piss for over a week. Luckily some antibiotics fixed me right up.

[@travisinthetrunk]

I’d like to mention that this is the only channel that does ads right. Every other channel has their ads right in the middle of someone talking.

[@TheJaymon1962]

I have a child going into the 6th grade and at first I was not going to watch this. Im glad I did because this person could probably do something like this even today. Please take note of anyone behaving in a manner that indicates self-harm ir harm to others. It's a good first step in countering situations like this.

[@ryelor123]

Anger over a lack of personal respect usually causes most violence. Don't try to wreck the lives of others and stand up to anyone who tries to ruin the lives of others. If you see a Karen trying to get someone fired, make sure she understands that there's no place for her kind. Women usually don't do mass violence so there's literally nothing wrong with being as means as you legally can to any malicious Karen you see. You might even save a bunch of lives.

[@danaeckelbarger8136]

Thank you. This is one that gets missed too often.

[@BoxOKittens]

I just can't imagine how evil someone has to be to take their misery out on animals and children.

[@wilting_alocasia]

As much as I adore your opening music, I do love that you change it up for the docus or scandals You've always given each video time and in depth detail, makes every one incredible

[@captainroyy21]

The mind of someone choosing for the most amount of lives lost, instead of less, truly terrifying.

[@plasmaburndeath]

Ty for taking this suggestion and making the video.

[@DavidSmith-jj7ll]

For American school disasters, a good subject would be the Cleveland School fire near Camden, South Carolina. Was one of the events that established fire codes in public buildings in the US. Just past the 100-year anniversary.

[@charlayned]

And the Our Lady of the Angels School fire, 1958. Chicago Ill.

[@cliffsaxon5493]

Love To See You Do One On The 1978 Waverly, Tennessee Train Explosion.

[@skyounkin]

This has such frightening prevalence today...

[@ryelor123]

Not entirely. Most mass violence today is due to individuals lashing out at other individuals over personal grievances or against society that they feel doesn't want them. When you consider the contempt that the bourgeois upper class has for the lower class, the business class, and people who move from place to place, its understandable for people to have animosity towards their social setting. However, they tend to blame the wrong people. One reason society can't deal with economic, racial, or ethnic conflicts is that the upper class needs those conflicts in order to remain in power.

[@skyounkin]

@@ryelor123 Right, J6 happened because of that, and not some traitorous demagogue who desperately wanted to remain in power...

[@hi.moriarty]

As always, great content, John!

[@MightyMezzo]

The little boy who was killed in the explosion of Kehoe’s car had survived the school bombing unscathed.

[@thebull3206]

In the early 50s, along with most horror comic books, lots of salacious magazines were also removed from the newstand, so that as a kid in the 60s-70s seeing those pre-code books was like finding a lost treasure. Case in point, in 1972 I came across a magazine that had many gory pictures of tragic accidents like the Coconut Grove Fire - and that was where I saw photos of this event - and boy were there lots of gory pics. The photos here are nothing like what I saw then. It was hard as a kid to understand how such photos were once openly published, and it really wasn't till the internet age that most of these type photos became somewhat available.

[@WendyDarling1974]

He lit the farm stables on fire with the horses in it. With their legs hobbled with wire.

[@dennis2376]

What a a....hole. His mind was really warped.

[@RatPfink66]

@@dennis2376 He was determined to leave nothing of value for his creditors. Here's how determined he was. _All along he had enough extra machinery on the farm to settle all his debts._ He just didn't _want_ them settled. _Not ever._ So he wrecked what he could and wired the rest to explode.

[@ravenrogers7386]

I've been WAITING for someone to cover this!

[@joshuaguenin9507]

a few other channels have covered this.....

[@moomae1]

Whoa! Never heard of this one, but what tragedy. Dude was clearly psychotic.

[@neuralmute]

I think the head injury that put him in a coma for a few weeks might have had a serious effect on his mental stability. It's widely documented that brain trauma can do awful things to a person's cognitive and emotional functioning. Think of good old Phinneas Gage.

[@grmpEqweer]

​@@neuralmute Yep. Head injuries can lead to a host of mental health problems.

[@michaellovely6601]

@@grmpEqweer With regards to the University of Texas shooting in 1966; the autopsy results revealed the perpetrator Charles Whitman had a rather large tumor (roughly the size of a pecan) at the base of his brain stem. Even today; neurological experts disagree with forensic psychiatrists on whether or not the tumor caused Whitman to act on his violent actions.

[@warrensteel9954]

This was the first time I've heard of this as well. So tragic.

[@ryelor123]

Violent actions people undertake are almost always tied to the issue of respect. As a northerner at that time, he saw respect as something he could only get by having children and/or moving up the ranks within social or political institutions. He failed at both and thus he turned against the society he was part of. Northerners back then didn't really care about the well-being of other peoples' children since they saw them as people who would only respect their own parents and institutions and not ordinary people. The head injury and his intelligence were probably the things that prevented him from doing what other people would do in his situation: hang out at speakeasies and drink misery away before beating one's wife.

[@RinoaL]

I was wondering why Bath looked very much like America, I only realized halfway through this was Bath Michigan.

[@Kimberlaina]

It's not hard, even to this day, to find people in Michigan who were affected by this. My cousin's mother-in-law was a student at this school, but survived because she stayed home sick that day. Her sister was in school and died. My great-grandfather (from another side of the family) owned a business that provided lighting to search for the bodies at night.

[@CybershamanX]

Wow. I live near Ann Arbor and this is close to Bath Charter which is near/part of Lansing, which is the state capital. Actually, Tecumseh isn't that far from me. Wow. I never heard this story before. Thank you for sharing! 😎🤘☮

[@RCAvhstape]

"Beat one of his animals to death" Well, there's a red flag right there.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

Dude is just red flags everywhere. That head injury mustve knocked something wrong

[@littlebear274]

I remember Penn and Teller covering this in their episode of school shootings. One thing very, very typical in this case in terms of mass and spree killers is the murder of his wife first. These men frequently begin with domestic violence and mass shootings are often begun with a violent act towards a female family member or held at a place where such a woman is located.

[@levanataylor790]

Yeah, I always wondered whether his wife's frequent stays at sanitaria were for the purpose of respite from domestic violence.

[@lisaemery8871]

There were still so many bombs, it's sick he wanted to do more damage than he did. So many dead children, this was one of the more upsetting videos I've seen on your channel, 46 dead total I believe. Very sad, especially because this wasn't an accident, this all happened because someone was sick in the head. Small population back then, too, the whole community came together after this tragedy.

[@trevorrapp7197]

Hi John, I wanted to ask if you'd heard of the Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion. I moved to Cleveland years ago and it feels like a major disaster that isn't well known, even in the area. I'd love to hear your take on it!

[@trevorrapp7197]

From what I remember, a gas storage tank sprung a leak that wasn't noticed, the gas sunk into the surrounding sewer system and when it ignited it leveled a neighborhood.

[@silver-berry]

I'd love that! My grandparents and assorted other relatives came to Cleveland from the Old Country, and were living in the area when that happened. I can vaguely remember my Great-Aunt talking about it, but have forgotten most of the story by now.

[@ryelor123]

I think he did that one.

[@trevorrapp7197]

@ryelor123 I looked for it from him and didn't see it, but it's entirely possible.

[@melasnexperience]

Was that the one that happened at an ice skating show?

[@cyanna6459]

Hey John, have you ever covered the flooding of Boscastle? I lived in Cornwall as a child and we went there quite often, I still remember it vividly.

[@jooei2810]

This would be an excellent video!

[@Scraggledust]

Such a long, sad, and challenging history of extreme violence against children. Look out for one another and stay hydrated🥛🚰

[@Emiliapocalypse]

Gee can’t imagine what qualities about this man made him unfit for office

[@jooei2810]

I love what you have made your channel to be, congratulations!

[@1D991]

That AI generated(?) part at the end put my hackles up

[@parula26]

Very interesting story as always. I hadn’t heard of this tragedy; thank you for covering it!

[@MeriaDuck]

Having the coldness of heart to blow up a school 15minutes after school starts, that is beyond terrorism. Not even a warning given, that's really astounding. That coma inducing fall did not do him any good.

[@ryelor123]

The average northerner of that time would've seen it as understandable. Northerners didn't respect strangers on an individual level and thus they saw a stranger's children as no more worthy of life than a stranger's livestock. That's why things like the Eugenics movement were so successful in the north. It was just a story of a guy who lost the opportunities to earn respect from others and took it out on the sources of respect many of them had that he didn't have(i.e. children).

[@BirdieRumia]

​@@ryelor123 'northerners?' I think most would see 'treating other humans's children as livestock' to be more of a traditional value of the elite antebellum SOUTHERN aristocracy... and implying that the ideas of eugenics weren't plenty popular in the south too is frankly bizarre.

[@minecraftkid50978]

i have no idea why but I left for a few hours and came back and when i resumed it started playing the AI yogurt commercial from your other channel I havent even watched that since last week, john you've created something beyond cursed

[@georgesmith8678]

Fun fact they were still finding devices on the property. In the late 80s early 90s if I remember correctly. That man was twisted

[@BobMuir100]

Excellent as always John and as s normal a lot of nhn details, Thanks Bob England

[@paranormalsoulz]

It always makes me so sad when I go to watch a Plainly Difficult video and the trumpet intro doesn't play. I love hearing it every time!

[@abbiekennedy2861]

Excellent video as always, keep up the good work!

[@SplurtMyGurt]

Can't remember if I recommend this topic or not. I live just down the road from one of his farms from tecumseh.

[@royconestoga7326]

That’s what happens when you don’t sort out malignant narcissists.

[@tonysansom]

That so-called revenge killers consistently target those least able to defend themselves - children - show what cowards they are.

[@JustJamahl9574]

I remember suggesting this to plainly difficult, thank you plainly difficult

[@Alaryicjude]

I'm absolutely flabbergasted that they would try to save furniture from the burning home. Can you imagine that today? Someone getting all singed wrestling your Ikea cube shelf out of your home? 😂

[@NemesisOgreKing]

Furniture was handmade and almost always passed down/inherited in those days. Furniture was built to last several generations. Also, since it was practically hand custom made it was very expensive.

[@a_root]

That's one of the big differences between nowadays and the past. Furniture used to be made to last and good pieces would get passed down through the family.

[@foximacentauri7891]

@@a_root which in return meant that it was prohibitively expensive, and the poorer could barely afford it. Also a house fire meant your unrecoverable financial ruin. I’m amazed how people can twist every achievement of humanity into something bad.

[@HwoarangtheBoomerang]

@@foximacentauri7891 You are just a ray of proletariat sunshine.

[@cris_261]

Folks weren't afraid to help out a fellow neighbor.

[@nmikloiche]

I have such a fascination with disasters, but I’m even more intrigued when the cause points only and directly at the flaw of man’s own frailty.

[@Tommygunn776]

And there was never another scuffle over taxes ever again...

[@HogMan2022]

What a great job of telling such a sad story. I have never heard of this, but i live in the western United States. Thank you for the History lesson. Liked and subscribed.🙋🇺🇸

[@aprilmorris4588]

John, I appreciate that you used the word *perceived* in that last sentence because what a person may *perceive* may not in fact be the truth. It's all about perception. Regardless, this man's reaction 😢 was so far overblown that I'm gobsmacked. Yep, I just admit that I feel that way with every mass shooting, which has been a record here in the States. 😭 I wonder how much longer I'll keep being shocked by these mass murders... 😔

[@kobayashimaruu1]

exactly, I don't want anyone to become used to these tragedies... they do not need to happen and there are many ways they can be prevented that are just not acted on because politics. like that matters more than lives?? especially children's lives??? how could anyone accept that evil as a norm?

[@jfangm]

​@@kobayashimaruu1 Constitutional rights matter more than huma lives.

[@kobayashimaruu1]

@@jfangm no. nice bait though.

[@jfangm]

@kobayashimaruu1 Yes, and it isn't bait. I will remind you that the right to life is a constitutional right and co-equal with the right to liberty and property. That means my right to keep and bear whatever arms I desire without so much as a question asked is of equal importance as your right to life. The 9th Amendment says you cannot use the exercise of your rights to deprive me of mine. In what way does me buying a machine gun or dynamite violate your right to life, liberty, or property?

[@kobayashimaruu1]

@@jfangm if you kill me with those things, that kiiiinda violates my right to life lmao. why else do people froth at the mouth for guns in this country? they want to kill other people. it's a shitty power trip. weapons don't help anything, only escalate situations for the worse. literally no other country on earth has the issues america does because our gun culture is so overbearing. now look friend, I don't give a shit about guns or whatever when lives are at risk in exchange for your outdated constitutional rights. you're not gonna do jack with a pistol or a shotgun compared to the militarized police, you're just gonna die and get your shit taken away anyways lmao. but that is all I have to say because you're commenting this tripe on a video about a man who killed children; you're so far detached from humanity, empathy, and reality that there is little I could say to help you realize that. I hope you'll change for the better someday.

[@drunkpaulocosta]

I've had a bath before. Thanks for covering this!

[@macaylacayton2915]

fun fact:this shared newspaper time with Hindenburg's trans-Atlantic flight.

[@SupersuMC]

Oh, the humanity!

[@macaylacayton2915]

@@SupersuMC I had the wrong burg I meant Lindbergh

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

this is so sad.. it was so long ago and yet all of those children that never got to live their lives make me sad

[@Artemesia_]

For anyone interested in a more detailed account, there’s a book called Maniac by Harold Schechter.

[@MightyMezzo]

Good read.

[@gakotahelliott321]

I have to say I've been watching your channel for several months now and this one really spoke to me while Ur video are always informative this on really made me think.

[@JamesBiggar]

Maybe I'm just having a stroke, but what's with all the long pauses in the middle of sentences?

[@gimmeshelter7633]

Uploads on this channel are amazing 👍

[@Alphoric]

4:42 he got hit with the worst monopoly chance when you have properties

[@mrginga4044]

I always make sure when I see i a plainly upload that! I have my glasses on and time to sit down and enjoy the show

[@earlwarren59]

I would absolutely love if you did the East Ohio Gas works explosion. I have a lot of photos that are not available online

[@colemarie9262]

I was surprised I’ve never heard of this, but by the end I was glad that evil man was utterly forgottten by history.

[@dano8902]

Holy crap dude...the story was horrifying enough. Did you have to put that AI generated stuff at the end, too? I swear that's going to give me nightmares.

[@RCAvhstape]

Seriously, leave that to the disturbing music videos, it's kind of inappropriate for this.

[@rhr-p7w]

If you have nightmares caused by a simple KZbin video, you reeeeeaaaaaally need to consider growing up my friend

[@RobotacularRoBob]

@@rhr-p7wThey were pointing out how weird of an outro it is, not meant to be taken literally. And I agree that A.I. generated coffee drinking bimbos don’t exactly fit the theme of the vid.

[@allisonmagiera1200]

I have always been interested in this awful event as someone from michigan ty for posting bae

[@ryelor123]

Yeah, childless men are a very dangerous monster especially when they tie their success to public office.

[@maxhill7065]

Man, it must have been wild to live near farms after the world wars with the various surplus explosives they were using

[@flabbergast_se]

Back then you could buy dynamite over the counter if yoy had a farm. The reason why it became illegal was things like this. Just like its almost impossible to buy certain products today in large mass since they can be used for explosives.

[@SupersuMC]

​@@flabbergast_seStupid terrorists ruining all the fun...

[@grmpEqweer]

...My maternal grandpa was a farmer. He also worked for the state highway construction agency. ...He brought home some souvenirs. He passed from a heart attack. Family got to find a whole box of sweaty dynamite stashed in the barn. Enough to take the barn out, and it wasn't a small barn. The bomb squad was called in from another county to remove it.

[@maxhill7065]

@@grmpEqweer Oh god, yeah if it's a humid location and the nitro leaks out, that's a nightmare!

[@jfangm]

​@@flabbergast_se You can actually hiy everything you need to make and explosive with effectively zero regulation. Just ask any farmer or truck driver.

[@beliasphyre3497]

That was one of the most disturbing things I've witnessed. The outro I mean. WTF was that?!

[@skylermcbride9428]

Taxes are the worst.

[@ruthstevens8805]

Plz do you have more train stories? I learn so much from them.