Episode 56 - Operation Mincemeat Part 2 and the “Carrington Event”

Harrison brings us part 2 of his Operation Mincemeat story that he began in the last episode (listen now if you haven’t already). Operation Mincemeat was a plot thought up by the British secret services during World War II with the goal of mis-directing the Germans as to where the Allies would invade Europe. The plan involved a dead body, pocket litter and hoping that the “neutral” Spanish authorities would let the Germans find out the secret British plans. It’s a wild ride, that’s for sure! Chris meanwhile learnt about two solar storms that caused havoc here on Earth. The first happened in 1859 and is often called the “Carrington Event” when telegraph communications were disrupted for days, with platinum contacts said to have melted! The second solar storm almost caused World War III to break out during May 1967. It was a close thing and we have the US Air Force’s Air Weather Service to thank for not letting things get out of hand.