52ºc, New York
Strange history of eel rebellion in Amsterdam
There used to be a traditional Dutch game called Eel Shoot, whereby a rope is tied between two houses through a canal, and a live eel is tied in the middle.
The men in small boats will drop under the rope and try to snatch the eel off it.
The winner will usually receive a huge amount, with a pot of winners up to 6 guilders - a weekly salary.
How did this slippery sport start a riot?
On July 25, 1886, a large crowd of people gathered to witness a game of Eel was banned at Lindengracht in Amsterdam.
Four officers from a nearby police station took action to suppress the scene, entering one of the houses from which the rope was tied and tied down.
Don't piss off the Dutch.
However, this didn't go well with the huge crowd that came to see some Eel Catching activities.
As soon as the police left the house, one of the disgruntled spectators began using the officers' umbrella.
From umbrella to batons.
Hours later, the riot turned into an all-out riot, with the police using batons to fight back the violent mob while the rioters threw stones and other ammunition at the police.
As night fell, the temperature dropped and so did the rebellion of the rioters, calming things down and as if it was over.
Another day, another Dutch dispute.
But at dawn, the rioters, now rejuvenated after a night of drizzle rest, returned to burst into the police station to protest against the illegal Eel Catching game of
This led to the military mobilization and the withdrawal of guns.
As you can imagine, this resulted in a sizable confrontation between armed soldiers and unarmed rebels.
Tragedy of all.
What happens next is the same thing that always happened in history when people without guns stood in front of people with guns.
The army fired muskets at the crowd, covering the whole scene in flames, for smoke-free gun powder had not yet been invented, and when the smoke cleared, 26 rioters lay dead on the streets, the rest.
After this riot, two thousand protesters were arrested and the police offered to entertain cigars.
So that's the story of Amsterdam's infamous Eel Rebellion, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
Oh, and an eel - then reappeared in an auction in 1913 and sold to 175 Guilders, but never seen again.
Objectively speaking, one cannot help but think that you can get the same effect with a dead eel and someone tugging the rope.
