Anniversary Of The Hottest Day Ever In Grand Rapids

It was back on July 14, 1936 that Grand Rapids notched its hottest one day temperature. And they weren't alone.

A sizzling heat wave encompassed most of the country on that fateful day. Other Michigan cities notching records included Detroit, Saginaw and Jackson among others.

Some Michigan cities saw 100-degree plus temps for over six days, with a state death toll of 393 and a national death toll in excess of 1700.

Grand Rapids hit 107 that day, while Saginaw hit a whopping 111/

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the 1936 heat wave was the longest and hottest of any in US recorded history.

How hot was it?

According to The Dust Bowl (Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1993), one tall tale described a midwestern man so overwhelmed by a single drop of rain that he had to be revived by dumping a pail of dust over his head.

The New York Times reported that a Syracuse housewife successfully fried an egg on the sidewalk.

And in New York, a man left his dentures on the windowsill, only to return an hour later to find them melted. Now, that’s hot.

Here's a tweet with some news clippings from that day. Glad to see the factories in Detroit kept humming, even after people would drop on the line. Now, that's work ethic. Or lack of a union. One or the other.