Back in the 1800s, cities smelled like sewage and death. People drank water that looked like pea soup. Then someone had a brilliant idea: add bleach.
The first chlorination plant opened in 1908 in Jersey City. New Jersey actually saved the world that day. Within a decade, typhoid fever rates plummeted by 90 percent.
So next time you sip from a fountain, thank a chemist. And maybe nod at New Jersey. They earned it.
