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Phoenix666 writes in with a story from sciencealert:

In December 1952, a dense fog fell over London that lasted roughly four days, dropping visibility and making it hard to breathe. At the time, residents paid little attention to the strange event, writing it off as just another natural fog, but once it lifted, people started dying.

The event – referred to as the Great Smog – led to the death of roughly 12,000 people, and the hospitalisation of up to 150,000. But how could something like this happen? 

[...] Nw [sic], over 60 years later, an international team of researchers might have finally figured it out, as part of an investigation into China's modern air pollution issues.

The answer is actually pretty terrifying – it turns out people were breathing in the fog equivalent of acid rain.

Original Submission