Alcatraz
About Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military prison. In 1934, the island was converted into a federal prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The strong tidal currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, giving the prison one of the most notorious reputations of its kind in American history. The prison closed on March 21, 1963, leaving the island a major tourist attraction today with nearly 1.4 million people visiting the island annually.
On the show · 34 mentions total
Alcatraz gave its prisoners hot showers so they would never get used to cold water, meaning they couldn't survive swimming across the freezing bay if they tried to escape.
from No Such Thing As Suckling's Column · read transcript
More facts about Alcatraz
Alcatraz was really a prison for inmates from other prisons who kept trying to break out or misbehaving.
No Such Thing As Suckling's Column · listen
Despite its reputation, Alcatraz wasn't only for the worst of the worst; some inmates were just tax avoiders, like Al Capone.
303: No Such Thing As Suckling's Column · listen
Alcatraz prisoners once made an improvised drill out of a vacuum cleaner and disguised the noise by having one of them play the accordion the whole time.
No Such Thing As Suckling's Column · listen
The year before the prison opened, a 17-year-old girl swam from Alcatraz in 47 minutes.
303: No Such Thing As Suckling's Column · listen
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No Such Thing As The iSausage put 6 places on the map.
- University of St. Andrews · United Kingdom
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- Pleasure Island · United States
- University of Alberta · Canada
- Alberta · Canada
Coordinates: 37.8267, -122.4230