The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre of 1902 Did Not Go as Planned – Atlas Obscura
Instead of disappearing, the pesky rodents proliferated. IN 1897, PAUL DOUMER ARRIVED in Hanoi, Vietnam. A 40-something French government worker fresh off a big professional failure—he resigned as minister of finance after his scheme for a new income tax failed—Doumer had a new job to try his hand at. He’d …