Cataclysm Made Vivid

When Novarupta exploded in 1912 it reportedly sent enough sulfuric ash into the atmosphere that:

"At nearby Kodiak, for two days a person could not see a lantern held at arm's length,"

and

"Acid rain caused clothes to disintegrate on clotheslines in distant Vancouver, Canada."

From: U. S. National Park Service Website, Geology Fieldnotes - Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, April 2000.

Both facts are oddly compelling. Especially given that there's no real reason why either couldn't happen again tomorrow.

(Given enough time, something similar almost certainly will.)