The former district of Storyville, photographed in 1955. (Evans/Three Lions/Getty Images)

It’s a lovely morning in Atlanta. The sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze and we’re celebrating Shorts Friday at the HowStuffWorks.com office. So let’s talk malaria and prostitution, shall we?

Malaria and yellow fever certainly impeded the progress of the Panama Canal. (It also affected the implementation of the Tennessee Valley Authority.) Aside from parasitical problems, there were other roadblocks that stood in the way of the canal. It took nearly four centuries, around 22,000 workers and the efforts of at least three countries to complete the canal — a project that seemed so simple, given France’s past success with the Suez Canal and the (relatively) narrow strip of land that would be broken through to connect the Atlantic and Pacific. And even after the construction was complete, we were left grappling with the economic and ethical implications of the project. Had Panama been cheated? What about Colombia? Now that Panama has control over the canal, the debate is about how to update it.

Storyville proved to be an incredibly interesting topic to research. We owe the idea to our listener Mallory — thank you! In New Orleans, where the motto is laissez les bon temps roulez (“let the good times roll”), there’s a history of semi-legal prostitution. Bureaucratic, well-meaning minds reasoned that people were bound to engage in intercourse for pay; if it couldn’t be forbidden, it could at least be confined to a specific district. But Storyville wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret. Trains rolling into town passed by it, and coy ladies beckoned to men from balconies. Ultimately, it was war that marked the end of Storyville. The United States needed healthy men on the battlefield, and a presidential mandate closed down the famous houses of ill repute. (Meanwhile, if you’re interested in a cinematic take on this era, you could watch “Pretty Baby,” starring a young Brooke Shields. I haven’t seen it myself, but it’s loosely based on a real story and the movie itself was steeped in controversy!)

More weekend reading:
How the Panama Canal Works
Geography of New Orleans
The Suez Canal