Summary

In Part 5, Chapter 10, "Sylvia Plath," tells the story of American poet Sylvia Plath. After splitting with her husband, Plath moved to London. She then fell into a bout of severe depression, ending in her 1962 suicide. She closed herself inside her kitchen, sealed all crevices, turned on the gas stove, and put her head in the oven.

He then describes the British transition to town gas after World War I. The gas was comprised of hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and, carbon monoxide, and used in every home. Gladwell cites graphs illustrating the relationship between town gas and suicide. He says the two are an example of coupling, "the idea that behaviors are linked to very specific circumstances and conditions" (273). Some, however, believed eliminating town gas would not affect suicide rates; suicidal individuals would merely find another method if the gas were changed. However...