What was one of the reasons for London's abandonment of town gas as noted in the book, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know?

London, England is where American poet, Sylvia Plath moved after splitting up with her husband, Ted Hughes. Though Plath was initially happy living in London, she later fell into a bout of deep depression which led to her suicide. Because London homes were equipped with town gas, which contained a high concentration of carbon monoxide, Plath had a readily available means of committing suicide. Gladwell examines London's transition from town to natural gas in the years following Plath's 1962 suicide, to note the coupled relationship between the gas and suicide.