On August 24, 79 AD, Italy’s Mount Vesuvius erupted. The volcano spewed ash and volcanic gasses 21 miles into the air. Though the precise death toll remains unknown, more than 1,000 people are believed to have perished as the volcano’s molten lava swept down the mountainside, destroying Pompeii, three other Roman cities, and a number of settlements. As he sailed from the docks of Pompeii in a futile attempt to rescue others from the inferno, the great Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder pronounced these famous last words: “Audaces fortuna iuvat!” –Latin for “Fortune favors the bold.”