Early in the 20th Century, Congress began to look into construction of a canal across Central America to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The French had attempted it in the 1880s. They tried digging the canal through the isthmus of Panama. Twenty years of effort were for naught mainly because of diseases like malaria and yellow fever. Because of France’s failure, Congress leaned toward Nicaragua. It had a more stable political situation and a nice lake in the middle. Experts considered it to be an easier challenge. But this would not happen if Frenchman Philippe Buanu-Varilla could help it. Buanu-Varilla was an engineer who had worked on the French canal. It was a matter of pride to him for the canal to be finished, even if it was by the U.S. He also had money invested in the canal. He and American William Nelson Cromwell decided to lobby Congress for placing the American canal in Panama. It was a tough sell until Buanu-Varilla had a brain storm. In 1900, Nicaragua put out a postage stamp highlighting its Momotombo volcano. Hey tourists, come see our best attraction. Unfortunately, the artist depicted the volcano with smoke coming out. In 1902, 30,000 people had been killed in a volcanic eruption on the island of Martinique. With disastrous volcanoes in the public mind, Buanu-Varilla gave a copy of the stamp to every member of Congress. Do you really want to build a canal near an active volcano? Congress decided no and the canal ended up in Panama.
https://daily.jstor.org/how-a-postage-stamp-may-have-helped-create-the-panama-canal/
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