Boston History
I am learning some history. The best thing so far--how could my grade school history classes have missed this--
The Great Molasses Flood--January 15, 1919, one day before the Eighteenth Amendment enabling Prohibition was ratified.
A humongous tank of molasses at a distilling company exploded, right in town.
Down poured 2.5 million gallons of molasses.
The actual wall of molasses was estimated to be from 15 - 30 feet high and moved at 25-35 miles per hour in the area around the tank. The flood killed twenty-one people and injured an additional 150. Some were suffocated, some cooked, and others were swept by the wave into the harbor. I guess you could say that these unfortunate people were molassassed to death.The wave also destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. Homes and warehouses were swept off their foundations and destroyed. Even part of the city's elevated train line was destroyed. Once the flood stopped, cleanup began. They could not remove the trapped horses from the sticky mess, so they had to shoot them to death. Freshwater from the fire hydrants would not wash away the molasses, so salt water from the harbor had to be sprayed on the land.
I am not making this up--read Wiki & see photo
The Great Molasses Flood--January 15, 1919, one day before the Eighteenth Amendment enabling Prohibition was ratified.
A humongous tank of molasses at a distilling company exploded, right in town.
Down poured 2.5 million gallons of molasses.
The actual wall of molasses was estimated to be from 15 - 30 feet high and moved at 25-35 miles per hour in the area around the tank. The flood killed twenty-one people and injured an additional 150. Some were suffocated, some cooked, and others were swept by the wave into the harbor. I guess you could say that these unfortunate people were molassassed to death.The wave also destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. Homes and warehouses were swept off their foundations and destroyed. Even part of the city's elevated train line was destroyed. Once the flood stopped, cleanup began. They could not remove the trapped horses from the sticky mess, so they had to shoot them to death. Freshwater from the fire hydrants would not wash away the molasses, so salt water from the harbor had to be sprayed on the land.
I am not making this up--read Wiki & see photo
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