The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

[Indy Anna]

Whoever thought molasses could cause such destruction?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/%E2%80%98oh-my-***-run%E2%80%99-the-day-a-deadly-wave-of-molasses-tore-through-boston/ar-BBSaNks?li=BBnb7Kz

It was promising to be an uncharacteristically warm winter day in Boston. The temperature on Jan. 15, 1919, had soared to 40 degrees from 2 degrees earlier in the week, prompting many downtown workers to head outdoors.

Shortly after noon in the city’s bustling North End, as Model T Fords chugged by and elevated trains screeched above Commercial Street, a group of firefighters sat down for a game of cards in a firehouse near a massive tank that stored molasses used in the production of industrial alcohol.

As the firefighters puzzled over their hands, they heard a strange staccato sound. The rivets on the 50-foot-high storage tank began to shoot off and a dull roar followed.

more...

 

[doublestop]

My mother used to tell me I was "as slow as molasses in January". I wonder if that expression came about because of the flood.

 

[Penny Parker]

Interesting story and picture, thanks.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

A sticky tsunami: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919

The wave moved at 35 miles per hour and was 25 feet high and 160 feet wide at its outset as it rushed through the city's densely populated North End.

On Jan. 15, 1919, at around 12:30 p.m., Boston Police patrolman Frank McManus was at a call box reporting back to headquarters when he heard a loud scraping and grinding noise. Pausing to figure out the source, he suddenly found himself overcome with shock.

McManus managed to make out to the dispatcher: “Send all available rescue vehicles and personnel immediately — there’s a wave of molasses coming down Commercial Street," according to Stephen Puleo, historian and author of “Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.” ...