The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
On January 15, 1919, a large storage tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst in the middle of Boston, Massachusetts. This resulted in a massive wave of molasses traveling at 35 miles an hour down the street. It killed 21 people, and injured 150. Besides the human casualties, it also destroyed several of the surrounding buildings.
It’s not funny that people died, but it’s absolutely ridiculous to imagine a tidal wave of sugary syrup crashing down onto the streets of Boston. As you can imagine, it was a nightmare to clean up. According to locals, you could still smell molasses on a hot summer day years after the event took place.
