The Unlikely Catalyst: A Molasses Tank
At the heart of the Great Molasses Flood was a colossal storage tank that stood 50 feet tall and 90 feet in diameter. Constructed hastily in 1915 by the United States Industrial Alcohol Company, it was intended to hold molasses shipped from the Caribbean. This syrupy substance was a key ingredient in the production of industrial alcohol, a booming business as Prohibition loomed. However, the tank’s flawed design and construction were hidden beneath its massive steel exterior. It was this very structure, under immense pressure from its sweet contents, that ultimately became the unlikely catalyst for Boston’s sticky disaster.
