The Boston Molassacre


There are many historical events that scream odd, but this one takes the cake. On January 15, 1919, a large storage tank burst in the North End neighborhood of Boston. What was this tank filled with? Only 2,300,000 gallons (12,000 tons) of molasses. Yes, molasses. A wave of molasses rushed through the streets of Boston at an estimated thirty-five miles per hour.
This disaster happened at the Purity Distilling Company. The temperature that day had risen above forty degrees Fahrenheit (four degrees Celsius). The problem was that the temperature had raised way too quickly causing the storage container to explode. This happened at 1:30 pm, witnesses say that they felt the ground shake and heard a very loud bang. The resulting tsunami like wave of molasses caused a lot of damage. It killed twenty-one people and injured another one hundred and ninety five. At its peak, the wave is estimated to have reached twenty-five feet high (8 meters). Several streets were covered in two to three feet of molasses.

The Boston Post reported that, “Molasses, waist deep, covered the streets and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage… Here and there struggled a form – whether animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was… Horses died like so many flies on sticky paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Human beings – men and women – suffered likewise. Those that got trapped in the molasses were difficult to save.

Salt water from a water boat had to be used to clean the streets in the aftermath of this disaster. The cleanup started immediately but took weeks, even though there were hundreds of volunteers working most of the day to clean up the mess. Legend says that you can still get a whiff of molasses on a hot summer’s day.


Comments

  1. The White VikingMay 3, 2019 at 11:57 PM

    There has got to be a pun in there somewhere like they got their just desserts or they met a sticky end etc really enjoyed todays post

    ReplyDelete

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