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The Great Molasses Flood
by Perry Lowell
just how fast does molasses flow downhill in January?
Slower than molasses going downhill in January?
How slow do you think that is?
When I tell people about The Great Molasses Flood, they don't believe me... they think that I'm telling a tall tale, or it's an urban legend. But I assure you, it's the truth.
The Great Molasses Flood happened eighty years ago, on January 15th, in 1919 at the Boston, Massachusetts waterfront. Some people say, even to this day, that on a hot summer afternoon, the smell of molasses wafts 'round the New England Aquarium.
It is believed that a quick rise in temperature caused the molasses to burst out of the storage tank at the Purity Distilling Company.
Twenty-one people were killed and one hundred and fifty were injured.
Over two million gallons of molasses poured out of the tank in eight to thirty-foot waves. It moved at speeds of up to 35 mph, destroying buildings, crushing cars, and knocking over elevated train trestles.
The company ended up paying one million dollars in damages.
The Great Molasses Flood is a classic case of "too much of a good thing". But molasses is safe in small quantities: Remember, always use molasses safely!
Read a contemporary account of the disaster.
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