I've always found this story oddly fascinating. Today I hear is the 90th anniversary of an industrial accident in Boston that is hard to imagine.

90 years later, Molasses Flood continues to generate buzz
January 11, 2009

It was the kind of tragic and bizarre event one would expect to see in Hollywood. Certainly not in the North End. Thursday, however, will mark the 90th anniversary of the Great Molasses Flood. Around noon on that fateful day in 1919, a massive tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst, sending a wall of molasses - estimated to be traveling at 35 miles per hour - down Commercial Street and through the quiet Boston neighborhood.

Overall, 21 people - ranging from age 10 to 76 - died in the flood. Additionally, 150 people sustained injuries. Houses were destroyed, as were the elevated railroad tracks. Streets and sidewalks were flooded.

A variety of theories on why the tank burst have been presented, from the day's unusual warmth expanding the molasses in the tank to poor construction of the tank itself. To protect its reputation, tank owner United States Industrial Alcohol Co. even claimed that anarchists were responsible.

According to local historian Robert J. Allison, the flood's impact was not just in the short term.

"Immediately you had this 50-foot wall of molasses which destroyed the elevated rail tracks, the fire house, and killed 21 people while creating a big mess," said Allison, who is chairman of Suffolk University's history department. "But after the flood happened, companies who made these big drums had to have different standards for safety. If the molasses tank did not explode, there could have been a big explosion in the future, perhaps something like a gasoline tank."

On Wednesday, the Boston Public Library in Copley Square will commemorate the anniversary with a lecture by Stephen Puleo, whose 2004 book "Dark Tide" offers an in-depth look at the disaster and its aftermath, at 6:30 p.m. in the Mezzanine Conference Room.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/01/11/90_years_later_molasses_flood_continues_to_generate_buzz/

How interesting!! I'd never heard of this incident before!!!

this sure gives a whole new meaning to...slow as molasses in January...