It is a sticky situation: The Great Molasses flood in Boston

It is one of the most weird and at the same time tragic disasters of bizarre annals. On January 15 the same year, there occurred in the North End of Boston, a recorded event which stated as quite colorful on the surface of things, a 2.3 million gallons wave of molasses intimidated on the streets fatally claiming 21 lives, injuring 150 and destroying buildings in their line of passage.

The origin of the disaster was a huge storage tank belong to the Purity Distilling Company. It was 50 feet tall and 90 feet wide and in 1915 because of the demand of the industrial alcohol during World War I, a tank was hastily erected to store molasses that were used in the manufacturing process. Following the cessation of the war, the tank was still used and locals had reported to have been complaining because of its frequent leakages and its ominous groaning.

It grew unaccountably warm that cold January day--to a temperature that had not dropped far below freezing the day before, and was now considerably above the 40 degree mark. Since the molasses in the tank had sought to expand because of the heat, the weakly built tank was not able to withhold the pressure anymore. It exploded in a deafening boom.

Witnesses referred to the incident as that of a freight train derailment. The 25 feet tall wave of molasses went down the streets with an estimated speed of 35 miles per hour and claimed everything in its ways including horses, humans, and even freight cars. Whole buildings were up-rooted.

People could hardly move because of the sticky nature of the material and thus hindered rescue operation. The first responders had to plough their way through molasses waist deep in order to get to victims. It needed to be cleaned up and this was done by months, firehoses, and salt water, and sand. Locals themselves proudly stated that even decades later the smell of molasses was faintly detectable in the neighborhood on hot days.

More than 100 law suits were lodged in the aftermath. The tragedy led to one of the earliest significant trial over corporate negligence in American history. In due time, the company was declared to be at the fault and required to pay compensations.

The location is marked today with a small plaque in the immediate vicinity of the Commercial Street in Boston, reminding people who gather there about one of the most bizarre tragedies that American history ever had to remember. The Great Molasses Flood is an unusual case of how even sweets could become deadly when the warnings are not heeded and shoddy engineering is the result.