96 Years Ago Today: Boston's Great Molasses Flood of 1919

"The Boston Molasses Disaster, also known as the Great Molasses Flood and the Great Boston Molasses Tragedy, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. A large molasses storage tank burst, and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The event has entered local folklore, and for decades afterward, residents claimed that on hot summer days, the area still smelled of molasses." ---Wikipedia entry The Globe ran a good article yesterday with some photos and explanations: The tank's walls were too thin, and were made of the same kind of brittle steel that doomed the Titanic --- steel that tended to shatter under load, rather than deform. Globe pix: