Boston Molasses Disaster - 1919

[Bullfrog]

A small plaque at the entrance to Puopolo Park, placed by the Bostonian Society, commemorates the disaster. The plaque, entitled "Boston Molasses Flood", reads:

On January 15, 1919, a molasses tank at 529 Commercial Street exploded under pressure, killing 21 people. A 40-foot wave of molasses buckled the elevated railroad tracks, crushed buildings and inundated the neighborhood. Structural defects in the tank combined with unseasonably warm temperatures contributed to the disaster.

more info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster)

[k-os]

Interesting. It was like a molasses tsunami.

[Bullfrog]

More.


It took over 87,000 man hours to remove the molasses from the cobblestone streets, theaters, businesses, automobiles, and homes. The harbor was still brown with molasses until summer. Local residents brought a class-action lawsuit, one of the first held in Massachusetts, against the United States Industrial Alcohol Company (USIA), which had bought Purity Distilling in 1917. In spite of the company's attempts to claim that the tank had been blown up by anarchists (because some of the alcohol produced was to be used in making munitions), a court-appointed auditor found USIA responsible after three years of hearings. USIA ultimately paid out $600,000 in out-of-court settlements (at least $6.6 million in 2005 dollars).



An inquiry after the disaster revealed that Arthur Jell, who oversaw the construction, neglected basic safety tests, such as filling the tank with water to check for leaks. When filled with molasses, the tank leaked so badly that it was painted brown to hide the leaks. Local residents collected leaked molasses for their homes.

[SLV^GLD]

All to circumvent prohibition.

[BrewTech]

All to circumvent prohibition.


The wiki article says that the distillery was producing industrial alcohol, FWIW.

[ximmy]

Witnesses were rumored to have said, "Although tragic, it remained a yummy death for its victims."

[SLV^GLD]

All to circumvent prohibition.


The wiki article says that the distillery was producing industrial alcohol, FWIW.
Did wiki bother to mention that the tank was hurriedly built in order to cash in on rum demand in the face of looming prohibition? A man by the name of Stephen Puleo did some homework and published the book Dark Tide that will give you much more insight on this disaster than the piddling wiki article.

You are correct that US Industrial Alcohol was using the molasses to produce alcohol for munitions manufacture. However, in the face of looming prohibition they were trying to cash in on the panic buying that was taking place. People were stocking up. There were several factors that contributed to the explosion but the rush job instigated by the inspired demand for rum is why the corners were cut and kept getting cut.

Funnily enough, the whole event became a catalyst for sweeping societal changes. Whether or not the incident was capitalized upon by that day's TPTB ala the Shock Factor we were discussing a week or so ago is good debate fodder. Maybe the sweeping changes were not actually connected to the rather shocking event, after all?

[Bullfrog]

I knew someone would have more info on this. ;D
I ran across it last night in a book that is a lite version of a Readers Digest cover of the event.

Not sure why this is in the Gulf Oil forum tho.

[k-os]

I knew someone would have more info on this. ;D
I ran across it last night in a book that is a lite version of a Readers Digest cover of the event.

Not sure why this is in the Gulf Oil forum tho.


That's what I was thinking . . . why did it get moved to the Gulf Oil Disaster sub-forum? Funny.

[ximmy]

Still wondering why the Boston Molasses Disaster is categorized with the gulf-oil-disaster...

LOL :ROFL:

[JohnQPublic]

Still wondering why the Boston Molasses Disaster is categorized with the gulf-oil-disaster...

LOL :ROFL:


Just by analogy! :whistle

[ximmy]

It adds a little flavor and spice to the forum... ;D :D