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The Great Boston Molasses Flood Disaster

At 12:45 in the afternoon on an unusually warm day, January 15th, 1919, Boston Police Patrolman Frank McManus shouted into his transmitter “Send all available rescue vehicles and personnel immediately! There’s a wave of molasses coming down Commercial Street!”

A fifty foot tank filled up with molasses ruptured, unleashing a real-life blob traveling through the streets of Boston at 35 miles per hour, sweeping away the locals, their horses, dogs, and swallowing cars and the rest of the landscape. The viscous tide of goo killed 21 people - mostly from asphyxia as they were drowned in their homes - and injured some 150 other. It wasn’t just the sugary tidal wave that was so deadly; the tank ripped into sharp projectiles, and shot metal bolts from its sides like bullets.

♥ Jan 16th at 11AM / tagged: disasters. history. Boston. The Great Boston Molasses Flood. molasses. man made disasters. death. died. 1919. Massachussets. United States. floods. flood of molasses. unnatural disasters. accidents. sad. bad accidents. vintage. vintage photos. strange vintage photos. destruction of property. loss of life. ephemera. culture. historic events. / reblog / 228 notes

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    This would be my nightmare…..

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    And people say history is boring…

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