But it is possible that in their haste, the tanks builders did not take this step. Hundreds of people helped the cleanup effort, and they tracked molasses all over the city. Each gate can hold back 9,000 tons of water, and disappears into the river when the water is calm.Perhaps the most extensive and sophisticated flood-prevention program is the Zuiderzee Works in the Netherlands. Toxic FloodThere are many examples of toxic materials, from pig manure to coal slurry, flooding communities. This deadly wave resulted in 21 people dead and 150 injured. A Bittersweet Farewell and Enthusiastic Hello: A New Science Podcast Is Headed Your Way! 5 min read. One of the first canals in North America was constructed in about 200 B.C.E. But the company that owned the tank, U.S. Industrial Alcohol Co. claimed in court that the flood was actually the work of an anarchist terrorist cell. When the tank ruptured, the wave smothered the surrounding two blocks demolishing buildings, dislodging the elevated rail trestle that ran down Commercial Street, and sweeping bystanders into the harbor. Water was released from dams on the Colorado River, which runs through the Grand Canyon. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. The city parks department is planning an event for school children and city residents to mark the site of the tank. Engineers should have known that in 1919, he wrote. Structures around rivers, lakes, and the sea can contain flood waters. I dont think that call will happen again, Puleo says. reported the boiling sludge buried scores of people inside ruined buildings, killing some and badly injuring others. When all was said and done, the molasses flood claimed the lives of 21 people, ages ranging between 10 and 78. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. The molasses surge picked up a truck and threw it into Boston Harbor. So it was not high enough when it hit those buildings to break those windows, but it was high enough to be splattering up against them, Sharp said (the fact that the windows werent shattered was also used as evidence to disprove Puritys attempt to later argue in court that Italian anarchists were actually to blame for the disaster). It killed workers like trapped animals. Researchers like Ronald Mayville have been fascinated by this incident, studying the causes behind it as a phenomenon of science and engineering. Its no wonder the tank burst. Two million gallons of molasses rushed over the streets and converted into a sticky mass the wreckage of several small buildings which had been smashed by the force of the explosion., Wagons, carts, and motor trucks were overturned. Levees, runoff canals, and reservoirs can stop water from overflowing.Levees are usually made of earth. Around 2100 B.C.E., Yu developed a way to control the devastating floods of the Yellow River. They are built by piling soil, sand, or rocks near a rivers banks. On Jan. 15, 1919, a 2-million-gallon tank of molasses ruptured in Boston, killing 21 people. Officials determined that the disaster was in part caused by a supervisor who lacked the training to read blueprints during the tanks construction. Share this story Comments (9) Audio On this day in 1919, people in Boston's North End were startled by a loud rumbling noise. Its very clear that the tank was built in a very substandard way., The Great Boston Molasses flood did for building construction standards what theCocoanut Grove Firedid for fire standards., This search result is here to prevent scraping, On the Market: That Pink Gingerbread House on Martha's Vineyard, Pinky's Bar Opens on Boston's Newbury Street, This is the Most Expensive Condo Ever Sold on the North Shore, Where to Eat Spectacular Seafood around Boston in Summer 2023, A New England Traveler's Guide to Watch Hill, Rhode Island, The Interview: 'Quin House Cofounder Sandy Edgerley, Careers and Internships at Boston Magazine. He heard his mother call his name and couldnt answer, his throat was so clogged with the smothering goo. Another version is the Mesopotamian legend of Utnapishtim, recorded in the Legend of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest works of literature, predating the Torah by more than a thousand years. The Boston Evening Transcript later described it as a deep rumble.. Its just a very harrowing kind of disaster., They were knocked into the water by the wave [of molasses]. The company built the giant tank on the North Ends waterfront at whats now baseball fields at Langone Park to store molasses from the Caribbean untilit was shipped across the river to their fermentation facility in Cambridge. Sharp says they had even received a big new shipment two days before the tank burst. First in Massachusetts, and then it kind of ripples across the country. Weather, land, and climate can all change.An areas soil and groundwater provide clues about flooding. In addition to the stress concentrated around the hole of the manway opening, the outer part of the hatch was riveted to the steel in such a way it created a great deal of stress on the top-most rivet hole. Rice is a semi-aquatic cropit grows in water. A 100-year flood, for example, is an extremely large, destructive event that would be expected to happen only once every century.But this is only an estimate. The firehouse was knocked off its foundation, burying the men. I love them all!! The strength of this molasses wave - which was, at the time, America's favourite sweetener and a key . The case was historic in many ways. It can form part of a balanced diet, but people should. always cool information! Instead of damming the river, Yu dredged ithe and a team of engineers made river channels deeper to accommodate more water. And when 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst from a gigantic holding tank in the city's North End, 21 people were killed and about 150 more were left injured. Inside the Boston and Worcester freight terminal, the river of molasses poured through the doors and windows. In those days, this wasnt an entirely implausible explanation. It was January. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. Chinese New Year: Traditions and Superstitions, Spring Equinox and the First Day of Spring, Summer Solstice and the First Day of Summer, Sell the Farmers Almanac In Your Retail Store, Grow Your Business Advertise with the Farmers Almanac. Theres a wave of molasses coming down Commercial Street! That was the once-in-a-lifetime message the Boston Police received from Patrolman Frank McManus, who witnessed the tank erupting. The molasses came from the West Indies to be converted into industrial ethanol by the tank's owner, the US Industrial Alcohol Company, who had been selling it for use in munitions for the Great War. Its been over 100 years, but people are still talking about the Great Molasses Flood that struck Boston on January 15, 1919. One local, Stephen Puleo, was working on a masters thesis on Italian immigrants when he began to research the flood. Wetlands along river banks, lakes, and estuaries absorb flood waters. It had long been a major part of the city's industry, from the key ingredient in colonial baked beans to World War I munitions. But on 15 January 1919, all hell broke loose. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Some survived the initial minutes,only to later die at the Haymarket relief station where dozens of victims were taken. Engineers tasked with ensuring public safety do a remarkably good and thorough job. PRESS: Even today, the flood lives in neighborhood folklore. Pedologists, or soil scientists, work with hydrologists to determine how much water a regions earth can absorb. In the Grimm Brothers' tale, Sweet Porridge, a magic . PRESS: Shortly after the flood, 119 plaintiffs took up a civil lawsuit against U.S. Industrial Alcohol, the tank's owner. Rosa Bonilla, Grace Kossia, and Emily Woolway. This can lead to outbreaks of deadly diseases like typhoid, malaria, hepatitis A, and cholera. So much for the saying, Slow as molasses in January.. While outside, the wall of goo trapped some unlucky victims, hurled some into the air, flung some against freight cars and smothered still others. How did molasses get transferred from the ship to the tank - Reddit PRESS: For a short time, the story was all anyone could talk about. The tank had been built in a bit of a hurry. But after the team ran the experiments, she said, it discovered that the molasses could, indeed, move at that speed. London Beer FloodIn 1814, vats containing 1.47 million liters (388,333 gallons) of beer spilled in the St. Giles area of London, England. It might as well be a tsunami.". Thanks again. Neighborhood children brought pails to the tank and filled them with leaking molasses. 12 Things You Didn't Know about the Great Boston Molasses Flood Although my grandparents were from Toledo Oh, I remember them talking about this every time Grandma made molasses cookies. We now know in great detailhow a shoddily built tank caused the disaster, as more than 2 million gallons of goo burst through its rickety steel shell andwreaked havoc onthe streets of the North End. Molasses: Types, nutrition, and benefits - Medical News Today My grandmother and her family were displaced by this flood, losing many family heirlooms brought from Europe, she along with a brother and sister spent some time in an orphanage until they could find another place to live. Snowfall is one of the biggest contributors to flooding, and cannot always be predicted. It then tipped over a rail car and knocked buildings off their foundations. An obscure accident led to the first class action lawsuit against a major company, paving the way for modern regulation, For bystanders, the first clue something was wrong was a sound different from the usual thrum of the overhead train. "So, that green sign right there is exactly the site of the outside wall of the tank," he said. Im sure people who lived close had such memories and/or fears of other destructions from local manufacturing plants. The deadly ooze damaged the Boston Elevated Railway on Atlantic Avenue. That was up to Judge Hugh Ogden, who oversaw the years-long civil suit that came after the disaster, and took responsibility for distributing damages at its end. Levees protect New Orleans from the Mississippi River. At least 800,000 people drowned, and more than a million were made homeless. They were constructed by a reputable firm, Hammond Ironworks, that actually had experience designing tanks that held molasses. Twenty-one people died from the molasses flood, and 150 were injured either from being swept up in the flood or buried in the debris of collapsing structures. Heres what you need to know about five of the most commonly asked questions (and myths) around the strange and tragic event. . All rights reserved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for visiting and reading it! At the time, one of many experts who testified in the case noted that the walls of the tank were thinner than the plans called for and used fewer rivets than would have been standard. The invasion continued by a different route, but the environmental devastation of the flooding was immense. Wetland vegetation, such as trees, grasses, and sedges, slow the speed of flood waters and more evenly distribute their energy. As that molasses gets colder and harder to move, its harder and harder for rescue workers to get this molasses-covered stuff off of people who need to be rescued, she explained. The tsunami crashed more than 10 kilometers (six miles) inland, flooding homes, businesses, schools, parks, hospitals, and the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. This sediment can be full of nutrients, benefiting farmers and agribusinesses in the area. Two days before the accident, a new shipment of hot molasses had been added to the tank, so when it burst, the molasses inside might have been slightly warmer than the outside air. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. While people living and working in the area suspected nothing, there were a few warning signs that disaster was imminent. Glad you enjoyed it. Understanding The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 Isaac Yetton was hauling a load of automobile inner tubes into a shed when he heard a snap. More than 150 others were injured. And there were other signs, like ominous creaks and groans whenever new molasses was added to the tank. Streets, downtown business districts, and bridges were destroyed. Glen, incredible story. The 1931 Yellow River flood is one of the most devastating natural disasters ever recordedalmost a million people drowned, and even more were left homeless.Natural Causes of FloodsFloods occur naturally. The most famous flood in American history, the Johnstown Flood, was an artificial disaster. It took months to recover all bodies. Kids would collect and eat the molasses that oozed out of the tanks, he says.