Historical footage of the flood of sugar in Boston

• Historical footage of the flood of sugar in Boston

99 years ago in the United States it could be one of the strangest catastrophes of the twentieth century: the part of the city of Boston was flooded with sticky sweet liquid. Archival photos and facts about the "flood" - in our post.

January 15 morning issued not in the winter warm - sunny weather lured into the street hundreds of residents north of Boston. Most of them were from Ireland and Italy.

Suddenly, above the town boomed low rumble - burst iron tank of Purity Distilling.

In the photo: the company before the accident.

A moment after the accident at Boston street Commercial Street collapsed wave of raw black molasses two storeys high.

All this occurred during the progressive implementation of Prohibition. The fermented molasses while widely used for the production of ethanol. On the eve of the introduction of a total ban owners, respectively, sought to produce and implement as many as possible of ...

An unusual stream overflowed and adjacent to the port area. Escape from a fast wave was beyond the power of any passers-by or even horse harness. Wave sucrose containing liquid rushing through the streets with a speed of 60 km / h.

As a result, two million gallons of molasses, which were to go to the production of rum, swept to death 21 people. Lessons from the bodies of molasses was almost impossible to identify.

Another 150 residents were hospitalized with various injuries.

View the chaos and curious citizens gathered, who immediately mired in the sticky mire. Is it any wonder that the molasses soon spread throughout the city.

The black wave destroyed a number of buildings and even brought down the overpass of the railway. Several horses that are not drowned in molasses, were so badly stuck in it, that they had to shoot him.

The rescue operation lasted for four days.

In order to eliminate the consequences of the city became a division of the US Navy, but to clear the streets of the city from molasses, it took 87,000 man-hours. For a long time local residents were suffering from breathlessness and coughing.

Port of Boston six months after the accident remained brown.

"The shop closed due to molasses"

Hard to believe, but some residents of Boston say that so far from the old buildings in the city on hot days comes the smell of caramel.