{"id":2524697,"date":"2025-12-24T16:31:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T21:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/post-christmas-disaster-how-26-million-pounds-of-molasses-killed-or-injured-170-in-the-streets-of-boston-in-1919\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T16:35:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T21:35:17","slug":"post-christmas-disaster-how-26-million-pounds-of-molasses-killed-or-injured-170-in-the-streets-of-boston-in-1919","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/post-christmas-disaster-how-26-million-pounds-of-molasses-killed-or-injured-170-in-the-streets-of-boston-in-1919\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-Christmas Disaster: How 26 Million Pounds of Molasses Killed or Injured 170 in the Streets of Boston in 1919"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpost-christmas-disaster-how-26-million-pounds-of-molasses-killed-or-injured-170-in-the-streets-of-boston-in-1919%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2524697&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>On January 15, 1919, a 50-foot molasses storage tank in Boston&#8217;s North End burst, sending about 2.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/environmental-groups-cheer-keystone-shutdown-now-demand-biden-shut-down-all-pipelines\/\" title=\"Environmental Groups Cheer Keystone Shutdown, Now Demand Biden Shut Down All Pipelines\">3 million gallons<\/a> of molasses rushing through teh streets at an estimated 35 mph. the tank, built by purity Distilling Company four years earlier, had been leaking and was poorly constructed-engineers later said its walls were far too thin for the load. The disaster killed 21 people (including two 10-year-olds), injured about 150, and left cleanup complicated by the sticky mass. Purity initially tried to blame anarchists, but a 1925 court-appointed auditor found negligence by the company that built the tank. The catastrophe spurred changes in building oversight: engineers had to sign and seal plans, inspectors increased scrutiny, and greater design transparency was required. Researchers and educators have since studied the event (including scaled experiments with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-coca-cola-post-this-meme-mentioning-fatphobia-and-death-squads\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Did Coca-Cola Post This Meme Mentioning \u2018Fatphobia\u2019 And \u2018Death Squads\u2019?\">corn syrup<\/a>) to better understand the flood&#8217;s dynamics.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Jan. 15, 1919, was an unusually warm day for the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Workers were busy with many city residents outside to enjoy the weather.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s when disaster struck around 1:00 p.m. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.gov\/news\/100-years-ago-today-molasses-crashes-through-bostons-north-end\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The City of Boston<\/a> in their commemorative piece said a loud rumble sound was heard, but Bostonians thought it was an elevated train nearby; it wasn&rsquo;t.<\/p>\n<p>A 50-foot tall tank full of 2.3 million gallons of molasses was rushing toward them at 35 miles per hour. Purity Distilling Company built the tank only four years prior.<\/p>\n<p>Although fairly new, residents were aware of the tank leaking.<\/p>\n<p>Purity, instead of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >addressing structural issues<\/a>, decided to paint it brown to disguise the problem. Engineers said after the spill that the walls were too thin for that much molasses, around 26 million pounds. The walls of the tank were also vulnerable to cracking.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Great Molasses Flood in Boston, 1919. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CTefc25V7m\">pic.twitter.com\/CTefc25V7m<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; History Calendar (@historycalendar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/historycalendar\/status\/1944991889339404302?\">July 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smart-news\/why-boston-molasses-disaster-was-so-deadly-180961209\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Smithsonian<\/a>, one engineer in 2015 concluded the walls on tank needed to be twice as thick for that much product.<\/p>\n<p>Jan. 15, 1919 was the perfect storm.<\/p>\n<p>The weather, the amount of molasses in the tank that day, and the aforementioned structural issues caused the disaster which killed 21 people and injured 150. Two 10-year-olds were among the dead &mdash; Pasquale Iantosca and Maria Distasio.<\/p>\n<p>The deceased were mostly workers and drivers, but also included a fireman who had just gotten to sleep in the firehouse before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/libya-flood-death-toll-rises-to-11000-still-10000-more-missing\/\" title=\"11,000 dead, 10,000 missing in Libya floods.\">flood hit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The stickiness of the molasses made cleaning up debris incredibly hard.<\/p>\n<p>Purity tried to shift blame, accusing anarchists of setting a bomb on the tank, but in 1925 a court-appointed auditor attributed the incident to negligence by U.S. Industrial Alcohol, the company who made the tank, reported the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/articles\/great-molasses-flood-science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">History Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Per History, aerospace engineer Nicole Sharp became interested in the molasses flood after teaching a class at Harvard University where students created a scaled down replica of the event. They released corn syrup into a cardboard version of Boston and observed the effects.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I watched as the corn syrup engulfed tiny figurines,&rdquo; Sharp said. &ldquo;It would be like having a tsunami wave hit you.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>What seems ridiculous and laughable at first read becomes a horror story when discovering the destruction and death wrought by the flood.<\/p>\n<p>To think unassuming Bostonians, just weeks after enjoying Christmas with their families decided to venture out to work or to enjoy the weather only to find a catastrophe hit them.<\/p>\n<p>The City of Boston added some good did come out the Great Molasses Flood.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers would be required to sign and seal plans for structures with inspectors examining projects, and architects being required to be transparent when it came to their designs.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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