Legend has it that a wave of molasses swept through
Boston, killing 21 and injuring 150
FORTY MINUTES past noon on January 15, 1919, a giant wave of molasses raced through Boston. The unseasonably warm temperature (46 degrees) was the final stress needed to cause a gigantic, filled-to-capacity tank to burst. About 2,320,000 gallons (14,000 tons) of molasses swept through the streets, causing death and destruction.
Eyewitness reports tell of a "30-foot wall of goo" that smashed buildings and tossed horses, wagons and pool tables about as if they were nothing. Twenty-one people were killed by the brown tidal wave, and 150 more were injured. The chaos and destruction were amplified -- and rescue efforts were hampered -- by the stickiness of the molasses. Those persons attempting to aid others all too often found themselves mired fast in the goo.
The day after the disaster, The New York Times reported:
"A dull, muffled roar gave but an instant's warning before the top of the tank was blown into the air. The circular wall broke into two great segments of sheet iron which were pulled in opposite directions. Two million gallons of molasses rushed over the streets and converted into a sticky mass. Several small buildings were smashed by the force of the explosion."
The greatest mortality apparently occurred in one of the city buildings where a score of municipal employees were eating their lunch. The building was demolished and the wreckage was hurled fifty yards. The other city building, which had an office on the ground floor and a tenement above, was similarly torn from its foundations.
One of the sections of the tank wall fell on the firehouse, which was nearby. The building was crushed and three firemen were buried in the ruins.
Boston is not a city that forgets anything easily. There are those who claim that on a hot summer day in the North End, you can still smell the molasses.
MOLASSES FACTS
THE QUALITY of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane, the amount of sugar extracted, and the method of extraction. There are three major types of molasses: unsulphured, sulphured and blackstrap.
1. Unsulphured molasses is the finest quality. It is made from the juice of sun-ripened cane and the juice is clarified and concentrated.
2. Sulphured molasses is made from green sugar cane that has not matured long enough and treated with sulphur fumes during the sugar extracting process. Molasses from the first boiling is the finest grade because only a small amount of sugar has been removed. The second boil molasses takes on a darker colour, is less sweet and has a more pronounced flavour.
3. Blackstrap molasses is from the third boil and only has a commercial value in the manufacture of cattle feed and other industrial uses.
