During the early part of the 20th Century, in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, the United States Alcohol Company owned a distillery that featured a large steel molasses storage tank. 52 feet in height and 90 feet in diameter, the tank was filled to capacity with 2.3 million gallons of molasses when at 12.30pm on 15 January, 1919, it burst open with a tremendous roar.

The Path of Destruction

When the tank exploded, chunks of metal were sent flying in all directions. One large piece smashed through a support for an elevated railroad. Luckily, an alert train driver managed to halt his train moments before it reached the broken tracks.

As the tank was ripped apart, a huge wall of molasses came pouring out. The wall was approximately 15 to 20 feet high and reached speeds of up to 35 miles per hour in the area around the tank. This large mass of sticky goo was soon pouring into the streets of Boston destroying everything in its path. The wave knocked a firehouse off its foundation and destroyed another municipal building. At least a dozen city workers were trapped in the second building. Cellars in people's homes were filled up with molasses, while anybody who stood in its destructive path was sucked in to the seething mess. A horse-drawn wagon was picked up by the wave and slammed into a fence. Both the horses and the people became stuck. Trolley cars were picked up and smashed. People were crushed within their houses and others became stuck in the molasses. A few intrepid souls tried to swim in the sticky goo but without success. Some of the stuff plunged into the Boston Harbour taking wreckage with it. By the end of the day, many buildings and roads were covered with molasses.