Molasses Tsunami


In January 1919, a holding tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses ruptured, sending a wave of syrup rolling through the streets of Boston that killed 21 people and left another 150 injured.

"For nearly 100 years, no one really knew why the spill was so deadly.
But at a meeting of the American Physical Society this month, a team of scientists and students presented what may be an important piece of the century-old puzzle. They concluded that when a shipment of molasses newly arrived from the Caribbean met the cold winter air of Massachusetts, the conditions were ripe for a calamity to descend upon the city."

Read the full explanation about why the incident proved to be so deadly.

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