On 15 January 1919, a huge molasses tank burst devastating the North Side of Boston, Massachusetts. In what is now known as the Boston Molasses Flood, the Purity Distilling Company was found guilty of negligence and ordered to pay over $600,000 to victims and affected business.

The wave of molasses was reportedly fifteen feet high and moved at thirty-five miles per hour. Some of the victims were crushed by the wave or objects it had seized, while others were buried underneath the molasses and suffocated. There are numerous urban legends surrounding the Boston Molasses Flood, including the thought among North Siders that on a hot, summer day you can still smell the sweet molasses. Another claims the burst was due to Purity Distilling Company deliberately overfilling the tank, as they intended to distill a large batch of alcohol before Prohibition kicked in.

The London Beer Flood of 1814 which took place at the Meux Horse Shoe Brewery parallels the Boston Molasses Flood in many ways. On October 17, a giant vat of beer containing 3,500 barrels burst open knocking down another giant vat containing 1,200 barrels which in turn destroyed the brewery and flooded into the street filling the crowded businesses and homes with beer. Many of the neighboring buildings had residents living in the cellars, which immediately flooded and resulted in eight deaths.

Like the Boston Molasses Flood, there are urban legends surrounding the London Beer Flood. One claims that residents in the surrounding areas whose homes had not been flooded immediately took to the streets with pots and pans in the hope of procuring free beer. Another states that there was a ninth casualty, as someone attempted to drink all the beer and died of alcohol poisoning.

Today the site of the London Beer Flood of 1814 is a theater in a fashionable party of the city. If you travel to the North Side of Boston where Purity Distilling Company used to be, you will now find a recreation area with a baseball.
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Meet the Author

Theodore Crawley is a student at Schoolcraft College.