The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

Now that Spooky Season has come to a close we are moving on to our next favorite, seasonally appropriate topic: Food!  On this episode Katie tells the Story of the Great Molasses Flood.  You’d think a giant flood of molasses would be incredibly slow, especially in the winter.  After all there is a famous saying, “slower than molasses in January”.  You’d think you could outrun it.  Or could you?  Listen to hear what happened when a neighborhood in city of Boston was suddenly overrun by a sticky tidal wave. 

Sources:

history.com:An article on the Spanish Flu

history.com: Why was the great molasses flood so deadly? 

boston-discovery-guide.com:  The Great Molasses Flood in Boston, Disaster in Boston's North End

scientificamerican.com:  The Science of the Great Molasses Flood

npr.org: A Deadly Tsunami of Molasses in Boston’s North End

Census.gov: an archive from January 1919

Theworldwar.org: Red Summer

All of our music in this episode comes from Epidemic Sound