Episode description
We’ve all seen the horrific damage caused by tsunamis - buildings flattened, whole towns destroyed. But what if a tsunami wasn’t made of water? What if it was made of… molasses? As crazy as it sounds, that’s exactly what happened in Boston in 1919. A tsunami of what is basically maple syrup flooded the city, and this sticky wave destroyed everything - and killed everyone - that it came across.
We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there’s this:
Read Dark Tide, the super comprehensive book about the disaster and the context in which it happened:
https://www.booktopia.com.au/dark-tide-stephen-puleo/book/9780807078006.html
Check out this article to see a bunch of photos of the chaos the flood caused:
https://www.boston.com/news/history/2019/01/14/great-molasses-flood-photos/
Learn about the 21 victims who were killed by the flood, and how their lives ended:
https://www.boston.com/news/history/2019/01/13/victims-great-boston-molasses-flood-1919/
Read an article about the painstaking cleanup process that took months:
https://www.boston.com/news/history/2019/01/14/great-molasses-flood-cleanup-aftermath/
Skip right to the story: approx 18:40
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