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On January 15, 1919, Boston's 2.3 million gallon molasses flood killed 21 people
http://vaviper.blogspot.com ^ | 01/15/2018 | Harpygoddess

Posted on 01/15/2018 6:32:51 AM PST by harpygoddess

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To: harpygoddess
What a horrible accident - or poor engineering / cheap construction / corner cutting fiasco.

OK - had to go re-learn why and how molasses is made.

21 posted on 01/15/2018 8:10:00 AM PST by corkoman
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To: Flick Lives

They also didnt take into account fermentation rate and gas pressures produced from the bottom up in the huhe tank.


22 posted on 01/15/2018 8:14:50 AM PST by bdfromlv (Leavenworth hard time)
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To: harpygoddess

Oooh, I think this was an episode on the awesome “Seconds from Disaster”!


23 posted on 01/15/2018 8:57:58 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: harpygoddess

My Grandfather used to tell this story.


24 posted on 01/15/2018 9:04:12 AM PST by left that other site (For America to have CONFIDENCE in our future, we must have PRIDE in our HISTORY... DJT)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
The expression is documented in 1872, and may go back to 1840.

And 14 years before that review, the Chicago Daily Tribune ran a story on December 28, 1872 about the secret investigation of the Credit Mobilier scandal. The newspaper reported that:

Most of them had the matter under advisement for seven or eight months before they could satisfy their consciences as to the moral bearing of the transaction, showing that the average Congressional perception of right and wrong is much slower than molasses in January.

The fact that this event occurred in January is either a cruel irony or an ironic vindication.

25 posted on 01/15/2018 9:11:32 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Psephomancers for Hillary!)
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To: harpygoddess

If I had my druthers, I would prefer to die in London’s Great Beer Flood of 1814:

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-London-Beer-Flood-of-1814/


26 posted on 01/15/2018 9:19:12 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: bert
What’s worse, Being Boston, they had no hot buttered biscuits for eating the molasses

When you have B&M Brown Bread in a can, you don't need biscuits, bu do bring on the butter - or cream cheese.

27 posted on 01/15/2018 9:25:53 AM PST by Sirius Lee (In God We Trust, In Trump We MAGA)
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To: harpygoddess
At least it wasn't a sewage treatment plant...*that* would have been unpleasant.

Kinda reminds me of a great WC Fields line...his wife is hassling him about his drinking and says "Someday you'll *drown* in a vat of whiskey" and he responds (under his breath) "Drown in a vat of whiskey? Death where is thy sting?"

28 posted on 01/15/2018 10:12:28 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (Remember: All Cultures Are Equal!)
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To: Sirius Lee

Brown Bread! Toasted. Butter. Heaven


29 posted on 01/15/2018 10:30:32 AM PST by corkoman
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To: harpygoddess

My wife is a dietitian. I just told her about this. Her comment? “Too much food can kill.”


30 posted on 01/15/2018 10:38:33 AM PST by Gamecock (The greatest threat to humanity is not "out there" but "in here" in the recesses of the soul. TK)
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To: SunkenCiv
I remember this story. More proof that truth is stranger than fiction.

When I was a kid my mom kept molasses on hand as a standard sweetener.

31 posted on 01/15/2018 10:54:43 AM PST by colorado tanker
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To: harpygoddess

32 posted on 01/15/2018 10:57:05 AM PST by P.O.E. (Pray for America)
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To: Flick Lives
shipload

Are you sure that's spelled correctly?

33 posted on 01/15/2018 11:09:33 AM PST by Company Man (Best president ever)
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To: harpygoddess

Dad took us up to Boston last summer and we went to the site of the Molasses flood...


34 posted on 01/15/2018 4:17:18 PM PST by ConservaTeen (Islam is Not the Religion of Peace, but The religion of Pedophilia...)
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To: Sparky1776
First documented deaths due to “global warming”, the tank was filled on a cold winter’s day then came apart due to a warm day in January.

Very sharp of you Sparky1776 (carbon dioxide no less):

That January's relatively balmy, 40-degree Fahrenheit weather may have increased pressure as carbon dioxide built up inside. Before the rupture, the molasses inside the tank was likely 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the surrounding air, thanks to a fresh shipment of syrup from the Caribbean. The higher temperature may have helped the molasses spread over the Boston waterfront at such an alarming pace. http://vaviper.blogspot.com/2017/01/jan-15-1919-bostons-23-million-gallon.html

35 posted on 01/15/2018 5:19:03 PM PST by daniel1212 (Trust the risen Lord Jesus to save you as a damned and destitute sinner + be baptized + follow Him)
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