One irony is that this flood gave rise to the express, “slower than molasses in January.” Yet the molasses were reported to be flowing at 25 to 35 mph, which is pretty fast.
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.