Apparently Molasses Isn't So Slow in January

Boston's molasses "tsunami" of 1919:

The molasses tidal wave of 1919 was the result of an explosion at a 50-foot-high steel tank, owned by United States Alcohol Company, which held 2.3 million gallons of molasses. The tank burst 12:40 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 1919, and the contents ultimately coated two city blocks with 14,000 tons of the thick syrup.

One 1983 Smithsonian reporter described the scene that unfolded in the 10 minutes prior:

"At about 12:30, with a sound described as a sort of muffled roar, the giant molasses tank came apart. It seemed to rise and then split, the rivets popping in a way that reminded many ex-soldiers of machine-gun fire. And then a wet, brown hell broke loose, flooding downtown Boston."

And the carnage that came next:

"The great brown wave caught and killed most of the nearby laborers. The fireboat company quarters was splintered. A lorry was blasted right through a wooden fence, and a wagon driver was found later, dead and frozen in his last attitude like a figure from the ashes of Pompeii."

Most of the information about what had caused The Great Molasses Flood was discovered through the numerous lawsuits following the incident. Litigation lasted six years and involved 3,000 witnesses.