BOSTON'S CASCADING KILLER MOLASSES WAVE TOWERING TERRIFYING 25 FEET

[Photo: Private Collection]

On Jan. 15, 1919, an industrial storage tank burst, sending a deadly tidal wave of molasses coursing through Boston's North End at an estimated 35 miles per hour.

At its peak, the gooey wave towered 25-feet over street level.  

"The destructive flood threw people and horses about, smashed buildings, and even damaged the steel supports of an elevated railway," the Atlantic Magazine recalled.

"Rescuers had to wade through knee-deep molasses and sticky debris to reach survivors," the magazine said. "Twenty-one people died in the disaster, another 150 were injured, and the cleanup lasted for weeks."