Stranger than Fiction

Did you know that in 1919 in Boston, 21 people were killed by a flood . . . of molasses?

It's become known as the Great Molasses Flood of 1919.

Almost a century ago, a giant storage tank in Boston’s North End ruptured, releasing a massive wave of molasses that killed 21 people, crushed buildings, and tore a firehouse from its foundation.

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919, one of history’s most bizarre disasters, has remained a topic of grim fascination ever since, prompting a range of historical analysis. Now, a study has shed new light on the cause of the collapse, finding that the tank was stressed well beyond capacity and made from a steel susceptible to fracture — the same type used on the Titanic.

Absolutely fascinating.  Check out the whole story here, along with some incredible pictures.