A Little Useless Information

THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD OF 1919

I went to original newspaper articles to find out what it was like. Envision a disaster scene with smashed buildings, overturned vehicles, drowned and crushed victims, and terrified survivors running away covered in molasses. Like the modern-day disasters with which we are unfortunately familiar, there was chaos, terror, buildings in ruins, victims to be dug out, trapped survivors to be rescued, rescue workers among the victims, and anguished families rushing to relief centers to find their relatives. It was like any horrible disaster scene, with the addition that everything was covered in smelly sticky brown molasses.

My smart aleck brother brought this to my attention when I was comparing Hurricane Katrina to past disasters. It is fascinating to read through the articles found at the site.