A burst tank sent a 25-foot wave of molasses through Boston in 1919, killing 21 people
A storage tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses ruptured in Boston's North End, sending a wave moving at an estimated 35 mph through the streets. It flattened buildings, derailed a train, and killed 21 people. For decades afterward, locals claimed the neighbourhood still smelled faintly of molasses on hot summer days.