Record-Breaking PR Stunt Ends in Citywide Chaos

Great Molasses Flood of 1919

On January 15, 1919, a "sweet, sticky death" poured from a burst storage tank in Boston. A tide of molasses 40 feet high and 160 feet wide washed through the streets at 35 miles per hour. The molasses solidified due to the cold winter temperatures, destroying anything in its path.

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The More You Know

  • Fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia.
  • 12 plants and 5 animals make up 75% of diets around the world.
  • The fastest gust of wind ever recorded on Earth was 253 miles per hour.
  • Portland was named by a coin flip. Had the coin landed the other way, the city would be known as Boston, Oregon.
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Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.