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On Jan 15, 1919, a steel tank burst in downtown Boston, s... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
On Jan 15, 1919, a steel tank burst in downtown Boston, spilling ~8.7 million liters (12,000 tons) of molasses. A sticky brown wave 8m high at over 50 km/h killed 21 people, injured ~150, and flattened buildings: the Great Boston Molasses Flood, a bizarre disaster.
  • Boston
  • Molasses
  • USA
  • Disaster
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  • USA
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  • USA
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In the 18th century, American businessman Timothy Dexter was tricked into shipping warming pans—used to heat beds—to the year-round tropical West Indies. But local molasses producers bought them all at a 79% markup, finding them perfect as large ladles.
  • West Indies
  • History
  • Molasses
  • Ladle
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Until the 19th century, the Red River in the southern USA had a 260km-long natural log jam called the "Great Raft." Accumulated over centuries, grass and trees even grew on top of it, allowing people to walk across the river.
  • USA
  • Nature
  • History
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