Let's talk about the infamous molasses flood in Boston - it sounds almost delightful, a stick mass of molasses, what was it even doing there?? But, surprise, it is not delightful. It was a 25-foot wave of molasses, sticky, cold, and deadly. People died, including firemen and children. What happened? How did such a monstrously large tank get built next to homes? We'll talk about Boston, WWI, Prohibition, and the Anarchist Bombings of 1919 that frame this tale.
Let's talk about the infamous molasses flood in Boston - it sounds almost delightful, a stick mass of molasses, what was it even doing there?? But, surprise, it is not delightful. It was a 25-foot wave of molasses, sticky, cold, and deadly. People died, including firemen and children. What happened? How did such a monstrously large tank get built next to homes?
We'll talk about Boston, WWI, Prohibition, and the Anarchist Bombings of 1919 that frame this tale.
Sources:
Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 Paperback
by Stephen Puleo (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tide-Great-Boston-Molasses/dp/080707800X/
Hi Friends! Our transcripts aren't perfect, but I wanted to make sure you had something - if you'd like an edited transcript, I'd be happy to prioritize one for you - please email doomedtofailpod@gmail.com - Thanks! - Taylor
Welcome to doomed to fail, the podcast that brings you history's most notorious disasters
>> Taylor: In the matter of the people of state of California versus Ornithal James Simpson, case number ba zero nine six. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
>> Farz: Boom. We are live and we are recording. And Taylor, you are dressed up.
>> Taylor: we can't. Yeah, live and recording. I love that. I'm not dressed up as a t shirt, but I am so hot. We just got home and I should have changed because it's 91 in the house. We were away for a couple of days, so. Oh, my God. And then the poor house is just like, the plants are. Like, we hate you so much. All the things.
>> Farz: Poor plants. do you want to go ahead and introduce us and we can do a little bit of a check in? Human check in.
>> Taylor: Yes. Welcome, friends, to doomed to fail, where the podcast that brings you history's most notorious disasters and epic failures twice a week. And I am Taylor, joined as always.
>> Farz: By farsitive, always here, always ready to share horrible, horrible things.
You just got home from visiting your mom in Nevada
so y'all were in Nevada and you just got home?
>> Taylor: Yes, it's Nevada, but, yes, we were, visiting my mom.
>> Farz: You said nevada, Nevada, Nevada, Nevada.
>> Taylor: Okay, Nevada. we. Yes, my sister, who lives in Austin, was visiting my mom, so we went and met up with them and spent a couple nights there. And it was very fun. We didn't have anywhere to sleep, really, because my mom have, like, one guest room, but, like, another room that has the, air mattress. But then, like, we can't all fit on a full air mattress. There's four of us. So last night ended up. Thorns pushed me off the air mattress and ended up, like, just leaving that. And the kids were on that. Juan was on the floor, and I was sleeping on, like, a pool floaty. It was like. Yeah, it was a lot, but we're good. Yeah. The ride is long and boring because it's, like, through the desert, so it's kind of exhausting, you know?
>> Farz: It was like, it's 6 hours from LA. So what is it for you? 9 hours?
>> Taylor: It's four. No, it's four.
>> Farz: Wait, 4 hours from LA.
>> Taylor: It's 4 hours from Joshua J. Oh, okay.
>> Farz: Okay. Yeah, right. yeah, not bad. Not bad at all.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: sweet.
Who gets to go first with your outline for today's show
Well, who gets to go today first?
>> Taylor: I think it's me.
>> Farz: Okay.
>> Taylor: is that okay with you? Yeah. Let's see. Our last episodes were, like, a little bit like, what day is it? Yes. You did Venezuela on, Monday m. And then I did Poggio bracciolini on Wednesday, that's my turn.
>> Farz: Probably not the worst thing in the world because I'm kind of second doubting my topic. So I actually started on two outlines because I was interested in one thing, and then I heard something else. It was like, that sounds cool. I'm gonna go look into that. And now I have, like, well, I have one complete outline that I'm, like, not in love with, and then a second half complete outline that I kind of really like.
>> Taylor: Nice.
>> Farz: So, yes, we'll do yours first, then. Give me some time to fit mine up.
>> Taylor: Yeah, no, that's good. Cool, cool.
Jenny: Have you watched anything recently about the Olympics
Okay, well, I am ready. let me open up my thing. So I'm going to talk about. Oh, first we should talk about the Olympics and check in.
>> Farz: Yes. Sorry. Yeah, we gotta do our metal count.
>> Taylor: Have you watched anything recently?
>> Farz: I mean, I don't know what I'm watching exactly. I saw running, I saw swimming, I saw gymnastics, but I don't know what their individual like. I don't know. Was it 100 meters? Ten? I don't know what I watched exactly, but I saw a bunch of stuff. Yeah.
>> Taylor: So here's, here's the news that I think is cool. I mean, there's a lot of it that's so many sports. It's actually wild. I watched, like, bmx thing yesterday. I watched dressage. It is so weird. I don't understand.
>> Farz: That's the horse one, right?
>> Taylor: Yes. But all you're doing is making your horse tiptoe. I don't get it.
>> Farz: Yeah. What is the sporty part of that?
>> Taylor: Do you not get it? The horse tiptoes around. I don't know. Tomorrow there is the horse jumping, which I feel like is harder, but I don't know.
>> Farz: Also very dangerous. I did see the turkish guy. The turkish guy's taking everyone by storm. I've seen that.
>> Taylor: Yeah, he was shooting. And then Noah Lyles just won the men's 100 meters by his head.
>> Farz: Yep, I saw that, too.
>> Taylor: American. And then, shikari got, silver. And then, Simone biles got gold, in everything she did. And it was amazing. So all of that good.
>> Farz: Most golds in history or something?
>> Taylor: I don't know. It's a good question because there's also. Katie Ledecky is killing it. so we're, we're, we are winning as Americans. We have 19 gold medals tied with China. They also have 19 gold medals, 26 silvers, 26 bronzes, for a total of 71. Oh, I watched the nerdy guy. Everyone likes to get the bronze in the, pommel horse. And the one of our big guys won his third gold medal for shot put. And that was fun to watch because it was raining and like it. They throw that thing so fucking far. It's 16 pounds and they throw it so far. It's pretty amazing.
>> Farz: No, Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps is by far the leader sold with 28 total gold medals.
>> Taylor: Oh, wow. There's Katie Ledecky's third. There's a Larissa latinya from the Soviet Union from gymnastics who won, who has 18 medals. Wow. Michael Phelps has 23 gold medals.
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: That is wild.
>> Farz: Yeah. So then you got Katie Ledecky at number five. And that's the last American until you get to number 15, Jenny. Tom Thompson.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Swimming. No, Mark Spitz is number five. What list are you looking at?
>> Farz: Katie Ledecky is number five.
>> Taylor: Katie Ledecky is number three. We're looking at different lists.
>> Farz: Yeah, we're looking at different lists. I have Michael Phelps. Number one, Larissa Latina.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: Number two, Meredith Bjorgin. And number three. Oh.
>> Taylor: Oh.
>> Farz: you know what? It's. It's because. Yeah, you're right. You're right. These four tied. I'm reading them in sequential order, but they're actually tied. So you're right. No.
I'm excited for breakdancing, which starts later this week
>> Taylor: And I think Katie Ledecky has nine. I think this is like, I updated. I'm reading wikipedia.
>> Farz: Yep.
>> Taylor: All right. Anyway, very exciting. Love to see it. I'm excited for breakdancing. It starts later this week. I don't really understand it. I watched. I watched some judo. I don't understand at all what's going on in judo. They can pull each other's clothes, I guess so.
>> Farz: There's a lot of throwing. I know that much.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So it was like. And they did this thing where they like had a look like a slot machine wheel. Like the turning, not like a whatever, but it like turned and then it like picked the weight class and those guys went, I don't know how that works, but it like landed on the 90 kg. So it was like these two huge dudes hugging and pulling each other's clothes. So that's fun. Yeah. Yeah. So far, so, so far so fun. I'm enjoying it. We watched Katie Ledecky when the win, the, What was it? Thousand meter or whatever. No, it could have been. She just went back and forth so many freaking times in the pool. I like, I'm so tired.
>> Farz: I don't. I don't know. Like they're all like various meter distance things. Like I don't know which is which.
>> Taylor: Right before the last lap or whatever, they, There's a bunch of dudes, and their job was to, like, ring a bell next to their heads, which I think was pretty fun. Like, they, like, were, like, walk up to the edge of the pool, like, ring a bell to let them know that they're on their last lap. But I think they would know anyway because they're probably counting. But who knows what they're thinking when they're doing it? They're just like, I hope I don't die because I've been, like, a crazy person.
>> Farz: I, do still love the meme going around that's saying, like, please let a normal person do these sports so we know how good they are. Cause it's so hard to know. I mean, okay, gymnastics is not that hard to know.
>> Taylor: I mean, it looks. It looks easy, you know? Which is so wild because you're like, what is even happening? You know?
>> Farz: Gymnastics is the one that, like, really makes me, like, freak out when I watch it because the amount of forces that are acting on their bodies is just like, every time she lands, I'm like, please don't break a ledger.
>> Taylor: Me too. I'm like, I can't believe that, like, my wrists hurt from, like, crocheting this weekend. Like, I'm not doing that. It's crazy.
>> Farz: breaking news. We're not olympic athletes.
>> Taylor: No, no. I like the other ones. There's other memes that are like this. I'm sorry to say I didn't make it. And it's like, people doing, like, the parallel bars, and it's, like, falling off and, like, being really funny or being, like, I could do, like, two flips on it, which is still very impressive, but it's, like, not even close, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
>> Farz: So that's our update for the Olympics as of right now, which is Sunday. but, yeah, we'll get more to you later on this week.
>> Taylor: Yes, we'll have more. I was like, do they stop for the weekend? And I was like, no, they don't. What am I talking about? Of course. It just keeps going. so, yeah, I get to watch. It's been. I also find it very accessible. this time. I feel like it's. It's easy to watch on peacock, and, like, they do it late enough at night that even in my time zone, I can still watch some stuff live, you know?
>> Farz: Yep, same, same. I've been doing. I've been watching on YouTube, tv. They have all the sports and there's one view of it where you can see four of them going at the same time.
>> Taylor: I did that yesterday at my mom's m. It was cool.
>> Farz: This is too confusing. This is too much going on. I can't. I can't do it.
>> Taylor: Remember when picture and picture tvs were all the rage?
Thank you for chatting that out. I feel a little bit more awake now
>> Farz: Oh, yeah.
>> Taylor: Like, I want to watch my football game, but also know what's going on on friends.
>> Farz: Now look at us.
>> Taylor: I know. Cool. Okay. Thank you for chatting that out. I feel a little bit more awake.
The great molasses flood of 1919 happened in Boston in 1919
I'm going to talk about a disaster that happened in Boston in 1919. Can you think of anything?
>> Farz: Molasses?
>> Taylor: Yes, indeed. It was the great molasses flood of 1919. And so to talk about this, I read a book called dark the great Boston Molasses flood of 1919 by Stephen Puillo. And I also just read one article, that was also there and looked at Wikipedia and stuff. But, obviously you've heard of this.
>> Farz: Oh, yeah. There's very few even remotely popular, horrible human events that I. I have not heard of. Yeah.
>> Taylor: Yeah, no, that's fair. so the book really gave it a lot of context, which we love, for all the stuff that was going on in, like, 1919, like the post, world war one stuff.
Let's talk about molasses first. So just to talk about how molasses is made
So first things first. Let's talk about molasses. Like, can you smell molasses when I say that word? Do you know what molasses is?
>> Farz: Yeah, of course.
>> Taylor: Yeah. so, I mean, if anyone doesn't know, it smells like. It's like a gingerbread y flavor. Like, they use it in gingerbread. It's, like, kind of sweet, but I feel like it's, like, a harsh sweet.
>> Farz: And it tastes kind of burnt, kind of gross. Yeah, it's a little, like, if you were to have, like, a spoonful of molasses, I think I would vomit.
>> Taylor: Yeah, I don't think you. I don't think I could do that. I have some glasses in the fridge. Cause I used it for something and I used it, I think you use it on, like, gumbo. and you can add it to white sugar to make brown sugar. So I think this last time, I used it as I added to my sugar to make brown sugar. but it adds to things. It tastes a little bit special, because of it. And, In 1919, the purity distilling company, which was owned by the United States Industrial Alcohol company, was very invested in molasses. And I'll tell you. I'll tell you why. so neither of those companies are around anymore. But it was a big deal. Like, during, you know, 100 years ago, it was important. So just to talk about how molasses is made. So it's made from sugar. So you can, harvest sugarcane or sugar beets, and then you crush it and get out the juice. And the juice has sugar and, like, other things. Then you boil it to concentrate the sugar, and during the boiling, it starts to get dark. And the dark syrup, is the molasses. And then there's, like, you can do it three times. Like, the third boiling is, like, the very, very dark. So it's, like, lighter. There's, like, different, like, levels of molasses, you know?
>> Farz: Yeah. It's like olive oil. Like virgin, extra virgin, so on.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. So I made a thing in. I think it was. Oh, I was making kung pao chicken or kung pao something. You know, kung pao tastes kind of burnt. Yeah. Like, you know, it's, like, spicy, but kind of burnt. So I had to make something called browning, which was, like, I took a half a cup of sugar and a half a cup of water, and I boiled the shit out of it until it turned into. It's, like, a very dark brown liquid, and it's kind of like molasses. And I have it in my fridge. Like, it works, but took a long time, and it was like. It's crazy how. And, like, this. It's also, like, on, the way there. There's caramel, because you can also boil sugar, and that's caramel. Right?
>> Farz: Yeah, yeah. You know, it's funny, when you just mentioned that I was going through this, like, rabbit hole on Instagram of, like, chinese food, and what I thought of when you said that was peking duck, the sauce that comes with it, it's, like, molassesy, blackish kind of sweet thing. Usually if you had peking duck.
>> Taylor: Yeah, yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. so, yeah, so it just gets darker and darker, like, as you boil it, and then, like, stays dark, and that's essentially how they make, like, molasses and other things. you can also. Something I saw also on Instagram that I want to try. if you take, like, a can of condensed milk and put it in the. In the, like, keep it in the can and put it in, like, a, yemenite, a pressure cooker, or a, crock pot, it'll turn into, like, caramel, which is wild. Really? And, like, in the can. Yeah. Maybe not pressure cooker. That might explode, but definitely a slow cooker.
>> Farz: Weird. Okay. Yeah.
>> Taylor: So it's very, very sticky. It's very, very thick. The thickness depends on, you know, obviously on the temperature. so in 1919 and probably today, or as always, a lot of sugar is grown in the. In the Caribbean. And, the sugar would, be turned to molasses down there. And they put it on a ship and bring it up, up north to be used for. For different things. And so I look a word that, you know, some words you're like, I cannot remember what they mean. Like secular or non secular. I always get wrong. And viscous.
They were using molasses up until 1919 to make explosives and weapons
And non viscous. So it's more viscous when it's cold. So it's, like, less runny is what I'm pretty sure that means. So, yeah, if it's cold, it's thicker, you know, and if it's hot, it gets. It gets more thinner.
>> Farz: It's confusing because I thought it was more in gradients, like high viscosity versus low viscosity, not like a, null indicator of. Is viscous. Is not viscous, you know?
>> Taylor: No. Yeah, I think it's a scale, too. Yeah.
>> Farz: Okay.
>> Taylor: Like, it's more viscous when it's cold.
>> Farz: I love when we figure stuff out, like, as we're recording, like, this word.
>> Taylor: For some reason is not a word that is. It's very confusing to me. but so in the Caribbean, obviously, it is warm. So as the molasses is, like, on these big boats going north, it gets colder, and that changes the viscosity as it's going up. So just keep that in mind. so in the molasses that's being sent to Boston in 1919, is not for eating. You won't die if you eat it, and we'll talk. Some people do eat it, and they're fine. but it's meant, to become ethanol, alcohol, because they use that in making weapons, because it's just after world War one. And so the production is kind of, like, winding down on being huge, industrial producers of weapons. Like we were during World War one and even before we were obviously sending weapons to Europe, and then we had to bring our own. but what it. The way it works is you ferment the molasses to produce ethanol. and then you used industrial alcohol, and you probably still do in things like TNT. So it also could be in other chemicals as well. So I kind of looked up how that works. So they ferment the sugar, the molasses with yeast, and then it can be distilled and concentrated. And they do it and then kind of turn it into nitroglycerin. And that is the thing that, That can become. What does it say? So ethanol and weapons its role creates nitroglycerin, which is an explosive compound. So that's what they put into TNT. it becomes like a solvent in the purification process while they're making TNT. So that's technically what they use it for. So it's used to create explosives.
>> Farz: I'll admit that even though you explained it, I don't actually understand how any.
>> Taylor: Of us, I mean, I couldn't like, do it if it gave me molasses.
>> Farz: Right, exactly. It's like, oh, so the nitroglycerin. I seem to obtain the nitroglycerin. What do I do with it?
>> Taylor: I think also, I guess it also can you be used to, dilute some of the other chemicals to make it a little bit safer while you're making these explosives or something? So it's very important. And that's why that they're very invested in bringing a shit ton of it into the United States. So they bring it in the boat up to Boston, they hold it in the tank, which I'll talk about. And there's a pipe that goes to Cambridge and had. That's where they're like making the weapons and the TNT and such. So, it's not explosive in its own, but it probably, you probably catch it on fire like you can with any alcohol. Right, but it's not like explosive.
>> Farz: It probably also generates gas that, like, that you contain. It would blow, but yeah, totally.
>> Taylor: it also can be used to make rum. Additionally to this, like, for the most part, they were using it up until 1919 to make, explosives and, weapons. But later it, And especially at this time. So by the time that we are talking, we're in 1919. we are a few months away from prohibition going into law. So they're making as much room as possible because they had, like, there were things where like, you could sell all that you had. In some cases, things like that. So they still have.
>> Farz: I would have been just like a mad. I would have cashed in my 401K.
>> Taylor: That's what they were doing. They're like mad people making, making this rum. So, the. So we are in, the early 19 hundreds. It is 1918 when World War one ends in November 1. quote from historian Francis Russell. That was in the books that I read. part of it was, everyone had like the bright promise of a future with the memory of a pre war golden past that never existed, which I like to talk about all the time, that there is no mythical past, you know?
>> Farz: Yeah, 100%.
>> Taylor: People were feeling that. So it's almost prohibition. women just got the right to vote. All those things are happening, and now we are in Boston.
Have you been to Boston? Actually, no. Um, um, I've been there a couple times
Have you been to Boston?
>> Farz: Actually, no.
>> Taylor: Really?
>> Farz: Yeah. Of all the places, I've never been to Boston.
>> Taylor: I've been there a couple times. it's nice. It's very beautiful that the. Oh, there's a ton of, like, old buildings and stuff. Obviously.
>> Farz: I went to an irish pub last night.
>> Taylor: Oh, you did? Oh, fun. That's pretty much Boston.
>> Farz: There you go, then. I've done it. Just consider me having gone.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. But they, It's also just as important, really fucking cold in Boston in the winter. Like, the coldest I've ever been has been in Boston. So it's freezing. it's a port city, so it also makes it cold because, like, on the water. And we're in the north end of Boston. So another thing, and this is basically Boston is irish versus italian. And, like, that's their main thing. Like, their main personality is irish.
>> Farz: You've all seen the departed.
>> Taylor: Yeah. so they. This is, you know, this has been happening forever. you know, as people came in and then, you know, in, the time when white people hated other white people for being immigrants, and now they can't tell each other apart, so now we hate other people for being immigrants.
>> Farz: You know, I can't wait till I'm considered white. It's gonna be so fun.
>> Taylor: I know. so the north end is a very.
>> Farz: I know. Trust me, I know. How great is being white?
>> Taylor: yeah, it's fine. It's a little embarrassing, but it's fine. the, so we're in the north end of Boston, which is a very poor neighborhood. and it's very italian. So there's also, like, southern Italians are more discriminated against than other types of Italians. So a lot of that is happening. There's a lot of racism. and also the italian people in this time are not like, they're, like, building neighborhoods, and a lot of immigrants are where there's. There, you know, you don't ever have to learn English. You just live with your. Keep the people from, you know, from the home country forever. so a lot of people aren't getting their citizenships, even though they are, like, owning businesses and, like, contributing and paying taxes and all the things, but they're not getting their citizenships, they're not voting, they're not running for office. So they don't really have a lot of saying what's going on. So the neighborhood remains kind of like industrial, and people live there, but it's not the best. Right?
>> Farz: Yeah, yeah.
>> Taylor: So, They're also just trying, you know, trying to survive. It's a rough time to be alive. and it's freezing. So the molasses comes from the ships from the Caribbean to Boston, and they decide they need a tank and they need to build a tank to be able to, you know, to house it when it gets off the ship before they send it to Cambridge for whatever further processing. So the guy who's in charge of making the tank, this was like his make or break thing for his job. So it was like, you know, if you do this successfully, you're going to get a promotion. It's going to be great. So he had, like, a lot on the line for making it. it took a while and it was hard. Like everything is. He had to get permits. He had to, like, get the right things. He used the, like, you know, get the steel from a steel company. The steel that was used was 10% less strong than it needed to be. but I feel like that happens all the time. And I think when you talk about other engineering disasters, like, we think we talked about how, like, had to redo the Brooklyn bridge because the. The, metal, like, rope wasn't good enough.
>> Farz: Yeah, I've heard that with other things that were going on around that time. I heard that with the Titanic, for example, that part of the problem was that the steel being used was. Would get very brittle in cold water. I think. I think I actually went into, like, a, deeper dive in this that, like, apparently the purity level has to be, like, very, very tightly controlled. There's very slim margins on purity for when steel is actually, like, usable and useful versus, like, in this situation where it, like, is brittle under certain situations.
>> Taylor: And it's also, like you said, with the cold, like, such widely different temperatures, you know, and, like, steel's going to expand and contract in some way, right?
>> Farz: Yeah, yeah.
>> Taylor: so it should have been fine. It was built to withstand three times the pressure of what was going to be inside of it. But, like, in the end, like, that, it didn't. That wasn't enough, but just. That's it.
The molasses tank in dark tide is leaking constantly and looms over neighborhood
So the tank is huge. Like, in my head, I had, like, a picture of a barrel. Not a barrel. It is a gigantic tank. It is made of steel as, like, a rounded dome at the top. It holds 2.3 million gallons of molasses. So that's a shit ton. and people live all around it, so you can live, like, in the shadow of this gigantic tank. And also the elevated train goes, like, right next to it, so you can see that as well. So it's, like, absolutely huge. it also is leaking constantly, like, right from the start when it's built. so children in the neighborhood will, like, go get molasses from the bottom of it and bring it home, and they'll use it in their cooking because it's, like, literally covered in molasses and constantly leaking.
>> Farz: Yeah, I mean, it's the early days, like, they probably didn't have tolerance levels that we have right now.
>> Taylor: Well, there are, other. It's not the only molasses tank in the world, you know, and others don't leak as much as this one.
>> Farz: Oh, this is unique. This is a uniquely poorly crafted.
>> Taylor: Exactly.
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So it's not even the biggest one. You know, it just isn't that great. And so there's people who will testify later that, like, they saw when they were putting it together that the rivets weren't matching up, but they were. So they were, like, putting in, like, another nail to, like, make it match. But that's, like, not good. You know, you need to. It needs to. They need to match. they're caulking it. The guy whose job is to cock it. And this is so awful because, I mean, it's his job. What. Whatever. It was like, he had, like, a company, but he did it by himself in the winter. He would, like, you know, hang off the side of it and, like, try to fix it. At one point, they painted it brown, so you couldn't really tell that there was molasses coming out of it.
>> Farz: That's smart. I would see, that's. That's the kind of thing I would do. Yeah, I had the problem. That's all that.
>> Taylor: Exactly. it also doesn't have very, ah, good security around it. which we'll come into. We'll talk about that in a second. But there's, like, the police walk around at night and they're like, police beat, but it doesn't have, like, its own security, really. That'll be important in a second. So, it looms over the neighborhood. and there's a lot of people that, like, these, like, small personal stories that were in dark tide that I definitely recommend reading to hear more about them. But there's a man who owns a bar called the pen and pencil Club, and it's about to be fucked because of prohibition, but he's, like, saving a lot of money, but he lives, like, literally in the shadow of it. there's an italian family with cute little kids who are always hanging around it. So there's people who. It's just, like, a part of their lives is just, like, in their neighborhood, and it's huge, and it probably smells crazy in that neighborhood.
>> Farz: Not good. I mean, again, I'm not attracted to molasses. I wouldn't be happy smelling that every day.
>> Taylor: Like, I lived in downtown New York for a couple of years when the fish market was still down there. And, like, if you bought something at, like, the gap that was at, like, the mall next to it and took it home, it would smell like fish, but you didn't notice when you were there.
>> Farz: Gross.
>> Taylor: But when you got home, you were like, oh, no, this thing I bought was, like, fish. It was so gross. so I'm sure everything, like, they probably, like, got used to it, and then they would leave me would be like, oh, my God, you smell like molasses.
>> Farz: I'd be okay living next to a pizza factory, though. That'd be kind of fun.
>> Taylor: I do like, when you drive by, like, a bakery in the morning. Ooh, that's always so nice. Yeah, yeah, I love that.
There are bombings all over America by anarchists in 1919, and nobody died
so another thing that's happening, again, to talk about turbulent times, is there are bombings all over America by anarchists. And there's probably a whole other bunch of stories in this, but they bomb the Dupont powder mill in Delaware Bay, bomb another steel steel factory, like, and more. It was actually a whole thing called the 1919 United States anarchist bombings. And there are, like, 60 of them, and they were sent through the mail. nobody died but one person. Like, they sent it to senators and whatever. It was like a whole thing. maybe I'll look into it later, as, like, its own episode. But one maid of, like, a senator picked up the box and opened it, and her hands got blown off.
>> Farz: Jeez.
>> Taylor: Which is like, the fucking worst.
>> Farz: I mean, that happened to a guy with the unabomberization.
>> Taylor: Mm Mm Yeah, I remember. so that was happening, too. So just like, there's also that. And they're going to use that after it's over to be like, maybe it was an anarchist who did this. So that's, like, happening as well. so the tank is leaky and weird. There is a man named Isaac Gonzalez who works there, and Isaac is. Bless his heart, he was so nervous. He was like, I don't like this. I don't like it. It leaks, it groans, and they're like, it's just some molasses, like, you know, settling and probably, like, you know, bugs and stuff, like, whatever, you know. And he's like, he would wake up in the middle of the night and go sleep next to it because he was so worried about it. And it was built, like. I think it was built in, like, 1915. So for a couple years, it affected Isaac's mental health so much that he quit to go to world war one because he was like, that sounds more pleasant than being so fucking nervous about this tank. And he actually didn't end up going. He enlisted like that in the beginning of 1918, and then, the war was over by the time that he was done. But he was just like, he would leave his house, and his boss was like, you have to calm down. And he was like, I can't. Like, I know something bad's gonna happen, you know?
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: So he had it in his head. so it is January 15, 1919. The man who owns the pencil club, he, is home, and he's asleep because he sleeps during the day, obviously, because he owns a bar, and he's a. All night. He just saved $4,000 to move his family out of the neighborhood. And he's like, they're, like, about to move. there's kids that are around the bottom of the, of the tank, and, they're collecting firewood and molasses. So there's people around it. have you seen that, like, clip from the. Have you watched the bear? No, I have not either, because it seems very stressful. But the woman and the bear who won the Emmy, IO. Eddie Burry, she mentioned that she, like, is from Boston on like, a. Maybe, on like, Jimmy Kimmel or something. And she was saying how she cries talking about the Boston, molasses flood to people. And I think this is probably what she cries about, because there are two children who are about to die. Maria Destasio and Pasquale. Iantosa Pasquale, like a little italian Pasquale. And they find Pasquale because he was wearing two sweaters, because his mom made him wear two sweaters. And his first sweater is so carpeting in molasses, and they can lift it up and find the second one when they find his body. So, so sad.
The temperature is changing and it changes pretty rapidly on this day
so it's noon. The tank is full. It just got filled up. And not the first time it's been full, but it's full. The temperature is changing and it changes pretty rapidly on this day. So it had been freezing and then the temperature shot up like 40 degrees, which, like, happens, but that might have been a part of it. so it's getting warm. Warmer. The new molasses is mixing with the frozen molasses that was at the bottom. And at 12:30 p.m. the tank explodes. And it, like, it doesn't, like, leak a little bit. It fucking explodes. It sounds to people like a train crashing or they think that like, a bomb has gone off. The rivets, like, the. The screws shoot out like bullets. I. Across the. Across town, the metal of the tank is in shards and the roof kind of like, falls straight down on the wave and just falls down. So the roof doesn't really go anywhere, it just goes down, but the rest of it just explodes into shards of now flying metal pieces.
>> Farz: Why was it so explosive? Was it the gas that's built up?
>> Taylor: I think so. I think so. I think it's the gas and the pressure and, like, the change in the pressure coupled with, like, just how much pressure is on it for so long, I think it was, like, bound to happen, you know? But the molasses itself comes in a massive fucking wave. It's 25ft high and 130ft wide at 35 mph.
>> Farz: Just like, so scary.
>> Taylor: A tsunami of sticky horror coming at you. And it's dark, you know.
>> Farz: Dude, it's so viscous. or like, hibiscus that I imagine, like, you couldn't probably drown in it either. It would just block your airways. It probably isn't. It's too thick to even go down your lungs.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. You, like, suffocate before you, like, drown, you know, so it destroys buildings. There was a woman who was on her patio hanging up her laundry and she dies, like, right away. it kills a lot of people and horses. So there's also animals that are stuck in this as well. Yeah. And the kids hopefully died quickly, but the two little kids died. The pencil and pen guy who owned the bar, his house is destroyed. His mom dies. He is, like, sleeping when it happens, so he's like, super confused and, like, ends up like, laying on a door and, like, finding his sister. And his brother was, His brother was, Mentally challenged, and he will have to go to an asylum. And he's not. He's not going to live very much longer because he just, like, can't handle it. He was, like, a third 35 year old man with, like, the mind of, like, a seven year old. And it was just too much for him. He couldn't understand what was going on. but there is a firehouse that's next to the tank, and it gets totally destroyed. Like, the second floor falls into the first floor, and there's some firemen who are underneath the first floor. And the molasses is rising. And one of them finds a way to, like, kind of kick out a window. So it starts to go away, but they're there for hours. And while they're there, another fireman is stuck above them on the second floor, also covered in molasses. And he's starting to. He's trapped under a pool table, and they cannot get out. And the molasses is rising and rising, and they hear him screaming, and they're like, george, hang on. And he goes, oh, it's over. There goes old George. And then he dies.
>> Farz: It's not a bad way to go.
>> Taylor: So, there's also. While this is happening, there's a sound of shooting because cops are killing the horses, you know?
>> Farz: That's right. That's probably.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: I mean, yeah.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So it is everywhere now. It has destroyed a ton of things. And it is sticky and it's smelly, and it's like, the temperature is weird. Like, every. All these weird things are happening. 21 people die and 150 people are injured. So the, people who die, they are either, like, smashed against buildings from the initial wave, or they drown in the molasses and drown. I mean, they suffocate.
>> Farz: I was gonna say, given how high it is and how heavy it is, I imagine if, like, it landed on you, the weight might be enough to kill you.
>> Taylor: Yeah. And you can't, like, swim out of it. Yeah, it's really bad, and it's gonna be, like, pulling you down. And also, like, in 1919, also. I don't know, I feel like I didn't write this down, but I feel like you also are wearing a lot of clothes, you know?
>> Farz: Yeah. Like that one poor kid.
>> Taylor: Yeah, like, that kid. All the sweaters and.
First responders have to clean up bodies covered in sticky molasses
Oh, my God, so sad. first responders, they have to, like, pull molasses out of people's mouths to get them to breathe, like you were saying, you know? So, like, you pull molasses out of their mouths you're wiping molasses off their eyes. You can't recognize anyone. Like, you can't recognize any of the bodies because they're covered, like head to toe with molasses. Just like, it's so sticky and terrible. it breaks the elevated rail line, and luckily the conductor of a train is able to stop in time, and he gets out and runs across the track to stop the next train from coming. So he definitely saved a lot of people by doing that, because the elevated train got destroyed. I have a quote from a man named Stephen Puillo who was there. He, says, quote, molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage here and there, struggled to form. Whether it was animal or human being, it was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval of thrashing about in the sticky mass showed there was any life. Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess. They were ensnared. Human beings, men and women, suffered likewise, which is just a terrible fucking way to go. the USS Nantucket was a, ship on the harbor. It had 100 cadets that, like, ran out, got on shore really fast to come and help people. They're, also covered in molasses. They're trying to help people. they, they find the last body four months later, like, in the bay. He was, like, trapped in it or something. so after it's over, obviously there's going to be a trial because someone's going to have to figure out what happened, and someone's going to be to blame. there's a man named Hugh Ogden. He is the auditor who will make the final call, like, after the trial. So he's going to decide, like, the settlement and try to work. I think he's, like, kind of a lawyer for the people, but he's an important person in this, USiA, the United States. Industrial alcohol tried to say that it was an anarchist who bombed it, because, like, that was happening, it wasn't not happening. You know, they were like, probably somebody who had a bomb. but then people were like. And this kind of, like, remind me a little bit of Lizzie Borden where they're like, it's the middle of the fucking day. You think we wouldn't notice someone, you know?
>> Farz: Right, right.
>> Taylor: Like, that doesn't make any sense. Like, that's not how, like, if an anarchist, like, went and, like, climbed the fence, like, there wasn't a ton of security, but actually there was a guy who was, working there, and he left early that day because it was like a nice day, and he went shopping with his wife, so he would have died for sure. But still, there's no way someone could have got up there with a bomb or like dropped it in or whatever. and so it ended up being. Because, you know, it was just made very poorly. The man who made it wasn't an engineer. They didn't do any testing to test its strengthen. They filled it with six inches of water and they were like, it's fine, that's dumb. And you're like, that is very different from like, you know, tens of hundreds of feet of molasses, you know. And, it took a couple of years, like, in trial to like, go back and forth. but they ended up getting, ah, about $7,000 per person, and that's about 125k in today's money and, per death. And they also got some money for injuries. A lot of people could never work again because they were just so physically injured. There was one man who was so traumatized, his hair turned white and he could never stand up straight again because it broke his spine. A lot of people had pain and suffering forever and also just lost the PTSD that these folks couldn't sleep anymore or would hear a sound and get scared. I'm sure there's smells and things that you'll never forget. I'll never forget the way 911 smelled. It smelled like burning people on paper, you know, like, you know what those things smell like, so I'm sure there was like tons of that. And I don't smell that often, you know, but something that, like molasses, it's.
>> Farz: Like a household good, you know, still smell 911?
>> Taylor: Yeah, I mean, like, well, when I smell that smell, I know exactly where it is. And in like, Chinatown and subway kind of smell like that, too, forever. Just like a weird burning. If I smelled it again, I would know what. I would know it right away.
>> Farz: Hopefully. You don't have to smell humans.
>> Taylor: Yeah, yeah, but you like, it was like the whole thing. You knew what it smelled like. and that, Is it? Yeah, they pay the damages out in 1925. Ah, that was it. And it was just because it was made really poorly. also Hammond ireworks, they're the ones who brought in the steel just to name them. and Isaac Gonzalez, the guy who was scared, poor guy, he did, he did get a threat on the phone that someone was going to vomit it. And also in another weird thing, usia the United States industrial alcohol company, they lost two ships later, like, in between the trial and the flood that were on their way, from the Caribbean back up. They just lost them at sea, which feels, like, really weird and suspicious. They were also doing weird things. Maybe get rid of their investment because you couldn't use it for as many things as you could. Five years before. Five years before, everybody was drinking booze and building weapons, and now they're not doing that anymore. So they had tried to figure it out, but also they'd pay the settlement.
>> Farz: I like how I mentioned to you over the weekend that the older I get, the more I believe in conspiracies.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: And, And you're also, also going that direction. Is it just age is just. The older you get, the more you're, like, just suspicious about things?
>> Taylor: Yeah, like, I've seen some shit. I don't trust trusty people.
>> Farz: When you say fars, you formed an.
>> Taylor: F. No, I I was gonna. I don't know, folks. I don't know what I was gonna say. But you don't trust. I don't trust anyone. Yeah.
Every year between 20 and 40 americans die in grain silos
What conspiracy theory are you talking about this weekend?
>> Farz: No, you said something. About what? your brother or somebody had a conspiracy theory. And what are we talking about?
>> Taylor: I can't remember. Whatever. Anyway, Yeah, that's it. Terrible story. Real gross. Real sad. Real sticky.
>> Farz: and, you know, the thing is, I. The. The feeling I hate the most is when a part of my body is sticky. Like when my hands are sticky. Like when coffee, like, sweetened coffee creamer, gets on something. It's like, oh, God, it drives me nuts. I gotta get it off. Yeah.
>> Taylor: No, and I, like, imagine, like, I mean, you would never get that out of your clothes, you know? And, like, you know, it would, like, dry sticky. Like. Yeah, like, I hate when you, like, accidentally touch, like, a pine tree and you get sticky.
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: I mean, you're like, oh, my God, it's so gross. Like, it's just. Yes. I also. I also hate being sticky. I would hate to drown in something sticky. it's so dark.
>> Farz: One other fun fact. I looked up because I found this. I saw this somewhere, and you made me think of it, is that every year between 20 and 40 americans die in grain silos.
>> Taylor: Oh, yeah, because it feels similar.
>> Farz: Yeah, well, it doesn't fall on them. It's more like they fall into the silo, and then when they fall into, it can. It's called engulfment, which is, you can actually suffocate even if your head is out of the grain, because the, weight of the grain pushing on your torso will prevent you from being able to breathe. Yeah. Nuts.
>> Taylor: Oh, my God. What a terrible way to go.
>> Farz: what a horrible, horrible way to go.
>> Taylor: That's terrible.
>> Farz: There's so many horrible ways to die.
>> Taylor: I know.
>> Farz: Yeah. I just want to, like, I don't want to go like that.
>> Taylor: Yeah, I feel like you don't. I don't. Do they even. I don't know if they still have big molasses tanks, but, like, also, I don't feel like you. You don't feel it? You don't strike me as someone who'd be near grain silo for any reason. So that's good.
>> Farz: Yes, yes. We'll prevent.
>> Taylor: That's, like, an easy one to avoid for, like, a regular non farming person.
>> Farz: It's true. It's true. Yeah. So we'll be good.
>> Taylor: Other things might be harder, but that one seems, like, pretty easy.
>> Farz: well, Taylor, thank you for sharing. I do like that story. I also like the fact that, like, if you casually hear about it, it sounds almost like a wacky comedy.
>> Taylor: Exactly. Yeah.
>> Farz: And then the more you think about it, the more you realize what an absolute nightmare it is.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: So hopefully, we install a little bit of nightmare full for you guys. yeah.
>> Taylor: Cool.
Is there anything you want to sound off about this week
>> Farz: Well, is there anything, newsworthy or emailed in that we want to sound off? Sound off.
>> Taylor: Nope, not this week. we did a, what you call it, we did an ad and got a bunch of new listeners to the couple of our episodes. So hopefully, people are sticking around. We'd love it if you have. So thank you.
>> Farz: Yeah. again, we need to be famous.
>> Taylor: we just want to go around and learn things and share that with you.
>> Farz: I mean, I would just be happy if a stranger asked me for an autograph. I'd be like, that's it. Like, we're done. Like, we're, amazing. Yeah, I love that.
>> Taylor: For us. yeah, so if you have. If you do have any ideas, if you're new, if you wanted to talk about anything, we're at doomtofailpodmail.com, doomedofailpod.com, doomed to fail on all of the social medias. So we'll see you there.
>> Farz: Join us in a few days, and I will probably change my topic and do a different story than what I have researched.
>> Taylor: Cool. Well, you have one in the hopper now.
>> Farz: There you go. There you go. Sweet. Thanks, Dylan.
>> Taylor: Thanks.
>> Farz: Go ahead and sign off.