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Photo of the aftermath of the Great Boston Molasses Flood [wiki]
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more innocuous substance in your kitchen than molasses. Who would ever suspect that this thick, dark, and homey sweetener could also be a terrifying, fast-moving killer?
Newspaper accounts report that January 15, 1919 – the day of the Great Molasses Flood of Boston, Massachusetts – began like any other winter day in that city, except for one thing. The weather was unusually warm, reaching 40°F by midmorning. This was probably a welcome event for Bostonians, who had suffered through rigid 2°F temperatures the day before. But little did anyone guess what havoc this extreme temperature swing would soon wreak.
The sudden rise in temperature compromised the structural integrity of a 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2,320,000 gallons of molasses. Owned and maintained by the U.S. Alcohol Company, the tank had been filled to capacity in order to make as much hooch as possible before the alcohol prohibition law kicked in. Just after noon on the 15th, the lunchtime crowd in the vicinity of the tank (located on the waterfront in Boston’s densely populated North End) heard a thunderous explosion, immediately followed by what must have been the weirdest thing they had ever seen in their lives: a 25-foot-high wall of syrup washing toward them through the streets at 30 miles per hour. For 21 of these unfortunate witnesses, it would be the last thing they would ever see. Some were engulfed and smothered in the dark goo like pre-historic insect trapped in amber. Others were killed when the molasses ripped buildings from their foundations, or simply reduced them to rubble. Another 150 people were injured.
The New York Times of January 16, 1919, reported that a section of the tank wall fell on a nearby firehouse, crushing the building and three firemen inside. Freight cars were smashed; a warehouse yard was leveled. Horses became hopelessly mired in the goo and were shot. Rescue teams had a difficult time slogging through the thick syrup, which rose several feet high throughout the neighborhood.
Because the molasses stuck to everything it touched, the cleanup took several years and millions of dollars. Even so, residents reported that molasses would seep up from the ground on hot days as many as 30 years afer the flood. And to this day, sharp-nosed Bostonians swear that they can smell the stuff when the temperature rises.
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The article above was taken from The World’s Worst: A Guide to the Most Disgusting, Hideous, Inept, and Dangerous People, Places, and Things on Earth by Mark Frauenfelder, the co-founder of the popular blog Boing Boing.
In the introduction to his book, Mark wrote that "Bookstore shelves are lined with volumes dedicated to the finest things in the world: the most exquisite dining experiences, the greatest athletes … While it’s good and proper to bestow honor upon those individuals and items that shine at the top of the heap, the truth is that the really entertaining stuff is taking plce well below." And how true that is: The World’s Worst is one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in a long while!
Get it here: Link – Thanks Mark!
It’s a pleasure to welcome a new and mysterious author to Neatorama, who goes by the nom de plume Anita Bath (get it? Just say it a couple of times … Har de har har!).
While Anita’s pretty guarded about her true, secret identity, I do know that Say No To Crack itself was the result of a family gathering two Christmases ago, where her brother’s pants kept falling off as he leaned down to get presents off the floor. Everytime, someone yelled "Ughh, say no to crack!" and an idea for a wonderful website was born! (This explains the toilet logo on the blog!)
Anita started Say No To Crack as an experiment to see if it’s possible
to create a funny website without crossing the line into bad taste. Given her increasing popularity on the web, I’d say she’s definitely on to something!
Welcome to Neatorama, Anita or secret agent lady, or whoever you are!
Miss Cellania’s topic of the day is Mars and Venus. Here’s an example:
Female Definitions
Argument (ar*gyou*ment) n. A discussion that occurs when you’re right, but he just hasn’t realized it yet.Airhead (er*hed) n. What a woman intentionally becomes when pulled over by a policeman.
Bar-be-que (bar*bi*q) n. You bought the groceries, washed the lettuce, chopped the tomatoes, diced the onions, marinated the meat and cleaned everything up, but, he, "made the dinner."
Male Definitions
Alimony: (1) bounty after the mutiny. (2) the cash surrender value of a husband. (3) a system whereby when two people make a mistake, one of them continues to pay for it. (4) the high cost of leaving. (5) the screwing you get for the screwing you got.Beauty: (1) the power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband. (2) feminine of intellect.
Bed: the place where marriages are decided.
Child: (1) love’s by-product. (2) one who stands halfway between an adult and a t.v set.
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Remember the aluminum foil boat floating on sulphur hexafluoride gas we had before? Turns out, if you inhale the gas, it gives you the opposite effect of inhaling helium.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via A Welsh View
Apparently, pillow fight has gone big time: it’s now a competitive "sport" in Toronto, complete with its own Pillow Fight League:
"We’ve created a new sport," Case explains. "They’re not joking around; the fights are real. The girls are going for martial arts training, boxing, and then they’re applying a pillow to it."
Like with any league, there are rules – fights are won if a competitor is pinned or surrenders, or if the referee stops the fight. If the fighters are still standing after five minutes, a three-judge panel determines the winner. And, yes, the pillows are all regulation – medium-sized, man-made fibres only – bought during a raucous testing session at Honest Ed’s.
Links: Eye Weekly – more at Spluch
Comments Off I don’t know what’s funnier – the golf skit by Michel Courtemanche [wiki] or that Quebecois (and maybe the French people, too) actually find it funny! Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Random Good Stuff
Here’s a large collection of ships in bottles, courtesy of the Ships in Bottle Dutch Association (really!) Link – via Eduyayo
If you like this, you’ll love Harry Eng’s Impossible Bottles.
Blogs4Bauer is hosting a Jack Bauer Kill Counter Challenge. The idea is to guess how Jack Bauer [wiki], the fictional character of the TV series 24, kills the baddies:
Bonus Points:
Jack Bauer tortures someone before killing them (+1 point)
Jack Bauer says something cool before killing them (+1 point)
Jack Bauer says something cool and tortures someone before killing them (+3 points)
If Jack Bauer utters a "dammit" in the process of killing someone (+1 point/each)
If Jack Bauer wears aviators while killing someone (+1 point)
If Jack Bauer sports his manpurse while killing someone (+1 point)
Link – via Scribal Terror
From the website:
Centenarian couple Meng Qingrong (100, right) and Meng Nishi (101) share an orange at home in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province January 10, 2007. They have been married for nearly eighty years since 1927.
Link – via Random Citations
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Here are some eyebrow-raising similarities between the socialite and the blue-skinned bombshell:
Smurfette: Premiered in 1981 on NBC
Paris Hilton: Born 17 February 1981Smurfette: Was magically created out of clay by
Gargamel to cause jealousy and competition between smurfs
Paris Hilton: Has a clay personality, thinks everyone is jealous, and wants famous men fighting over herSmurfette: Considered to be the worst singer in all of Smurfdom
Paris Hilton: Did you ever listen to her album, Paris?
Check out the entire list at Say No to Crack: Link
By the age of 16 (and presumably as an exercise in penmanship), George Washington had copied by hand the 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, based on a set of Jesuit rules in the 16th century.
Today, many of these rules now seem quaint, but their gist should remain relevant (indeed, I’m sure many of us need a refresher in civil behaviors!) For example:
2nd. When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually Discovered.
4th. In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.
13th. Kill no Vermin as Fleas, lice ticks &c in the Sight of Others, if you See any filth or thick Spittle put your foot Dexterously upon it if it be upon the Cloths of your Companions, Put it off privately, and if it be upon your own Cloths return Thanks to him who puts it off.
89th. Speak not Evil of the absent for it is unjust.
You get the picture. Link
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