What is Great Molasses Flood?
[[File:MolassesDisaster.jpg|thumb|right|The North End after the wave of molasses.]] The '''Great Molasses Flood''' or '''Boston Molasses Disaster''' happened in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] on January 15, 1919. A metal tank broke, and the 2.3 million gallons of [[molasses]] in it poured out onto [[Commercial Street]].<ref name=NPR>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/01/15/685154620/a-deadly-tsunami-of-molasses-in-bostons-north-end|accessdate=August 29, 2021|date=January 15, 2019|author=Julia Press|title=A Deadly Tsunami Of Molasses In Boston's North End}}</ref><ref name=Smith>{{cite news|publisher=[[Smithsonian]] Magazine|accessdate=August 29, 2021|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/without-warning-molasses-january-surged-over-boston-180971251/|title=Without Warning, Molasses Surged Over Boston 100 Years Ago|year=1983|author=Edwards Park}}</ref> ==Background== Molasses is a sweet-tasting liquid. It is [[by-product|left over]] when people make sugar out of [[sugar cane]] or [[sugar beet]]s.<ref name=MN>{{cite web|url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318719|publisher=Medical News Today|accessdate=August 29, 2021|title=Everything you need to know about molasses|author1= Kayla McDonell|date=March 16, 2020}}</ref> It can be used to make [[rum]], a sweet alcohol drink, and it is an ingredient in [[Boston baked beans]].<ref name=Smith /> In the early 20th century, many people in the West used molasses to sweeten their food because [[table sugar|white sugar]] cost too much money. ==Causes== [[File:North End molasses tank.jpg|thumb|right|U.S. Industrial Alcohol put their molasses in this round metal tank.]] Ships brought molasses to Boston from the sugar farms in the [[Caribbean Sea]]. In Boston, people made rum out of molasses in factories called [[distillery|distilleries]]. But the molasses had to be stored until rum makers were ready. This was right before [[Prohibition|alcohol would become illegal]] in the United States, so people wanted to make and sell rum while they still could. One co