Elena

Study the revolution. This was not... great at all uh and it's like one of it's remembered and it's mentioned but i feel like it's lesser remembered and mentioned as we go on i didn't learn about this in school yeah which is pretty actually the first time i ever learned about this was on a duck tour Yeah, see, and that's crazy.

Study the revolution. This was not... great at all uh and it's like one of it's remembered and it's mentioned but i feel like it's lesser remembered and mentioned as we go on i didn't learn about this in school yeah which is pretty actually the first time i ever learned about this was on a duck tour Yeah, see, and that's crazy.

The fact that we don't talk about this, like, it's a wild story, and it had a high death toll. This was a tragic, tragic event that happened in Boston. I don't know a lot about it. Yeah, it caused an unbelievable damage to one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, and it injured more than 150 people. Damn. And 21 people died. Yeah, that I didn't know. Including children.

The fact that we don't talk about this, like, it's a wild story, and it had a high death toll. This was a tragic, tragic event that happened in Boston. I don't know a lot about it. Yeah, it caused an unbelievable damage to one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, and it injured more than 150 people. Damn. And 21 people died. Yeah, that I didn't know. Including children.

There were children that died. I mean, not, you know, like, in one life over the other, but, like, it's awful. Yeah. And again, for an event that was so like remarkable and very strange, like it's a strange event.

There were children that died. I mean, not, you know, like, in one life over the other, but, like, it's awful. Yeah. And again, for an event that was so like remarkable and very strange, like it's a strange event.

A molasses flood, like that's weird. It's still kind of unknown exactly what caused it to happen. It happened at the Purity Distilling Company. Their molasses storage tank was the one that burst and dumped its contents across the North End. And it really is one of Boston's most... bizarre pieces of history and folklore to this day. It's so tragic and so bizarre.

A molasses flood, like that's weird. It's still kind of unknown exactly what caused it to happen. It happened at the Purity Distilling Company. Their molasses storage tank was the one that burst and dumped its contents across the North End. And it really is one of Boston's most... bizarre pieces of history and folklore to this day. It's so tragic and so bizarre.

Boston has a lot of bizarre history, actually. We're pretty bizarre. We're bizarre. We're bizarre, kid. So by the final months of 1918, Boston, like many other cities around the United States, Had been through it. Been through it. That summer, the influenza pandemic hit the city really hard, and there were more than 200 deaths by the end of the season.

Boston has a lot of bizarre history, actually. We're pretty bizarre. We're bizarre. We're bizarre, kid. So by the final months of 1918, Boston, like many other cities around the United States, Had been through it. Been through it. That summer, the influenza pandemic hit the city really hard, and there were more than 200 deaths by the end of the season.

Thousands more were going to be lost before things were even under control. It was really bad. The pandemic had forced a lot of the theaters, nightclubs, and restaurants to close down. We've seen that before. We've seen that repeat. Yep. And the city cemeteries had been forced to erect like circus tents essentially on the grounds in order to hide the backlog of unburied coffins from public view.

Thousands more were going to be lost before things were even under control. It was really bad. The pandemic had forced a lot of the theaters, nightclubs, and restaurants to close down. We've seen that before. We've seen that repeat. Yep. And the city cemeteries had been forced to erect like circus tents essentially on the grounds in order to hide the backlog of unburied coffins from public view.

Yeah. That's brutal. Yeah. It was as though there was nowhere in the city that somebody could go to just avoid reminders of tragedy, loss, and hardship. It was not a good time. Yeah.

Yeah. That's brutal. Yeah. It was as though there was nowhere in the city that somebody could go to just avoid reminders of tragedy, loss, and hardship. It was not a good time. Yeah.

Now, in addition to the calamity caused by the flu, the end of World War I presented a lot of challenges to those whose businesses had been forced to kind of like pivot and reorient themselves to accommodate increased manufacturing needs of the military. The United States Industrial Alcohol Company, the USIA is what I'll call them.

Now, in addition to the calamity caused by the flu, the end of World War I presented a lot of challenges to those whose businesses had been forced to kind of like pivot and reorient themselves to accommodate increased manufacturing needs of the military. The United States Industrial Alcohol Company, the USIA is what I'll call them.

For example, they had been one of the nation's largest producers of industrial alcohol for the military during the war years. But with the demand for munitions kind of dropping in the final months of the war, the USIA kind of found themselves in a position of having to, again, pivot the other way and develop new products and strategies just to remain in business.

For example, they had been one of the nation's largest producers of industrial alcohol for the military during the war years. But with the demand for munitions kind of dropping in the final months of the war, the USIA kind of found themselves in a position of having to, again, pivot the other way and develop new products and strategies just to remain in business.

Now, before the war, a certain percentage of USIA's output was grain alcohol, and many on the company's board felt that the shift back to producing grain alcohol was precisely the type of quick pivot necessary to keep this company going, at least for a short term. Yeah. The problem, though, was that retooling the Cambridge plant to produce grain alcohol was going to take a lot of time.

Now, before the war, a certain percentage of USIA's output was grain alcohol, and many on the company's board felt that the shift back to producing grain alcohol was precisely the type of quick pivot necessary to keep this company going, at least for a short term. Yeah. The problem, though, was that retooling the Cambridge plant to produce grain alcohol was going to take a lot of time.