| 词条 | Great Molasses Flood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 |
| title = Boston Molasses Disaster | image = BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg | image_size = | caption = Wreckage of collapsed tank is visible in background, center, next to light-colored warehouse | date = {{start date and age|1919|01|15}} | time = approximately 12:30 pm | place = Boston, Massachusetts | coordinates = {{coord|42|22|06.6|N|71|03|21.0|W|type:event_scale:20000|display=inline,title}} | cause = Cylinder stress failure | casualties1 = 21 dead | casualties2 = 150 injured }} The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster or the Great Boston Molasses Flood, occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A large storage tank burst, filled with {{convert|2300000|USgal|m3|abbr=on}}(8,706,447 liters)[1] (ca 12,000 tons; 10,886 metric tons; 24,000,000 lbs )[2] of molasses, and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated {{convert|35|mph|kph|abbr=on}}, killing 21 and injuring 150.[3] The event entered local folklore and residents claimed for decades afterwards that the area still smelled of molasses on hot summer days.[3] FloodThe disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company facility on January 15, 1919. The temperature had risen above {{convert|40|F|C}}, climbing rapidly from the frigid temperatures of the preceding days.[6]{{rp|91, 95}} Molasses can be fermented to produce ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages and a key component in munitions.[6]{{RP|11}} The stored molasses was awaiting transfer to the Purity plant situated between Willow Street and Evereteze Way in Cambridge. A molasses tank stood at 529 Commercial Street near Keany Square which was {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on}} in diameter and contained as much as {{convert|2300000|USgal|m3|abbr=on}}(8,706,447 liters); it collapsed at approximately 12:30 pm. Witnesses reported that they felt the ground shake and heard a roar as it collapsed, a long rumble similar to the passing of an elevated train; others reported a tremendous crashing, a deep growling, "a thunderclap-like bang!", and a machine gun-like sound as the rivets shot out of the tank.[6]{{rp|92–95}} Molasses density is about 1.4 tonnes/m3, 40 %[2] more dense than water, so it had a great deal of potential energy.[10] The collapse translated this energy into a wave of molasses {{convert|25|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} high at its peak,[11] moving at {{convert|35|mph|kph|abbr=on}}.[3] The wave was of sufficient force to drive steel panels of the burst tank against the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway's Atlantic Avenue structure[4] and tip a streetcar momentarily off the El's tracks. Stephen Puleo describes how nearby buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of {{convert|2|to|3|ft|cm|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}. Puleo quotes a Boston Post report: {{quote|quote=Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage…. Here and there struggled a form—whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was…. 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.[6]{{RP|98}}}}The Boston Globe reported that people "were picked up by a rush of air and hurled many feet." Others had debris hurled at them from the rush of sweet-smelling air. A truck was picked up and hurled into Boston Harbor. After the initial wave, the molasses became viscous, exacerbated by the cold temperatures, trapping those caught in the wave and making it even more difficult to rescue them.[10] About 150 people were injured, and 21 people and several horses were killed. Some were crushed and drowned by the molasses or by the debris that it carried within.[5] The wounded included people, horses, and dogs; coughing fits became one of the most common ailments after the initial blast. Edwards Park wrote of one child's experience in a 1983 article for Smithsonian: {{quote|quote=Anthony di Stasio, walking homeward with his sisters from the Michelangelo School, was picked up by the wave and carried, tumbling on its crest, almost as though he were surfing. Then he grounded and the molasses rolled him like a pebble as the wave diminished. He heard his mother call his name and couldn't answer, his throat was so clogged with the smothering goo. He passed out, then opened his eyes to find three of his four sisters staring at him.}}AftermathFirst to the scene were 116 cadets under the direction of Lieutenant Commander H. J. Copeland from USS Nantucket, a training ship of the Massachusetts Nautical School (now the Massachusetts Maritime Academy) that was docked nearby at the playground pier.[19] They ran several blocks toward the accident and worked to keep the curious from getting in the way of the rescuers, while others entered into the knee-deep, sticky mess to pull out the survivors. The Boston Police, Red Cross, Army, and Navy personnel soon arrived. Some nurses from the Red Cross dove into the molasses, while others tended to the injured, keeping them warm and feeding the exhausted workers. Many of these people worked through the night, and the injured were so numerous that doctors and surgeons set up a makeshift hospital in a nearby building. Rescuers found it difficult to make their way through the syrup to help the victims, and four days elapsed before they stopped searching; many of the dead were so glazed over in molasses that they were hard to recognize. Other victims were swept into Boston Harbor and were found three to four months after the disaster.[5] Local residents brought a class-action lawsuit against the United States Industrial Alcohol Company (USIA) which had bought Purity Distilling in 1917. It was one of the first class-action suits in Massachusetts and is considered a milestone in paving the way for modern corporate regulation.[6] The company claimed that the tank had been blown up by anarchists[6]{{rp|165}} because some of the alcohol produced was to be used in making munitions, but a court-appointed auditor found USIA responsible after three years of hearings, and the company ultimately paid out $628,000 in damages[6] (${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|628000|1919}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}, adjusted for inflation).{{Inflation/fn|US}} Relatives of those killed reportedly received around $7,000 per victim (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|7000|1919|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}). CleanupCleanup crews used salt water from a fireboat to wash away the molasses and sand to absorb it,[26] and the harbor was brown with molasses until summer.[27] The cleanup in the immediate area took weeks,[28] with several hundred people contributing to the effort,[6]{{RP|132–134, 139}}[6] and it took longer to clean the rest of Greater Boston and its suburbs. Rescue workers, cleanup crews, and sight-seers had tracked molasses through the streets and spread it to subway platforms, to the seats inside trains and streetcars, to pay telephone handsets, into homes,[6]{{RP|139}} and to countless other places. "Everything that a Bostonian touched was sticky." Fatalities
Sources:[6]{{RP|239}}[19][7] CausesSeveral factors might have contributed to the disaster. The tank was constructed poorly and tested insufficiently, and carbon dioxide production might have raised the internal pressure due to fermentation in the tank. Warmer weather the previous day would have assisted in building this pressure, as the air temperature rose from {{convert|2|to|41|F|C|sigfig=2}} over that period. The failure occurred from a manhole cover near the base of the tank, and a fatigue crack there possibly grew to the point of criticality. The tank had been filled to capacity only eight times since it was built a few years previously, putting the walls under an intermittent, cyclical load. Several authors say that the Purity Distilling Company was trying to out-race prohibition,[37][38][39] as the 18th amendment was ratified the next day (January 16, 1919) and took effect one year later.[40] An inquiry after the disaster revealed that Arthur Jell, USIA’s treasurer, neglected basic safety tests while overseeing construction of the tank, such as filling it with water to check for leaks, and ignored warning signs such as groaning noises each time the tank was filled. He had no architectural or engineering experience.[3][10] When filled with molasses, the tank leaked so badly that it was painted brown to hide them. Local residents collected leaked molasses for their homes.[43] A 2014 investigation applied modern engineering analysis and found that the steel was half as thick as it should have been for a tank of its size, even with the lax standards of the day, and it also lacked manganese and was made more brittle as a result.[44] The tank's rivets were also apparently flawed, and cracks first formed at the rivet holes.[3] In 2016, a team of scientists and students at Harvard University conducted extensive studies of the disaster, gathering data from many sources, including 1919 newspaper articles, old maps, and weather reports.[8] The student researchers also studied the behavior of cold corn syrup flooding a scale model of the affected neighborhood.[9] The researchers concluded that the reports of the high speed of the flood were credible.[9] Two days before the disaster, warmer molasses had been added to the tank, reducing the viscosity of the fluid. When the tank collapsed, the fluid cooled quickly as it spread, until it reached Boston's winter evening temperatures and the viscosity increased dramatically.[10] The Harvard study concluded that the molasses cooled and thickened quickly as it rushed through the streets, hampering efforts to free victims before they suffocated.[8][9][9][11] Area todayUnited States Industrial Alcohol did not rebuild the tank. The property formerly occupied by the molasses tank and the North End Paving Company became a yard for the Boston Elevated Railway (predecessor to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority). It currently is the site of a city-owned recreational complex, officially named Langone Park, featuring a Little League Baseball field, a playground, and bocce courts.[54] Immediately to the east is the larger Puopolo Park, with additional recreational facilities.[55] A small plaque at the entrance to Puopolo Park, placed by the Bostonian Society, commemorates the disaster.[56] The plaque, titled "Boston Molasses Flood", reads: {{quote|quote=On January 15, 1919, a molasses tank at 529 Commercial Street exploded under pressure, killing 21 people. A 40-foot wave of molasses buckled the elevated railroad tracks, crushed buildings and inundated the neighborhood. Structural defects in the tank combined with unseasonably warm temperatures contributed to the disaster.}}The accident has since become a staple of local culture, not only for the damage the flood brought, but also for the sweet smell that filled the North End for decades after the disaster. According to journalist Edwards Park, "The smell of molasses remained for decades a distinctive, unmistakable atmosphere of Boston."On January 15, 2019, for the 100th anniversary of the event, a ceremony was held in remembrance. Ground-penetrating radar was used to locate the exact location of the tank from 1919. The concrete slab base for the tank remains in place approximately 20 inches below the surface of the baseball diamond at Langone Park. Attendees of the ceremony stood in a circle marking the edge of the tank. The 21 names of those who died in, or as a result of, the flood were read aloud.[12][13] Cultural influencesMany laws and regulations governing construction were changed as a direct result of the disaster, including requirements for oversight by a licensed architect and civil engineer.[14][15] One of the DUKW amphibious tourist vehicles operated by Boston Duck Tours has been named Molly Molasses in remembrance of the event, per the firm's practice of naming their DUKWs after famous Boston locations, events, and other bits of local culture.[16] The Great Molasses Flood was also the theme of the 2019 MIT Mystery Hunt.[17] See also{{Portal|Boston}}
Further reading
References1. ^{{Cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2182032/great-molasses-flood-us-marks-100-years-deadly-wave|title=Great Molasses Flood: US marks 100 years since deadly wave of treacle trashed part of Boston|author=|first=|date=January 14, 2019|newspaper=Associated Press|accessdate=March 18, 2019|agency=South China Morning Post}} Reprinted at Eric Postpischil's Domain, "Eric Postpischil's Molasses Disaster Pages, Smithsonian Article", June 14, 2009.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]2. ^1 {{Cite web|url=https://www.aqua-calc.com/page/density-table/substance/molasses|title=Density: Molasses, and links to volume/weight conversions|last=|first=|date=|website=Aqua-Calc|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=January 18, 2019}} 3. ^1 2 3 4 {{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/great-molasses-flood-science|title=Why the Great Molasses Flood Was So Deadly|last=Sohn|first=Emily|date=January 15, 2019|website=The History Channel|publisher=A&E Television Networks|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=January 16, 2019}} 4. ^{{cite web |url=https://edp.org/molpark.htm |title=Without Warning, Molasses in January Surged Over Boston |last=Park |first=Edwards |date=December 19, 2018 |website=edp.org |publisher=edp.org |access-date=March 24, 2019 |quote=...imagine an estimated 14,000 tons of the thick, sticky fluid running wild. It left the ruptured tank in a choking brown wave, 15 feet high, wiping out everything that stood in its way. One steel section of the tank was hurled across Commercial Street, neatly knocking out one of the uprights supporting the El.}} 5. ^1 {{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2019/01/12/great-boston-molasses-flood-things-you-didnt-know/|title=Anarchists, Horses, Heroes: 12 Things You Didn't Know about the Great Boston Molasses Flood|last=Buell|first=Spencer|date=January 12, 2019|website=Boston Magazine|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=January 14, 2019}} 6. ^1 2 {{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/13/the-great-boston-molasses-flood-why-it-matters-modern-regulation|title=The Great Boston Molasses Flood: why the strange disaster matters today|last=Betancourt|first=Sarah|date=January 13, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 14, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} 7. ^{{Cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/history/2019/01/13/victims-great-boston-molasses-flood-1919|title=‘There was no escape from the wave’: These are the 21 victims of the Great Boston Molasses Flood|date=2019-01-13|work=Boston.com|access-date=2019-01-14|language=en-US}} 8. ^1 {{cite news|title=Slow as molasses? Sweet but deadly 1919 disaster explained|url=https://www.boston.com/news/history/2016/11/24/slow-as-molasses-sweet-but-deadly-1919-disaster-explained|accessdate=December 3, 2016|work=Boston.com|agency=Associated Press|date=November 24, 2016}} 9. ^1 2 3 {{cite news|last1=Mccann|first1=Erin|title=Solving a Mystery Behind the Deadly ‘Tsunami of Molasses’ of 1919|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/science/boston-molasses-flood-science.html?|accessdate=December 3, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=November 26, 2016}} 10. ^{{cite news |title=Molasses Creates a Sticky Situation |date=November 17, 2016 |publisher=AlphaGalileo |url=http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=170069&CultureCode=en |accessdate=November 25, 2016}} 11. ^{{cite journal |title=Abstract: L27.00008 : In a sea of sticky molasses: The physics of the Boston Molasses Flood |first1=Nicole |last1=Sharp |first2=Jordan |last2=Kennedy |first3=Shmuel |last3=Rubinstein | journal=Bulletin of the American Physical Society |volume=61 |number=20|date=November 21, 2016 |url=http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DFD16/Session/L27.8 |accessdate=November 25, 2016}} 12. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/15/remembering-great-molasses-flood-years-later/zNqJPoyHTuuSWcXKIZv0HM/story.html|title=Boston officials remember the Great Molasses Flood, 100 years later|last=Sweeney|first=Emily|date=January 15, 2019|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=January 26, 2019}} 13. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.universalhub.com/2019/gathering-around-where-molasses-tank-used|title=Gathering around the site of the molasses tank to remember its victims|author=adamg|first=|date=January 15, 2019|website=|location=Boston, Massachusetts|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=January 26, 2019}} 14. ^1 2 3 {{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/great-boston-molasses-flood-1919-killed-21-after-2-million-n958326 | title = The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 killed 21 after 2 million gallon tank erupted | first =Ben | last = Kesslen | date = January 14, 2019 | accessdate = January 14, 2019 | work = NBC News }} 15. ^{{Cite journal|last=Durso|first=Fred|date=May 1, 2011|year=|title=The Great Boston Molasses Flood|url=https://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/publications/nfpa-journal/2011/may-june-2011/features/the-great-boston-molasses-flood|journal=NFPA Journal}} 16. ^{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/10/vintage-army-trucks-find-home-and-triage-thanks-group-veterans-winthrop/QE2nk3139AkyFT6Kj4Ol5J/story.html |title=Old Army trucks find a home — and triage |work=Boston Globe |first=Billy |last=Baker |date=November 11, 2014}} 17. ^{{cite web |title=Guide to the Holiday Forest |url=http://web.mit.edu/puzzle/www/2019/guide.html |website=The MIT Mystery Hunt |accessdate=27 January 2019}} 18. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 {{cite book |last=Puleo |first=Stephen |title=Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 |publisher=Beacon Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8070-5021-0}} 19. ^1 {{cite journal |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=molasses-flood-physics-science |title=The Science of the Great Molasses Flood |first=Ferris |last=Jabr |date=July 17, 2013 |website=Scientific American |accessdate=October 16, 2013}} 20. ^1 2 {{Cite news |issn=0362-4331 |title=12 Killed When Tank of Molasses Explodes |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 15, 1919 |publication-date=January 16, 1919 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/01/16/97058317.pdf |accessdate=May 30, 2008 |format=PDF}} 21. ^1 {{cite web |last=Adams |first=Cecil |authorlink=Cecil Adams |title=Was Boston once literally flooded with molasses? |work=The Straight Dope |publisher=The Chicago Reader |url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041231.html |date=December 31, 2004 |accessdate=December 16, 2006}} 22. ^1 {{cite news |agency=United Press International |title=The Great Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s6s0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=Am4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=949%2C3011666 |newspaper=The Hour |date=January 17, 1979}} 23. ^1 {{cite journal |last=Mason |first=John |url=http://edp.org/molyank.htm |title=The Molasses Disaster of January 15, 1919 |journal=Yankee |date=January 1965}} Reprinted at Eric Postpischil's Domain, "Eric Postpischil's Molasses Disaster Pages, Yankee Magazine Article", June 14, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2014. 24. ^1 {{cite book |last=Puleo |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWtJGLG0aEcC&pg=PA263 |title=Dark Tide: The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 |page=79 |publisher=Beacon Press |year=2010 |quote=Any disruption at the tank could prove disastrous to his plan to outrun Prohibition by producing alcohol as rapidly as possible at the East Cambridge distillery.}} 25. ^1 {{cite journal |last=Stanley |first=Robert |title=Footnote to History |journal=Yankee |volume=53 |page=101 |year=1989 |quote=In January of 1919 Purity Distilling Company of Boston, maker of high-grade rum, was working three shifts a day in a vain attempt to outrun national Prohibition.}} 26. ^1 {{cite book |last=Silverman |first=Steve |title=Einstein's Refrigerator: And Other Stories from the Flip Side of History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWVddZqyqggC&pg=PA37 |year=2001 |publisher=Andrews McMeel |isbn=978-0-7407-1419-1 |page=37 |quote=First, it was believed that the tank was overfilled because of the impending threat of Prohibition.}} 27. ^1 {{cite book |last=Streissguth |first=Thomas |title=The Roaring Twenties |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtbnIe103p4C&pg=PA13 |year=2009 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-0887-2 |page=13}} 28. ^1 {{cite news|last=Schworm|first=Peter|title=Nearly a century later, new insight into cause of Great Molasses Flood of 1919|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/14/nearly-century-later-new-insight-into-cause-great-molasses-flood/CNqLYc0T58kNo3MxP872iM/story.html|accessdate=January 16, 2015|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=January 15, 2015}} 29. ^1 {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Patricia|title=Boston: a Guide to Unique Places |year=2004 |publisher=The Globe Pequot Press |isbn=0-7627-3011-0 |pages=63–64 |last2=Lyon |first2=David}} 30. ^1 {{cite web|title=Places to go: Downtown/North End |url=http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/placestogo/location.php?nid=3&sid=21 |publisher=The Boston Harbor Association |accessdate=September 5, 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913150554/http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/placestogo/location.php?nid=3&sid=21 |archivedate=September 13, 2013 }} 31. ^1 {{cite web|title=The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 |url=http://www.history.com/news/the-great-molasses-flood-of-1919 |website=The History Channel |accessdate=December 21, 2017|publisher=A&E Television Networks |first=Evan |last=Andrews|date=January 13, 2017}} 32. ^1 {{cite book |last=Ocker |first=J.W. |title=The New England Grimpendium |year=2010 |publisher=The Countryman Press |location=Woodstock, VT |page=97 |isbn=978-0-88150-919-9}} }} External links{{Commons category|Boston Molasses Disaster}}
12 : 20th century in Boston|1919 industrial disasters|1919 in Massachusetts|Disasters in Massachusetts|Engineering failures|Environmental disasters in the United States|Floods in the United States|History of Boston|Industrial accidents and incidents in the United States|North End, Boston|1919 disasters in the United States|January 1919 events |
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