Why was rescue so hard?

Thick molasses trapped people and horses

What lasting effect did the disaster have?

Stricter engineering and inspection rules

Boston Molasses Flood Quiz: The Sticky Disaster of 1919

This Boston molasses flood quiz goes back to a mild January day in 1919 when a giant tank burst on Commercial Street. Play 10 interactive questions on the date, the North End, millions of gallons, the speed of the wave, the victims, the tank's faults, why molasses was stored there and the court case that changed building rules.

Start Boston Molasses Flood Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Date
When did the Boston molasses flood happen?
Area
Which Boston neighborhood was hit?
Amount
About how much molasses spilled?
Wave
About how high was the wave at its peak?
Speed
Roughly how fast did the wave move?
Deaths
How many people died?
Use
What was the molasses mainly meant to make?
Tank
What was wrong with the tank?
Rescue
Why was rescue so hard?
Change
What lasting effect did the disaster have?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: When did the Boston molasses flood happen?
Answer: January 15, 1919
It was an unusually warm winter day.
Q2: Which Boston neighborhood was hit?
Answer: The North End
The tank stood on Commercial Street.
Q3: About how much molasses spilled?
Answer: About 2.3 million gallons
It was a huge storage tank.
Q4: About how high was the wave at its peak?
Answer: About 25 feet
It knocked down buildings.
Q5: Roughly how fast did the wave move?
Answer: About 35 miles per hour
People could not outrun it.
Q6: How many people died?
Answer: 21
Around 150 were injured.
Q7: What was the molasses mainly meant to make?
Answer: Industrial alcohol
Alcohol was used in munitions.
Q8: What was wrong with the tank?
Answer: It was poorly built and leaked
Leaks were painted over.
Q9: Why was rescue so hard?
Answer: Thick molasses trapped people and horses
It hardened as it cooled.
Q10: What lasting effect did the disaster have?
Answer: Stricter engineering and inspection rules
The company was found liable.

Boston Molasses Flood Quiz – The Sticky Disaster of 1919

On January 15, 1919, a huge storage tank of molasses burst on Commercial Street in Boston's North End. About 2.3 million gallons poured out in a wave as high as 25 feet, moving at roughly 35 miles per hour.

The wave crushed buildings, bent an elevated railway and trapped people and horses. Twenty-one people died and about 150 were injured, and the thick molasses made rescues slow and dangerous.

The tank had been poorly built, and its leaks were painted over. Its owner was found liable in court, and the disaster led to stricter rules for engineers and building inspections.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

When it happened
How big the wave was
Who was affected
Why the tank failed
What changed afterward

Did You Know?

Residents said the area smelled of molasses for decades.
Boston Harbor turned brown for months.
Cleanup used salt water from fireboats.
A small plaque marks the site today.
Scientists later studied how cold made the molasses harder to escape.