July 26, 2001

7:13 PM

It is said that on a hot day, you can still smell traces of molasses in the city.
I had never heard about this until I met someone from Boston. As they say, wicked....
posted by machaus (7 comments total)

Facinating! Thanks for the links! I seem to recall hearing something about this waaaay long ago, but all details were surely lost to my memory until now :)
posted by Hackworth at 8:00 PM on July 26, 2001

That's unbelieveable... I know what it's like to spil mere drops of Coke on your skin. That stuff is ridiculously sticky and long-lasting. I can't imagine several sqaure miles of molasses...

Ugh... On the other hand, it's a Mefi Nirvana
posted by fooljay at 8:22 PM on July 26, 2001

Yeah, I remember hearing about this as a kid. I think I might have even had a book about it...

Though it certainly is a Boston thing, I suppose.
posted by whatnotever at 8:53 PM on July 26, 2001

Lingering effects of disasters like this astound me. Reminds me of Centralia, PA, a town not far from where I grew up, where an underground coal mine fire started 40 years ago and continues to burn to this day.

It's pretty damn freaky to drive through there and see smoke rising from the ground all around you.
posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 10:08 PM on July 26, 2001

A treacly tale.
posted by pracowity at 3:55 AM on July 27, 2001

Sniff...sniff...sniff.....nope, it doesn't smell like molasses to me....

I only heard about this particular disaster a couple of years ago, and it is at once both terrifying and hysterically funny.

Of course, it is not the only time the city of Boston was visited by a ruinous fire.
posted by briank at 6:52 AM on July 27, 2001

Wow, I heard about this one as a kid and assumed it was a load of BS. Never really thought about it since then.
posted by Foosnark at 9:49 AM on July 27, 2001