On January 15ᵗʰ, 1919, a massive tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses had exploded, flooding Boston’s north end docks with sticky molasses. Purity Distilling Company had been warned several times that the tank was creaking, leaking molasses, but the company ignored these warnings, until it was too late.  Thousands of gallons flowed across Boston’s North End, resulting in several deaths.  Rumor has it that on warm days, one can still smell the molasses.