meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
HISTORY This Week

The Great Boston Molasses Flood

HISTORY This Week

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios

History, Society & Culture

4.54.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

January 15, 1919. Boston PD receives a call: “Send all available rescue personnel...there's a wave of molasses coming down Commercial Street." The bizarre flood decimated Boston's North End. How did it happen? And why does it still affect us all today?

Special thanks to our guest, Stephen Puleo, author of Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.

** This episode originally aired Jan 13, 2020.


Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com 

Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek

Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠

To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Right, time to get you pet insurance with pet jebity.

0:03.3

Wroop. Pet Jevity. You know, like longevity, but for your pets long and healthy life?

0:08.4

They have no upper age limit for dogs or cats.

0:11.1

Meow!

0:11.9

They insure hundreds of thousands of pores and have 24-7 access to vet video calls.

0:17.8

Look for pet jevity wherever you shop online for insurance.

0:21.7

For vet video calls if your pet is in need of urgent medical assistance, contact your local

0:25.9

vet immediately. Visit petjavity.co.ukh for full details.

0:30.1

Olivia Coppo here to tell you all about the launch of the new Abercrombie Spring Denom

0:34.6

Collection, made the way denim should feel. Their denim has always been a staple in my wardrobe and has a wide range of fits, styles, and washes.

0:43.2

Every jean is available in both their classic fit and viral curve love. Shop in the app, online, and in stores. January 15th, 1919.

1:08.0

It's just after lunchtime in Boston's North End, a busy section of the city that takes up about a square mile.

1:14.6

It's this crowded patchwork of commercial and residential blocks right on the waterfront.

1:19.6

Laborers, residents, commuters, horses, they're all just going about their business.

1:25.6

And then...

1:28.3

The great Boston molasses flood is one of the strangest disasters in U.S. history.

1:48.6

But how could something so catastrophic ultimately have saved more lives than it cost?

1:56.2

Maybe even your own.

1:58.3

Think of this flood as a wave that literally scoops up everything in its path and this one

2:05.5

incredible disaster really changed history forever I'm Sally Helm and this is

2:11.8

history this week today we go back to the great Boston molasses flood of 1919.

2:25.0

Today, Boston's North End actually looks a lot like it did 100 years ago.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.