New England has some of the richest history in the United States.

This is partially due to the fact that the Northeast was established earlier than most other states and regions in the US.

New England's history started far earlier than other states' history. And it is because of that incredibly long distance from establishment to today that we may not know of some of the most iconic and important historical events that took place in our area: New England.

Like the molasses flood that took Boston, Massachusetts over 70 years to recover from...

Boston Molasses Flood of 1919:

According to a Boston Uncovered article, in January 1919, a 50-foot-tall tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses flooded the streets of Boston.

The cylinder that held the molasses had a stress fracture in it, likely due to an abrupt temperature change.

You can picture 2.3 million gallons of molasses flooding a city, right? It is messy.

And it came fast - the molasses stretched from the Commercial Street impact point through most of the North End with speeds of 35 miles per hour...

So much for the expression "slow as molasses..."

According to Boston Uncovered, at the time, the flood resulted in 1 million dollars in settlement claimed - the equivalent to 18 million dollars today.

The flood injured over 150 people and left over 20 dead.

When you're in Boston next try to picture just how this 106-year-old disaster looked.

And if you are spending time in Boston, try one of the highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Boston below:

LOOK: Highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Boston by diners

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Boston using data from Yelp.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

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