The Emu War, the Molasses Wave, and One Very Persistent Hiccup

Setup: On January 15, 1919, a steel storage tank in Massachusetts released roughly 2.3 million gallons of molasses into the streets. The tank collapsed with enough force to produce a wave estimated at 15 feet high, sweeping along at about 35 miles per hour.

Escalation: The molasses killed 21 people, injured around 150, damaged buildings, and trapped horses in the syrup. The tank’s owners initially suggested sabotage, but investigators found that the structure was poorly built and dangerously under-tested.

Punchline: The cleanup took weeks, and traces of molasses reportedly lingered around the harbor for months. A disaster had somehow become a municipal condiment.

Setup: In 1932, Australia sent soldiers armed with Lewis guns to deal with an invasion of emus. Tens of thousands of the large, flightless birds had moved into farmland during a drought, eating crops and frustrating local farmers.

Escalation: The soldiers discovered that emus were fast, difficult to hit, and apparently unimpressed by military procedure. Birds scattered when the guns fired, while the ammunition supply became a more reliable target than the emus.

Punchline: After several weeks, the operation was abandoned. Australia’s defense minister later described the emus as having effectively won the war, which is not a sentence most defense ministers expect to say aloud.

Setup: In 1922, an American farmer named Charles Osborne began hiccupping while attempting to weigh a hog. The hiccups continued for approximately 68 years.

Escalation: Osborne reportedly hiccupped around 20 to 40 times per minute for decades, eventually developing a technique to suppress the sound and continue ordinary conversations. Medical specialists tried to help, but the condition became a permanent feature of his life.

Punchline: The hiccups stopped suddenly in 1990, one year before Osborne died. His body had finally located the off switch and waited until nearly the end of the program to use it.

This Week in Weird History: The emus won the war, the molasses won the street, and one hog-weighing session became a 68-year medical event.