Three Times History Developed a Very Specific Problem

Setup: In 1814, a brewery in London stored beer in a wooden vat holding roughly 135,000 imperial gallons. The vat had been showing signs of strain, including ominous creaking and leaking hoops, which were apparently filed under “monitor casually.”

Escalation: The vat burst, sending an estimated 570 tons of porter beer into the surrounding streets. The wave knocked down buildings and flooded nearby homes. Eight people died, including mourners at a wake held in the basement of a pub.

Punchline: The brewery was sued, but the court ruled the disaster an unavoidable accident. The official legal position was essentially that sometimes a building contains too much beer and then the beer leaves.

Setup: In January 1919, a steel tank in Boston held about 2.3 million gallons of molasses. The tank had been built quickly and cheaply, and residents had already reported strange groaning noises coming from it. Children reportedly collected molasses leaking through the seams.

Escalation: The tank failed, releasing a wave of molasses roughly 15 feet high. It moved through the streets at an estimated 35 miles per hour, crushing buildings, vehicles, and unfortunate assumptions about the speed of syrup. Twenty-one people died and around 150 were injured.

Punchline: The cleanup took weeks, and the molasses reportedly reached into subway platforms, homes, and harbor water. For years afterward, people claimed the neighborhood still smelled faintly sweet on hot days, which is a difficult legacy for a disaster involving industrial sugar.

Setup: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, authorities in Borneo tried to control rats after insect-control campaigns disrupted the local food chain. The plan involved importing cats, because apparently the rainforest had not supplied enough of its own.

Escalation: The Royal Air Force conducted Operation Cat Drop, lowering cats by parachute in containers to remote areas. The cats were intended to restore rat control around villages and agricultural settlements.

Punchline: The mission is generally reported to have delivered about 14,000 cats. Somewhere in the RAF’s paperwork, there is a line item for airborne feline logistics.

This Week in Weird History: The past remains undefeated in the category of “that cannot possibly be the official solution.”