Remembering the Deadly London Beer Flood of 1814

Mental Floss ^ | October 17, 2014 | Nick Greene

[Slings and Arrows]

200 years ago today, one of history's most bizarre disasters befell London when a 15-foot wave of beer flooded an entire neighborhood and left eight people dead.

The Horse Shoe Brewery on Tottenham Court Road in London boasted a massive 22-foot-tall vat that held some 160,000 gallons of dark porter. On October 17, 1814, one of the metal hoops meant to secure it snapped, and the wooden vat succumbed to the immense pressure of all that fermenting brew. The gushing beer smashed open the brewery's other vats, resulting in a raging sea of beer that burst forth from the building.

Over one million liters of beer flooded out onto the road and raced through the St. Giles neighborhood. The area was crammed with crowded slums, and many inhabitants couldn't escape in time. According to The Independent, "Hannah Banfield, a little girl, was taking tea with her mother, Mary, at their house in New Street when the deluge hit. Both were swept away in the current, and perished." Others who were gathered in a cellar for a wake were caught by surprise by the flood and drowned in beer. A wall of a nearby pub crumbled and crushed a 14-year-old girl who was standing next to it. In total, eight people perished in the accident.

Unsubstantiated rumors persist that rowdy locals brought pots and pans to the river of beer in an attempt to round up free drinks. In reality though, the citizens of St. Giles were lauded in the press for their help with the rescue efforts, keeping quiet in the aftermath in order to help listen for the screams of their trapped neighbors.

[Slings and Arrows]

If only Bob and Doug Mackenzie had been there!

[Slings and Arrows]

In before the "That's how I want to go!" posts!

[Darksheare]

Don’t forget the molasses flood next spring.
“Molasses miasma”, words to look for!

[packrat35]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster

[Slings and Arrows]

Don’t forget the molasses flood next spring.

With a bit of TLC that could have been a rum flood.

[Pearls Before Swine]

More recently, in 1919, there was this:
Boston Molasses Disaster

[EEGator]

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Which would be worse? A beer flood or a molasses flood just over 100 years later?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster

[TruthWillWin]

Having sex when the flood occurred, what a way to go!

[Fungi]

Thanks, a great read. the link cites Boston’s Great Molasses Flood of 1919 which is stranger still.

[builder]

Dare to dream big.

[COBOL2Java]

The Horse Shoe Brewery on Tottenham Court Road in London boasted a massive 22-foot-tall vat that held some 160,000 gallons of dark porter. On October 17, 1814, one of the metal hoops meant to secure it snapped, and the wooden vat succumbed to the immense pressure of all that fermenting brew. The gushing beer smashed open the brewery's other vats, resulting in a raging sea of beer that burst forth from the building.

Doug:"Sad, eh?"
Bob: "Tell me about it."
Doug: "You tearin' up?"
Bob: "Me? No way, ya hoser!" [sniffs]
Doug: "It's all the beer, eh?"

[Diana in Wisconsin]

WHY IS ALL THE RUM GONE?!?! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Love dose guys! :)

[blueunicorn6]

And every October 19th, millions of crabs go up the Thames River with a bag of pretzels in one claw.

[lee martell]

Iv’e never heard of that tragedy. I’m surprised they haven’t written an Ode or a Ballad about it. Gordon Lightfoot sang about a ship sinking during his big years of the 1970s.

[Brandonmark]

[Slings and Arrows]

If rock ‘n’ roll had been invented, it would have been the Trifecta!

[Slings and Arrows]

Ask the Molasses Miasma Mafia. ;^)

[mikrofon]

Going somewhere to drown your sorrows afterwards would have been highly inappropriate …