Drowsy History Week: The Great Molasses Flood

Summary

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The Nightly: Drowsy History Week – The Great Molasses Flood

Host: Kristen (B), Co-Host: Sophia (C)
Date: January 24, 2026
Podcast: The Nightly by Hatch Podcasts

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Episode Overview

Tonight’s episode of The Nightly welcomes listeners into the cozy “pillow fort” for a unique segment of “Drowsy History.” Kristen and Sophia recount the bizarre and catastrophic Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston. Their laid-back, conversational storytelling style blends humor, pop culture reverie, and intriguing facts, offering a comforting yet surprisingly informative nightcap.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Home Improvement Adventures as Prelude

• Sophia shares her home lighting DIY, balancing anxiety and pride:
  • “It was like a light with a cord attached that I put into the ceiling and is honestly beautiful... but boy, oh, boy, is it scary to screw something into your ceiling, huh?” (01:00–01:15)
• Kristen tells a comedic story about plumbers:
  • “I wish I had a recorder running... Oh no, this doesn’t come with instructions. Oh, why did you install it that way? That’s not where the screw goes…” (02:30–03:00)
  • A reminder not to always trust the apparent confidence of experts, and the temptations of DIY.

2. Drowsy History: The Great Molasses Flood

Setting the Scene

• Sophia sets up the “reveal”:
  • “Okay, tonight I have a story for you... We’re in Boston. It’s 1919, 1920, winter, and we’re in the north end of Boston.” (05:04–05:30)
  • Kristen adds local color: “The north end... is also kind of referred to Boston’s Little Italy. It’s a very charming area...” (05:33–05:49)
• Description of the scenery: old brick homes, narrow winding streets (“so skinny... an oxcart can get through here, but nothing wider...”), and the European-like atmosphere. (06:04–06:15)

The Disaster Unfolds

• Sophia narrates the event’s buildup with warmth and comic disbelief:

  • “There’s this huge tank. It is 50ft tall... It’s filled to the brim with molasses... it’s an unseasonably warm day, and the new molasses... was also warm...” (06:16–06:44)
  • “People... feel basically an earthquake. They’re like the ground is rumbling... then they hear a really loud sound... some people are like, we heard a roar. Other people were like, it sounded like a machine gun going off...” (07:00–07:50)

• The pivotal moment:

  • “Yes, the tank of molasses has exploded and burst open. And, of course, the molasses is now flooding the streets of Boston.” (07:56–08:12)

Science & Mayhem

• Sophia tries to recall facts:

  • “For some reason, because of the way that molasses behaves, it’s different than water, which means it moves actually much quicker than water would in this scenario.” (08:20–08:51)
  • Kristen supplies: “It’s so thick and heavy.” (08:51–08:53)

• Speed discussed: “The molasses is flooding through the streets at about 35 miles per hour.” (08:53–09:03)
  Reaction: “That’s really fast, by the way.” (09:01)

• The non-Newtonian nature of molasses mentioned:

  • “...molasses is a non-Newtonian fluid... a fluid that does not follow Newton’s law, and it changes how it moves and flows based on stress.” (09:14–09:21)

The Damage & Absurdity

• They marvel at the destruction:

  • “It... swept a train off its tracks... it swept buildings off their foundations.” (10:13–10:34)
  • “That’s more destructive than... Tornado Alley... we’re talking a whole river of molasses.” (10:37–10:53)

• Most memorable image:

  • “The image that is stuck in my mind... there was a boy that was literally swept up by the molasses and rode it like a wave.” (10:53–11:09)
  • “When he woke up, he was... licking his arms because... sweet and delicious.” (11:09–11:14)

Aftermath and Cover-Up

• Sophia describes attempts at blame-shifting:
  • “They tried to say that it happened because of some type of, like, plot against them... Meanwhile, they’re like, the tank was... constantly oozing molasses... scientists were like, the tank was just far too thin to hold molasses.” (11:19–12:00)
• Clean-up troubles:
  • “Millions of dollars worth of damage... incredibly difficult to clean up because... it’s famously difficult to get rid of...” (12:10–12:22)
  • “They ended up... basically pumping in seawater... on a hot day you could still smell the molasses for years and years afterwards.” (12:29–12:38)

Resonance and Reflections

• Kristen sums up: “Molasses, which we associate with cookies and sweet things...” (13:11–13:26)
• Sophia: “I know, it’s like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory gone awry.” (13:40)
• Flipping what’s cozy into something sinister, they muse on overabundance:
  • “Anything that we love in this world can become not lovely anymore if there’s too much of it... same with molasses...” (15:43–16:20)

Drowsy Visualization Exercises

• Kristen’s bedtime ritual: “Sometimes when I’m having a hard time falling asleep... I imagine I’m on a raft floating down the Mississippi River... moving along...”
  • Tonight: “...it’s the Molasses river running through the north end of Boston in the early 1900s instead.” (14:47–15:10)
• Sophia joins in: “I think I’m gonna be doing some visualizations of myself on a raft on top of a molasses river.” (16:36–16:46)
• Both encourage listeners to do the same to ease into sleep. (16:46–16:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I really tried. Guys, get excited. I really tried. This is what it would be like if I was a teacher.”
  — Sophia (06:16)
• “People are like, we heard a roar. Other people were like, it sounded like a machine gun going off.”
  — Sophia (07:10)
• “The molasses is flooding through the streets at about 35 miles per hour.”
  — Sophia (09:01)
• “Anything that we love in this world can become not lovely anymore if there’s too much of it... same with molasses...”
  — Kristen (15:43)
• “It’s like Charlie and the chocolate factory gone awry.”
  — Sophia (13:40)
• “Ride the molasses.”
  — Kristen (16:50)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Home improvement stories / intro: 00:30–04:37
• Setting the Boston scene: 05:04–05:49
• Molasses tank buildup and explosion: 06:16–08:12
• Molasses as a non-Newtonian fluid / speed: 08:20–09:03
• Destruction and human stories: 10:13–11:14
• Corporate blame and cleanup aftermath: 11:19–12:38
• Reflections and bedtime visualization: 13:11–16:54

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains a warm, inviting, and gently irreverent tone—infused with dry self-deprecation, casual banter, and the friendly intimacy of a late-night chat between friends. The delivery is conversational, embracing the weirdness of history, and always circling back to the episode’s cozy, sleep-easing intent.

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Transcript

[A]

Hello. You're about to drift into an episode of the Nightly, a podcast designed to help you unwind and relax. For the full phone free immersive light experience, visit Hatch Co. Enjoy.

[B]

Hey, out there. Pillow fort. Fran. Hi, friends. I'm Kristen.

[C]

And I'm Sophia. Welcome to the Nightly from Hatch, a slumber party for pop culture lovers.

[B]

Sophia, it is so good to see you. How are you doing tonight?

[C]

I'm doing pretty well this evening. I installed a light this weekend. Very exciting stuff.

[B]

Also, just, like, very home Improvement. Taking the bull by the horns. Adulting stuff, too.

[C]

I'm in my home improvement bag. It was not, like. I obviously was not, like, playing around with wires. I'm not. And I don't really imagine that I will be there yet, ever. But it was like a light with a cord attached that I put into the ceiling and is honestly beautiful. I'm very happy with it. But boy, oh, boy, is it scary to screw something into your ceiling, huh? Oh, yeah.

[B]

And to be on the ladder.

[C]

And to be on the ladder. Or in my case, to be on the dining table.

[B]

Oh, I don't know if dining room tables are designed to have humans on them.

[C]

I don't know either. And I sat. I sat on it for a minute to say, you know, can this hold my weight? And then when it did, I said, okay, we're gonna get on my feet and see. See how we can get going. Cause I really was like, oh, my God. I don't. My ceilings are really high, which is, of course, like, lovely. But I was like, dear God, I don't want to have to help my super carry a ladder up four stairs. I was like, I just don't wanna. I don't wanna have to do that. And so I'm gonna do it on the table. But I think one day soon, I'm gonna have to bring the ladder in because I have some curtains that I need to put up that there's not. I need a ladder for. So.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, please be careful with all future home improvement endeavors.

[C]

I'm trying.

[B]

Well, speaking of home improvement things, I had a plumber come and fix the kitchen faucet. And it was a master plumber with his apprentice. And I was just sitting at the dining room table while they were in the kitchen changing this faucet out.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And the things I overheard, Sophia, I wish I had a recorder running. Okay. I just jotted them down so I can share some with you.

[C]

Okay. I'm excited.

[B]

Okay. Oh, no, this doesn't come with instructions. Oh, why did you install it that way. That's not where the screw goes. Can't you see? The screws don't go there. Here's another thing. That part that we actually need for this is in the truck. Do you want to go to the truck? I think we can make do without that necessary part.

[C]

They need to be keeping their voices down. I'm also like, you need instructions. You're a master plumber.

[B]

You're a master plumber. You are at the top of your field. You essentially own this entire company and have a crew of people working underneath you. But then the funniest part was, eventually I could hear them just playing YouTube cooking videos and talking about what they would make of the videos. Oh, yeah, Lasagna soup doesn't seem that hard to make. Yeah, it's easier than lasagna. And I was like, are you literally talking about making lasagna soup? And I'm still waiting to get this faucet installed.

[C]

Oh, my gosh. It's so. It is something. Sometimes when you have someone come do something in your apartment, you're like, literally, what are your credentials? Because, like, I mean, you're freestyling. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, I. I get it. If you're a master plumber, your job's probably very stressful. Maybe you do need to take a minute, just watch a cooking video from time to time.

[C]

Yeah, of course.

[B]

But what I was overhearing was not instilling confidence. At the end of the day, though, I do have to say, the faucet looks great. It works great. No leaks anymore because there were leaks, and so everything is great now. It just was a little bit frustrating. And there was a certain point where I kind of felt like, should I just try to do this myself? Kind of like you getting on a table and installing a light fixture. There was a part of me that's like, should I have just tried to do this myself? But it's done now, and. And things are better. It's all fine. It's all fine.

[C]

I could never. I. The faucet. It's like, that's one of the. There's. There are things I will absolutely draw the line with that I'm like, I'm not messing around with that faucet being one of them.

[B]

All right, well, Sophia, switching gears, what do you say we do some drowsy? All right, Sophia, what history are we gonna try to recount tonight?

[C]

Okay, tonight I have a story for you, and I actually think I'm like, maybe I will start the story, and then you'll Find out what the history is, because I think it's fun. If it's a bit of a reveal, is that cool?

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[C]

Okay. This one I actually think I have. It might shock some listeners, but I think I might be more competent at retelling this than Finding Nemo or the other movies that I've tried to recount because I. I did a little bit of, like, brushing up. So. Okay, we're in Bo. It's 19. 19, 19 20. It's winter. Okay. And we're in the north end of Boston. I'm excited to know if you, like, know what this is.

[B]

Okay. So north end of Boston, for folks who don't know, is also kind of referred to Boston's Little Italy. It's a very charming area with historic homes, row houses.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Brick lanes and so on. It's just like when you think of New England, quaint city.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

This is what the north end is. It's so adorable.

[C]

It's like, really European because I feel like it's like that's one of those parts of Boston where you're like, you guys had no plan. Like, the streets are willy freakin nilly. And you guys really had the.

[B]

So skinny. Where you're like, okay, an oxcart can get through here, but nothing wider than an ox cart will get through this thing. That's essentially an alley. That's supposed to be a road.

[C]

That's it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay. So there's this huge tank. It is 50ft tall. Do you like them? I'm like, guys, I really tried. Guys, get excited. I really tried. This is what it would be like if I was a teacher.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I'm like, there's a tank and it's 50ft tall.

[B]

I think I have some idea of where the story's going, but I'm not going to step on it because I love how you're telling it.

[C]

Okay, so there is a tank and it basically is filled with molasses. Do you know the rest? Do you know where we're going?

[B]

Okay, I know exactly where we're going.

[C]

I'm so happy we have this tank that's filled with molasses. Quite literally filled to the brim with molasses because they just got a new shipment of molasses into the tank. Okay. It's the winter, but this was like an unseasonably warm day. And also the new molasses that they had just put in the tank was also warm. So it's a bit. It's warmer than normal in the tank. Right? Okay. People Also say that, you know, sometimes this tank oozes molasses. They say that. They actually also say, you know, maybe they even had to paint the tank brown so that people can notice how much molasses was oozing out of it. Maybe even something like that. And so it's like the middle of the day. People in this area feel and hear something. They like, feel basically an earthquake. They're like the ground is rumbling, like something is not right. And then they hear a really loud sound. It sounds horrible, whatever they hear. There's actually people are hearing lots of different things. Some people are like, we heard a roar. Other people were like, it sounded like a machine gun going off. So there was a lot of different sounds. Crackling, exploding, crackling, exploding, etc.

[B]

Yeah, it could be a lot of things, but yeah, it's there.

[C]

Something shifted, literally. And basically I think you guys can tell where this is going. But yes, the tank of molasses has exploded and burst open. And of course the molasses is now flooding the streets of Boston.

[B]

Yes, the great molasses spill.

[C]

The great molasses spill of the year of 19 something.

[B]

This is textbook level.

[C]

Yes, this is. I truly tried. Well, the thing about this, if you guys want to know the truth, is that like, either I'm going to like know it or it's going to be like, we don't know anything. So there's not really an in between. My brain doesn't really store information like that. It's like, we know it or we don't. So. So we're trying this week. We know it. Yeah. And also, like, I don't really. This is stuff that I don't fully understand. Maybe you guys can consult your textbooks on this one. But for some reason, because of the way that molasses behaves, it's different than water, which means it moves actually much quicker than water would in this scenario.

[B]

So it's so thick and heavy.

[C]

Yeah, I think it's like, it's so heavy that it just like gains speed really fast. And so it. The molasses is flooding through the streets at about 35 miles per hour.

[B]

That's really fast, by the way.

[C]

That's really fast. It's fast enough for. If it was molasses and it hit you, it would hurt.

[B]

Oh, absolutely. You can't escape a 35 mile per hour river of molasses hitting you.

[C]

No, no, no. I'm also getting word from our pillow fort gods that molasses is a non newtonian fluid.

[B]

What does that mean?

[C]

Which Means that it's a fluid that does not follow Newton's law, and it changes how it moves and flows based on stress. So I don't really know what the stress of that situation is.

[B]

Wow. Maybe hitting the narrow buildings of the north end.

[C]

Maybe.

[B]

Maybe. Maybe increasing pressure as those alleys get narrower.

[C]

Yes, things like that. Things like that.

[B]

Maybe the increased temperature of that day because it was warmer than usual that day.

[C]

Yes, all these things.

[B]

So if it happened anywhere other than the north end on a warm day, the circumstances might be different.

[C]

They might be different. It's important for everyone to know that I got a D on multiple, probably of my science finals in high school anyway, so I don't really know about that. That. Okay. So the glasses is flooding the streets. It's not. It's. Guys, it's non Newtonian.

[B]

It's moving.

[C]

Which basically means it's moving all crazy. Yes. Essentially, it's so powerful that it, like, swept a train off its tracks.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Yes. And I guess also apparently this is. This is the part that I was like, that's crazy. And even hard for me to believe is that it swept buildings off of their foundations.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Which is so, so crazy.

[B]

That is wild.

[C]

I know.

[B]

That's more destructive than, like, when I think of Tornado Alley growing up in Minnesota, every once in a while a building would be destroyed like that, but we're talking a whole river of molasses. So it's multiple buildings being destroyed like this. Yes.

[C]

The image of this that is stuck in my mind that I remember from when I first learned about it, is that there was a boy that was literally swept up by the molasses and rode it like a wave.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

And then he, like, landed. I think he passed out. When he woke up, he was, like.

[B]

Home or something and licking his arms because.

[C]

Licking his arms.

[B]

Sweet and delicious.

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

I don't know about that part, actually. We don't know.

[C]

So that's, like, what happened. I also learned that, I guess in the aftermath, the people who were in charge of this, like, molasses tank or whatever, that they had tried to say that it happened because of some type of, like, plot against them. They tried to say that it was like an affair. There was, like, an affair. Name the British interfering, literally. Meanwhile, they're like, the tank was, like, constantly using molasses. And literally, you had to paint it brown because there was so much molasses coming out of it. And then later, the sign. The scientists me were like, the tank was bad. The tank was just far too thin to hold Molasses.

[B]

No, clearly the instructional integrity is a problem. If you're practicing covering up the leaks, you're trying to not let the leaks be obvious even though it's leaking like crazy.

[C]

No, exactly. Yeah. There were like millions and millions dollars worth of damage in the city. It was obviously like incredibly difficult to clean up because it's molasses, which is kind of famously difficult to get rid of.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I think they ended up like basically pumping in seawater because they were like, that helps dissolve it. So they like intense.

[B]

Oh yeah.

[C]

People said that sometimes on a hot day you could still smell the molasses for years and years and years afterwards.

[B]

Oh, I believe it. Because I mean, if you have some of those old wooden buildings in the north end or even like absorbing into the brick or totally the wooden shutters of houses, I imagine it's in the road foundation. It's probably everywhere.

[C]

It's. I mean, literally it's everywhere. It's like. Yeah. And it doesn't like evaporate like water. It's just like there now it's molasses. It's molasses. It's on a foundation of molasses. But that's one of the classic, like insane things that has happened. And I, I was fond of the story the first time I heard it.

[B]

I love that story. I love the corporate cover up of it. I love pointing fingers, but I just love the insanity of molasses causing that much destruction. Molasses, which we associate with cookies and sweet things.

[C]

I.

[B]

And who doesn't love a molasses cookie, right? I know, it's just bananas to me. That's something that's so wonderful that the world over people love. You don't love so much when it takes over your town.

[C]

I know, it's like Charlie and the chocolate factory gone awry. Like something, something. This is actually something I think about a lot, which is that I think about. One of the things that images in my head that I always think about is like jumping into a pool of something that isn't water. And often it's like food because I think like, oh my God, you would just kind of. You'd just sink to the bottom. I always think about it like jumping into a pool of pudding. I'm like, you would just sink.

[B]

Yes. Unless like the molasses, it's moving very fast and doesn't follow Newtonian laws. Then you can just ride it like on a surfboard like that one kid did.

[C]

Yes. We need like a whirlpool or what are they called? Like the. A lazy river of pudding and molasses.

[B]

See, that would be fun.

[C]

Or anything. I don't know. I don't need to. I don't need to.

[B]

I do love the molasses story so much, though. I'm so glad that this is what you brought to our drowsy history tonight.

[C]

I know.

[B]

And it also is just a fun thing to think about as I think about drifting off to sleep, because sometimes when I'm having a hard time falling asleep, Sophia, I do this little exercise where I imagine I'm on a raft floating down the Mississippi River.

[C]

Oh, that's a good one.

[B]

And it just is one of these things where I'm like, okay, I'm being rocked asleep. Nothing but the stars above me. I'm moving, I'm moving, I'm moving along. And tonight, though, I think if I have trouble sleeping, I'm gonna imagine it's not the Mississippi. I'm gonna imagine it's the Molasses river running through the north end of Boston in the early 1900s instead.

[C]

Floating on it.

[B]

Yeah. And it's gonna smell sweet. You know, the way certain kinds of scented holiday candles can help us feel relaxed and put us to sleep and so on. It'll be kind of like that scent, just relaxing me.

[C]

I know.

[B]

Putting me to sleep.

[C]

I bet those people were so sick of the smell of molasses, though. Like, to me, I'm like, it's a lovely smell. And I bet they were like, oh, my God, if I ever. If someone ever tries to give me a molasses cookie, all hell will break loose. It's like, oh, my God.

[B]

It's so true that anything that we love in this world can become not lovely anymore if there's too much of it. Like, here's an example of something where it's like, oh, I really love kittens. I know you love kittens, Sophia, but if you walk into a room and there are 10,000 kittens, and they outnumber you, and they're like Florida ceiling kittens, now I'm scared. Then it's scary, Then it's not cute anymore. And it's kind of the same with molasses, where it's like, mmm, molasses. But, oh, God, this is hundreds of gallons, and it's taken over the entire city. Not so cute anymore, right?

[C]

Not quite so cute anymore. Molasses is no longer cute.

[B]

No. Oh, my gosh.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, I loved this drowsy history so much, Sophia, and I already told you my game plan. I know what I'm gonna think of while I try to fall asleep tonight?

[C]

I think I might think of the same thing. I'm like, I think I'm gonna be doing some visualizations of myself on a raft on top of a molasses river.

[B]

And everyone else out there, if it helps you, we encourage you to do the same thing.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Please relax, close your eyes. Ride the molasses.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Well, thank you so much again, Sophia. That was great. Have a good night. Sweet dreams.

[C]

Sweet dreams. Kristen. Sam.

[A]

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