Wednesday, August 01, 2007

The Great London Beer Flood of 1814

This isn't quite as amusing horrific as the Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, which killed 21 people, flattened buildings and tore apart 1/2 inch steel plates, but it is close. 1.2 million litres of beer burst out of barrels in a London brewery in 1814, flooding the slum of St Giles and drowning seven people. People rushed to save as much of the free beer as possible, so much so that an eighth victim died of alcohol poisoning.

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