drunken history

here’s a fun one…

…which i read about in an article that was basically entitled “deadly food disasters” where people died from, say, a wave of ooze that took out city blocks. but it was edible ooze (molasses) so it counted.

almost ninety-six years to the day before i was born (june 18, 1875) a fire broke out in a bonded warehouse in dublin where millions of gallons of whiskey was being stored. because it was early in the process and therefore undiluted it was much more potent than standard issue fare.

the end result was a river of whiskey about two feet wide and six inches deep flowing down the street. when all was said and done the fire resulted in thirteen deaths – but none were from the flames themselves or smoke inhalation. nope – all thirteen died of alcohol poisoning due to drinking the undiluted whiskey out of the street.

i love my heritage.