1 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: You know, I guess we should begin today's episode by 2 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: pointing out that it is not, to our knowledge, sponsored 3 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: by Miller Lite. Although we had a lot of fun 4 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: with those guys. You had the best tagline of all times. 5 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: I'm really surprised they haven't like purchased this from you. 6 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: You know, it was a gift. We're just very giving 7 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: people on this show, and that is the gift that 8 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,160 Speaker 1: keeps on giving in social media form. And I don't 9 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: know if they'll ever give us any more ads again. 10 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: But what was it again? Then? Uh, Miller Lite. The 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: beer is so good that you can drink it with 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: your mouth, and I think that we arrived at that 13 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: on our earlier episode about ritual alcohol enemas or ak A. 14 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: You're not gonna say it. You're not gonna say it. 15 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: I tried to make you say last time. That was 16 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: a sore spot. But chugging is the word chugging. Today 17 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: we're talking about a different kind of chugging, chugging, chugging 18 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: it to the streets. Yes, yes, taking into the streets. 19 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: That's well put. Uh, I'm ben oh, I'm null. And 20 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: we are of course joined with our super producer Casey 21 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: Pegram give it up for and fellow ridiculous historians. Our 22 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: journey today takes us to the early eighteen hundreds in 23 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 1: foggy Old London Town October, specifically when a bizarre sequence 24 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: of events through the community of St Giles, London into 25 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: a state of pand ammonium and terror. What happened and 26 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: how did this come to pass? Okay, so let's set 27 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: the scene. He already did. Foggy London Town eighteen fourteen. Uh, 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: there's a brewery, right, There's a brewery called the Horseshoe 29 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: Brewery which was located at the corner of Great Russell 30 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: Street and Tottenham Court Roads. The Horseshoe Brewery was the building. 31 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: It was like this historic brewery and the mu and 32 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: Company brewers I guess had taken it over or they 33 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: were the ones occupying it at this time, and they 34 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: had a They were all about being up to the 35 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: latest technological brewing standards, which at the time where giant 36 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: wooden vats secured with these iron rings like a giant 37 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: barrel basically right, yeah, yeah, these giant barrels girdled with 38 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: heavy iron hoops. And this was sort of a a 39 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: fad or a trend for breweries at the time, the 40 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: vats were meant to be displayed to visitors, right, They 41 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: were meant to be a show stopping spectacle and to 42 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: impress potential customers. So there was this kind of one 43 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: ups ship contest wherein different breweries would try to build 44 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,799 Speaker 1: progressively larger vats and barrels. And you just said how 45 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: how big these were? To put it in another perspective, 46 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: there three stories tall, and as you said, they're built 47 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: of wood with just some hoops around them, very heavy 48 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: iron hoops for structural integrity. Yeah. And um, let's not 49 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: forget the type of beer that was being brewed. Here 50 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: was something akin to a stout, like a dark porter ale, 51 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: which was very popular at the time. Um, and this 52 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: vat would hold three thousand, five hundred barrels of this 53 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: brown stuff. And everything is fine for years, for like 54 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: four years, everything is fine until it isn't. On October fourteen, 55 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: in this area of St. Giles, which we should mention 56 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: as a poor area of London, several things are happening. 57 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: There is a woman named and Seville who is mourning 58 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: the tragic death of her two year old son, John, 59 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: who had just died the day earlier. On October six, 60 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: and she is mourning in her seller apartment. A lot 61 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: of people live in basements in this area. And then upstairs, 62 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: on the first floor of this tenement on New Street, 63 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,840 Speaker 1: a lady named Mary Banfield is sitting down for tea 64 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: with her daughter Hannah, who is four. And then across 65 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: across the way or nearby, there is a fourteen year 66 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: old named Eleanor Cooper at the Tavistock Arms public House 67 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: who's scouring pots. Teenage barmaid. A teenage barmaid, yeah, her 68 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: scullery maid. At the very least. She is by this 69 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: outdoor water pump that's right next to a brick wall 70 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: that's about twenty five ft high. And the brewery that 71 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:52,919 Speaker 1: you mentioned a um that that you described for us 72 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: earlier is directly on the other side of that barrier. 73 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: They're famous for this porter that you mentioned, and they 74 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,840 Speaker 1: produced more than one hundred thousand barrels of this each year. 75 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: It was big business. And around four thirty pm that day, 76 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: a storehouse clerk named George Crick looks at one of 77 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: these huge wooden vats and he's looking at it from 78 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: above right, and as he's staring down, he notices something's off. 79 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: One of those hoops, which weighs seven hundred pounds, has 80 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: slipped off a cask and the porter that storing is 81 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: ten months old. Crick has been with the company for 82 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: almost two decades, and he knew that this kind of thing, 83 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: the slippage of the hoop could happen maybe once the 84 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: three times a year, and he didn't think too much 85 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: of it. He was just like, sometimes things happen. Were 86 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: they not doing proper maintenance on this monstrosity. It's hard 87 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: to say, man, you know, they must have had to 88 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: do some sort of regular maintenance just because it's would Yeah, 89 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: but I imagine that like safety and you know, health 90 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: inspections wasn't really much of a thing back in these days, 91 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: so that's probably like left their own devices a little bit. 92 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: But yeah, so that one who pops off, and you 93 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: can imagine like what we're talking like maybe like eight 94 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: of these hoops for the giant cask, right, So that's 95 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:24,359 Speaker 1: significantly weakening it structurally, and then um, the other hoops 96 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: start to kind of follow suit, or at least the 97 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:31,599 Speaker 1: I don't know, it starts to weaken the entire thing. 98 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: It's like a domino effect on this right, Yeah, that's 99 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: a good way to put it. So George Creek goes 100 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: ahead and fills up the vat all the way almost 101 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: to the top, almost to the brim, I think four 102 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: inches away from the top, and this like more than 103 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 1: high way. He sees the thing pop off, and then 104 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: he's just like a screw it and still sees that 105 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: it's slipped. At this point, it slipped, and he told 106 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: his boss about it, and his boss said that quote 107 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: new home whatever would inceed and sounds like a real 108 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: villainous type. I can't help a picture him as such. 109 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: And he told Craig. He was just like, George, you 110 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: should write a letter to another guy who works at 111 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: the brewery and they can fix it later, but we'll 112 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,239 Speaker 1: be fine for now. Don't worry about it. And then, uh, 113 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: Craig sits down and he he's filled up the vat. 114 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: He writes this letter and it's it's about five thirty 115 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: when he finishes writing the letter, and then he hears 116 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: a massive explosion. Yeah, yeah, a massive explosion that set 117 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: forth all of those thousands of barrels of this. It 118 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: was hot actually, because it was mid ferment right, just gushing, 119 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: and it was so forceful that it actually took out 120 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: a wall in the brewery that allowed it to continue 121 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: to flood into the streets of that area where he's cribing. 122 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: And not to mention that as it went it took 123 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: out the other casks that were around as well. They 124 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: may have not held the same volume total, but added 125 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: up together made for a whole another problem. Right exactly 126 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: so that large barrier we mentioned earlier, where the fourteen 127 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: year old Eleanor Cooper is working, that wall collapses, it 128 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: kills her instantly. The sheer force of this explosion sends 129 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: bricks flying through the air across Great Russell Street, and 130 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: a deluge of beer rushes through the neighborhood. And it's 131 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: sweeping away like this is an actual flood. It's sweeping 132 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: away everything in its path. Well, this is like three 133 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: d and twenty plus thousand gallons of beer. Yeah, and 134 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: that one, that first vat alone held the equivalent of 135 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: one million pints of beer. Jesus. And again, as as 136 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: we said just a moment ago, that wasn't the only 137 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,439 Speaker 1: vat that went, and there was no drainage. We should 138 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: mention that on these city streets, there's not like a 139 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: sewage system have we talked about the great Stink of London, Ben, 140 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: I think we have. Remember how nasty that city was 141 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: pre sewage system. You know, it was just the streets 142 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: were literally caked in human excrement, and so this beer 143 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: is washing all that along with it. People are getting 144 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: swept up in the flood. Can you imagine the smell. 145 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: It must have been disgusted. I mean, think about how 146 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: it smells like downtown Atlanta or somewhere like Little five Points, 147 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: like after like a weekend. You know, it just smells 148 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: like pea and stale beer, or just outside of our 149 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: building building. It's true, this must have been that like 150 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: to the mph power, and it happens so quickly it's 151 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 1: difficult for us to fully articulate how quickly this occurs. 152 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 1: People who live in the neighborhood are losing their minds. 153 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: They're screaming zoie and what dot, and they're hopping up 154 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: on pieces of furniture. They're trying to save themselves from drowning, 155 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: which was a real possibility because this flood was so 156 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: strong and so forceful that some of the houses that 157 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: were in disrepair crumbled themselves. So your house could fall 158 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: on you, all right, here's where it gets gross. Okay, 159 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: it's already pretty gross at this point, but um, a 160 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 1: lot of the folks were trying to, you know, make 161 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: this see the silver lining in this situation. And you know, 162 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: likely they were alcoholics because they were just like, hey, 163 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 1: free beer. So they would get like whatever receptacle they 164 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: get their hands on, a bucket or whatever and start 165 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 1: scooping this stuff up and drinking it. And some people 166 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: just lapped it up off the street. And again, lots 167 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: of poop mixed in with this beer at this lots 168 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: of lots of poop to try this road dirt road kill. Yeah, 169 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: and let's also not forget that this beer was mid fermentation, 170 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,079 Speaker 1: so it wasn't even done. Yeah, it was even like 171 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: beer beer. So where are we fatality wise at this point? Ben, 172 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: As this deluge makes us way through St. Giles Rookery, 173 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: another area where I believe some of the city's poorest 174 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: we're living. Um, and this is another very sad detail here, Ben. 175 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: This happened during the day, so the men would have 176 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: been away at work. So the folks that were at 177 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 1: home that would have experience the brunt of this beer 178 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: nami would have been children and women right exactly. Let's 179 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: explore some of the fatalities. So we mentioned the unfortunate 180 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: end of fourteen year old barmaid Eleanor Cooper. She died 181 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: pretty quickly, near instantly as far as we can tell. 182 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: But let's also revisit some of the characters we introduced 183 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: earlier in the story. And Seville, who was mourning again 184 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: the death of her two year old son John, was 185 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: holding a wake in their basement apartment when the beer 186 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 1: flood hit. They had no time or no way to 187 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: get out, so Seville, along with the other three mourners 188 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: were all killed by by this beer. And then the 189 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: couple that we had mentioned, the mom and daughter having 190 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: tea on the first floor of their tenement, Mary Benfield 191 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: and her four year old daughter Hannah, they both passed away. 192 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: So this this gets us up to let's see Eleanor, 193 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,959 Speaker 1: the four mourners, Mary and Hannah. This gets us up 194 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: to seven fatalities in a matter of minutes. But that's 195 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: not all. There was one more fatality right now. Yeah, 196 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 1: and this is probably a direct result of these booze 197 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: scoopers that were talking about earlier that were just you know, 198 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: chugging the stuff from the streets, hence my opening phrase 199 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: chugging into the streets. And apparently this last death was 200 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: alcohol poisoning, and not not to make light, but you know, 201 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: it's sort of like you did it to yourself, buddy, 202 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: you escaped the act will del use that all of 203 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 1: these innocence you know, we're subjected to, and then you went, 204 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 1: You went and drank yourself to death like a jerk. 205 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: Because isn't like half fermented booze dangerous. Isn't it like 206 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,520 Speaker 1: ethanol really strong or something like? Oh, I don't know, 207 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: I thought so, I know, like moonshine, if you drink 208 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: it before it's finished or something like that, it can 209 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: be really really dangerous. But I don't know if that applies. 210 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm just spit on here. But do we know know 211 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: whether or not that was intentional alcohol poisoning? You know 212 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 1: what I mean? Were they just trying not to drown 213 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: and they managed to not drown? Interesting? But they unclear? 214 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: But uncle, I don't know. I just want to just 215 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: not that they need me to defend them, but possibly, 216 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,199 Speaker 1: I though I don't want to sound too cynical about it, 217 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:49,599 Speaker 1: I'm tempted to think it's the first idea you proposed, 218 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: and that they just drink themselves to death. There could 219 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: have been more deaths, more fatalities. It's pretty astonishing in fact, 220 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,680 Speaker 1: that so few people died as a result of this 221 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: flood this which is say earlier beer nami, like the 222 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:11,560 Speaker 1: worst damage does occur there on New Street, and now 223 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: this neighborhood is soaked in beer. Everything stinks. People are 224 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: covered in hot malt liquor. Three brewery employees almost died, 225 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: but they were luckily pulled from this temporary raging river 226 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: and people rescuers arrived on the scene and they were 227 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: trying with their bare hands to go through the rubble 228 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: and find anyone who is trapped inside, and they had to. 229 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: They were in a really weird situation because people are 230 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: losing their minds, wailing and screaming, and they're like, you 231 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: have to be quiet because we're trying to hear people 232 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: in the rubble. Yeah, it's a real scene, ben Um, 233 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: And surprise, surprise, this story doesn't have a happy ending 234 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,160 Speaker 1: on on multiple levels, on the corporate level, right on 235 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: the corporate greed and corrupt and level, there's some real 236 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 1: palm grease and going on here, and some shady backroom 237 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: deals that caused, uh, the responsible parties being the brewers, 238 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: to kind of get away scott free. And remember Ben, 239 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: you mentioned houses were lost, foundations were wrecked, homes were 240 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 1: crumbled because of this. This was that much beer. Can 241 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: you believe it? It blows my mind that it would 242 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: have kept that momentum going long enough to actually damage 243 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:34,479 Speaker 1: people's properties. I can't even picture the sheer volume of stinking, 244 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: brown hot booze. And yeah, this does have a maybe 245 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: sobering it's not the right word for this episode, but 246 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: it's funny. There is a sobering aspect to this story, 247 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: which is that this community was largely composed of Irish 248 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: immigrants and newspapers in the establishment at the time very 249 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: much looked down on immigrants from Ireland, and the company 250 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: that own the brewery eventually did just fine. Because you 251 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: would think they would take an enormous financial hit right 252 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: from losing literally all of their inventory, killing eight people, 253 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: and destroying a neighborhood. But they initially thought they were 254 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: going to be in tough times because they had already 255 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: paid the excise taxes on the booze. But somehow they 256 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: got Parliament to give them a pass and they got 257 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: their money back. Yeah. Not only that they got um 258 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: Parliament or whatever governing body was overseeing this thing, UH 259 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: to rule the disaster. The collapse of this cask as 260 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: an act of God, an unavoidable act of God, meaning 261 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: no mortal entity could be held responsible, and meaning no 262 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: mortal UH got a dime. Right, And this was only 263 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: two days after the flood. Jury convened to investigate the accident. 264 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: They visited the side of the tragedy, They viewed the 265 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: corpses of the victims. They heard testimony from Crick we 266 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, and as you said, no, they said this 267 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,120 Speaker 1: had been an act of God and that the victims 268 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: had met their death casually, accidentally, and by misfortune. I 269 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,679 Speaker 1: would agree with the last part. I would. It was 270 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: definitely a serious case of misfortune. And there was a 271 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: lot of speculation about the court being corrupt or bribed, 272 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 1: but there was never an official statement made, and the 273 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: brewery soldiered on for a long time, for more than 274 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: a century. It wasn't until that it was demolished and 275 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: they built something called the Dominion Theater on part of 276 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: the site. In two thousand and twelve, there was a 277 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: pub in the area. The whole born whippet that's began 278 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:56,479 Speaker 1: marking the Great Beer Flood of eighteen fourteen with a 279 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: vat of porter brewed especially for the day, which to 280 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 1: me feels like it's impoor taste. I'm just gonna go 281 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: on the record and say that I would agree with 282 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:12,199 Speaker 1: you on the record. So another strange aspect of this 283 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:18,360 Speaker 1: story is that this is not the only strange beverage flood. 284 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: I think do we ever mention the Great Molasses Flood. 285 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: I don't know if we've done a full episode on it, 286 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 1: but there's definitely a parallel. It's like the American equivalent, yeah, 287 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: of this, because I don't know there's ever been another 288 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: booze flood kind of like this because they switched after this, 289 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: This did bring about some change in the brewing process 290 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,159 Speaker 1: where they changed it to concrete casks as opposed to 291 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: these shoddy, you know, rickety wooden cast But what's the 292 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: Great Molasses Flood? Because it's great as well. We were 293 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: talking off air about how it's funny when we have 294 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,960 Speaker 1: a date and then the Great a thing, implying there 295 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: may have been lesser versions of that, the mediocre beer flood. Yeah, 296 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: so the Great Molasses Flood also known as the Boston 297 00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: Molasses Disaster, occurred in January of nineteen nine teen, when 298 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,199 Speaker 1: a huge storage tank of molasses burst, causing molasses to 299 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: rush through the streets at like thirty five miles an hour. 300 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: Fifty people were injured, twenty one people died. And then 301 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 1: there was the Honolulu Molasses spill, which happened in two 302 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: thousand thirteen. So this stuff isn't just ancient history. Luckily, 303 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: no humans as far as we know, passed away in 304 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: that molasses spill, but it did tremendous damage to the 305 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,479 Speaker 1: maritime environment. And then there's one other one. I just 306 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: like the name. I don't know if you've heard this name. 307 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: No one want to see what you think about it. 308 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,879 Speaker 1: The Pepsi fruit Juice Flood. That sounds like a drink, 309 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: that sounds like a really cool band. He he has 310 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:43,959 Speaker 1: going to see the Pepsi fruit juice Flood. Red Rocks. 311 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: I caught him in Bonnaroo. You know, I just I 312 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: love their live work. They've taken a different direction on 313 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: the new album. Yeah, the Pepsi Fruit Juice Flood, which 314 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 1: I feel like they might put out his a beverage. 315 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: One day was a flood of twenty eight million liters 316 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: of fruit and vegetable juice into the streets of a 317 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: town in Russia called Lebedian, and it was caused by 318 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: the collapse of PepsiCo warehouse. UH No deaths resulted from 319 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: the spill, but there were two injuries and the streets 320 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 1: were awash with pineapple, apricot, tangerine, grape, mango, pomegranate, apple, cherry, orange, grapefruit, 321 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: and tomato juice. So if you're going to make a 322 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: commemorative drink for that, those would be the ingredients. And 323 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: I think that would taste pretty nasty, right, it does 324 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: seem so that doesn't seem like a very good combination 325 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: of flavors. It's like, I did you ever drink V eight? 326 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: I like the it splash, but no, not like tomato juice. 327 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: If that's what you're asking me, what I'm drink clamato next? Like, 328 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: what's the difference between V eight splash and V A. 329 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: V A splash has like fruit juices in it. It 330 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 1: has just a little bit. It hides the carrot juice 331 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,239 Speaker 1: in the tomato juice. It's veiled. Kids like to drink it. 332 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: It's a tasty juice beverage well, you know what, maybe 333 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: I'll give it a shot. Well, I have never tried 334 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 1: V eight nor V eight splash have I experience in 335 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:06,440 Speaker 1: all life unlived? No, but it takes. I mean, you 336 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:11,199 Speaker 1: know you you're You've got your path, I got your story. 337 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,920 Speaker 1: You know doesn't have to include V eight. Thanks man. 338 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: You drink other beverages that you know that I don't. 339 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: I don't drink like, uh, milk, I don't drink milk. 340 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,119 Speaker 1: You don't drink milk, no nut milk. I feel like 341 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,640 Speaker 1: milk is an ingredient. We actually we had this conversation 342 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:32,640 Speaker 1: before with one of our coworkers, a great guy, Paul Deckant, 343 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: who also has the nickname Mission Control, and he is 344 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: definitely a fan of drinking milk. Wouldn't you say so? Caseys, 345 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: Have you guys had that conversation about milk as an 346 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 1: ingredient versus a beverage? I mean I consume it as 347 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: a beverage too, So I'm right there with him. I 348 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: like chocolate milk. Yeah, same same, I used to Did 349 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: you guys ever hear the story? This has nothing to 350 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: do with a great beer flood of eighteen fourteen, But 351 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: did you guys ever hear this story of I guess 352 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: the old urban legend that chocolate milk was originally created 353 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: to hide blood clots and impurities. Delicious way to hide it. Okay, well, 354 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: Casey on the case, and this ends our tail for today. 355 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for tuning in ridiculous historians. Thank 356 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: you super producer, Casey pegram No my friend as always, 357 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: Thank you for exploring this strange, disturbing tale. Yeah, there's 358 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 1: a lot going on here. It's sort of a tale 359 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: of wealth and poverty and uh, you know, the rich 360 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: running rough shod over the poor. We sort of didn't 361 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: only see that aspect of it until the end, but um, 362 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,959 Speaker 1: it's definitely there. And it's gross. It's gross u philosophically 363 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: and also physically gross because it's hot beer rushing through 364 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: the poop laden streets of London town right washing away 365 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 1: children having tea parties, I know. And no one got 366 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 1: in trouble. No one went to jail. It's a shame, 367 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: but at least it did lead to better or safety standards. 368 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: That's true. Speaking of things leading to things, this is 369 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 1: the part of the show where we lead to the 370 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: end of the show. Nice see my seg game is 371 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: on fire. It's I'm really working on I've been saving 372 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,560 Speaker 1: that one. You've been putting in the work. You can 373 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: find us on Instagram, you can find us on Facebook, 374 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: you can find us on Twitter, but more importantly, you 375 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: can find us and your fellow Ridiculous Historians on our 376 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,400 Speaker 1: Facebook community page, Ridiculous Historians. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. 377 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: There's some good conversation there, some good memory, some good history, weirdness, 378 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: good conversation. Already said that all of those things. You 379 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: can find it right there, go to Ridiculous Historians. All 380 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: you have to do is like name one of our 381 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: names or something. And even if you just like make 382 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: up something clever, we'll we'll let you in. If it's funny, 383 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,160 Speaker 1: we'll let you in totally. We'd like to thank our 384 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: research associate Gabe, who helped us out with this one. Um. 385 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: We'd also like to thank our buddy Alex Williams, who 386 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: composed this theme. Do you think he even knows that 387 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: we include a thank you to him in every episode? 388 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 1: Him to him? He had nodded. He's a very demure 389 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: kind of dude. Yeah, oh what our comic book recommendation. 390 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: Comic book recommendation for today, This one might be a 391 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: little on the nose. UM. But I had a friend 392 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: tell me how I got the movie version of Watchman 393 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:12,400 Speaker 1: all wrong, how I need to go back and watch 394 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: it again. UM. I have not done that yet, but 395 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:16,920 Speaker 1: I really felt like it kind of missed the mark 396 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: of what that comic was all about. UM, So I 397 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: really recommend going back and revisiting not the movie Watchman, 398 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: but the incredible seminal graphic novel Watchman by Alan Moore. UM. Watchman. 399 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: I also, oddly enough, have an Alan Moore recommendation that 400 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: I was thinking about Providence. Providence is the is this 401 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: story of a writer who explores the world of HP Lovecraft, 402 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: this guy who kind of who wants to mean HP Lovecraft. 403 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 1: It has all these weird experiences that if you like 404 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,879 Speaker 1: HP Lovecraft, you like Alan Moore, you're gonna love this. 405 00:24:54,119 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: That's all I can say. See you next time, folks, 406 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: The Sexton Time