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35) Beer Flood
The London Beer Flood occurred on October 17, 1814 in the London parish of St. Giles in the United Kingdom. At the Meux and Company Brewery[1] on Tottenham Court Road[2][3], a huge vat containing over 135,000 gallons of beer ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect. As a result, more than 323,000 gallons of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms pub, trapping the barmaid under the rubble.[4]
The wave left 9 people dead: 8 due to drowning, one from alcohol poisoning.
Because the wave hit a poor neighbourhood, survivors rushed to save as much of the drink as they could. It took weeks for the smell to subside. The brewery was eventually taken to court over the accident, but the disaster was ruled to be an “Act of God” by the judge and jury, leaving no one responsible.
Taken From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood
34) Oral Sex
One French president, in 1899, Félix Faure died during (oral) sex with his mistress at the Elysées. From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2012494,00.html
33) Molasses
The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company facility on January 15, 1919. At 529 Commercial Street, a huge molasses tank 50 ft (15 m) tall, 90 ft (27 m) in diameter and containing as much as 2,300,000 US gal (8,700,000 L) collapsed.
The collapse unleashed an immense wave of molasses between 8 and 15 ft (2.5 to 4.5 m) high, moving at 35 mph (56 km/h) and exerting a pressure of 2 ton/ft² (200 kPa).[3] The molasses wave was of sufficient force to break the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway’s Atlantic Avenue structure and lift a train off the tracks. Nearby, buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of 2 to 3 feet.
The Boston Globe reported that people “were picked up by a rush of air and hurled many feet.” Others had debris hurled at them from the rush of sweet-smelling air. A truck was picked up and hurled into Boston Harbor. Approximately 150 were injured; 21 people and several horses were killed — some were crushed and asphyxiated by the molasses. The wounded included people, horses, and dogs; coughing became one of the biggest problems after the initial blast.
Michael Hutchence, the Australian rock star and front man of INXS, the country’s most successful band, has been found dead in an hotel room in Sydney. The 37-year-old’s body was discovered in a room in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel just after midday, Australian time.
Michael Hutchence was preparing for INXS’s 20th anniversary tour. He and the band’s members are still major celebrities in Australia. Taken From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_4006000/4006205.stm
