Disaster Facts

No one knows how many people died during the sinking of the Titanic.

The tallest wave in history was the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami, reaching a height of 1,720 feet (524 meters).

In 1814, a giant vat of beer ruptured at a London brewery, unleashing 135,000 gallons of porter through the streets. It demolished two homes, collapsed a pub wall, and killed eight people. The brewery went to court. The jury ruled it an Act of God. Nobody paid a penny.

On January 15, 1919, a 50-foot steel tank in Boston's North End burst and released 2.3 million gallons of hot molasses. The sticky wave rushed down Commercial Street at roughly 35 mph, reached 15 feet high in places, and claimed 21 lives. Locals swore the streets smelled sweet for decades.

The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, has been on fire since 1962. An underground coal seam ignited, creating sinkholes that vent toxic gas, forcing nearly everyone to leave. The fire still burns today and could continue for 250 more years.

In 1986, Cleveland released 1.5 million balloons to set a world record. A storm pushed them back down. They clogged Lake Erie, shut down a Coast Guard search for two missing boaters who drowned, caused a horse stampede, and triggered so many 911 calls about UFOs that the system crashed. The city was sued for years. The record was never officially recognised.