Weirdhistory Facts

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.

Medieval courts put animals on trial for real. A sow in Falaise, France was dressed in a jacket and breeches in 1386 and hanged in the market square for attacking a child. Rats, weevils, and beetles got court-appointed lawyers. One French jurist, Bartholomew Chassenée, built his whole career defending rodents.