Although beer is enjoyed all over the world, too much of a good thing can be harmful.
Consider the London Beer Flood, an industrial catastrophe in October 1814 that resulted from a massive porter vat at the Horse Shoe Brewery breaking, sending a 15-foot high tsunami of beer sweeping through the streets. Thankfully, there has never been another beer flood like it. This is what truly happened.
The presence of such a sizable single vat of beer can be attributed to the fact that London breweries were drawn to having large porter vats. According to author Ian S. Hornsey in his book A History of Beer and Brewing, “it is thought that one of the most spectacular sights, certainly at the major London porter breweries, was the sheer size of the storage vats, with much kudos being attached to the brewer in possession of the largest example.” Breweries in London began using vats with a capacity of 1,500 barrels each in 1763, and the size of the vats only increased until the beer flood.
The Horse Shoe Brewery’s broken beer vat wasn’t even the largest one there, as noted by beer historian Martyn Cornell. Although historians disagree about the exact volume the broken vat held (between 3,500 and 7,500 barrels), a modern author Cornell cites claims that the brewery’s largest vat held 18,000 barrels and was held together by eighty tons of iron.
The broken vat contained enough beer to cause mayhem, that much is certain. The brewery’s back wall collapsed, allowing the dark liquid to spill out onto New Street and the surrounding area.
One anonymous American described the experience in a piece that appeared in The Knickerbocker some 20 years later. “All of a sudden, I found myself borne onward with great velocity by a torrent which burst upon me so suddenly as almost to deprive me of breath,” the author wrote. When the flood subsided, he was rescued while exploring the city; other residents weren’t as fortunate.
St. Giles Rookery, a poor neighborhood where many of the city’s most vulnerable people lived in crammed cellars below ground, was where the Horse Shoe Brewery was located. According to History.com, because it occurred on a Monday afternoon, men and boys of working age were away from the scene at their jobs, leaving only women and children as victims.
Some of the residents managed to stay alive by climbing up furniture. Others were less fortunate, according to Rory Tingle’s article in The Independent. Hannah Banfield, a young child, and her mother Mary were having tea at their New Street home when the downpour began. A child’s body was being surrounded by victims in a cellar when five of them perished. Both were swept away in the current and died. Sarah Bates, a three-year-old girl, was the final victim.
According to History.com, “Soaked in poverty, the St. Giles neighborhood was now saturated with beer.” In search of people trapped by the devastation, neighbors waded through beer and wreckage. According to newspaper accounts, everyone kept quiet in order to hear the cries of those who were trapped.
The CBC reports that “contemporary descriptions suggest that residents reacted with commendable calm.” Beer expert Martyn Cornell told Carol Off of the CBC that reports of eager beer drinkers swarming the scene were merely rumors. According to the historical newspaper reports, he claimed, nothing similar occurred. Newspapers at the time “wouldn’t have been friends of the immigrant Irish,” he claimed, so the fact that they don’t mention a mob descending on the beer flood suggests that it didn’t happen. St. Giles Rookery was crowded with Irish immigrants.
In fact, he said, “the accounts of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the disaster say that everyone was very calm and they were urged to be as quiet as they could so that any survivors could be heard under the rubble.” Later, he claimed, the rumors started.
After all the beer had been consumed, the brewery’s owner had no problems. According to History.com, it “received a waiver from the British Parliament for excise taxes it had already paid on the thousands of barrels of beer it lost”; this meant that it was exempt from paying taxes on future batches of beer that were the same size. According to Tingle, the beer flood was deemed a “unavoidable act of God” by the jury. The government or the company gave nothing to those whose homes were destroyed and who lost loved ones.
story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.
Medals of Friendship: The Enduring Olympic Story of 1936
At the 1936 Summer Olympics, two Japanese pole vaulters named Sueo Oe and Shuhei Nishida tied for second, but they declined to compete against each other. As a result, Nishida was awarded the silver medal and Oe won a bronze medal. Upon returning to Japan, the athletes had their medals cut in half and spliced together to create new "friendship medals," which were half silver and half bronze.
Atomic Tourism: In the 1950s, nuclear tests in Las Vegas served as a draw for tourists
Between 1950 and 1960, Las Vegas offered “Atomic Tourism” in which guests could watch atomic bombs being tested in the desert as a form of entertainment.
Top 10 most cruel medical procedures that are being used today
We are all aware that medicine has advanced dramatically over the last fifty years. There are several modern medical approaches available today, but this was not always the case. However, the past of medicine is a dark one. Medical leeches, lobotomy, vascular surgery, cranial stenosis, and even electroshock therapy are all options. These are only a couple of the cruel healing techniques that are still in use today.
Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
Hours before his death Edgar Allen Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore. He was incoherent, wearing another man’s clothes, and unable to explain how he got there. The cause of his death is an unsolved mystery.
What exactly was the US's 'Ghost Army' during WWII?
During WW2, there was a special unit of men dubbed the ‘Ghost Army’. The unit was made of artists, creative and engineers and their job was to create deception about the enemy. From inflatable tanks to phony convoys to scripted conversations in bars intended to spread disinformation, they used all possible tricks to fool the enemy.
A Brief History of the PlayStation Gaming Console
Sony's PlayStation was never meant to be an actual product. Instead, it was intended to be a CD-ROM console that would support Nintendo games. However, when Nintendo backed out of the deal at the last minute, Sony went ahead and launched what soon became one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.
Blanche Monnier: Imprisoned For 25 Years For Falling in Love
Blanche Monnier, she was a French woman noted for her beauty, she wished to marry an old lawyer that her mother disapproved of, so she locked her in a small dark room in her attic for 25 years.
The Forgotten Story of Semipalatinsk and the Soviet Nuclear Experiments
Between 1949 and 1989, the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan became the primary location for Soviet nuclear weapons tests, exposing millions of unsuspecting villagers to radioactive fallout. Known as the “Polygon of Suffering,” this remote desert witnessed 456 nuclear detonations that caused widespread health crises, birth defects, and generational genetic damage. This article narrates the chilling legacy of Semipalatinsk, unveiling the human cost of Cold War arms development and the ongoing struggle for healing and recognition in Kazakhstan.
Saudi Arabia camel carvings dated to prehistoric era
Archaeologists were shocked to discover that a series of camels carved into desert rock faces in north-western Saudi Arabia are actually prehistoric, dating from 7,000-8,000 years ago - before either the Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge were built.
Underground Railroad to Mexico freed thousands of slaves in 1829
Slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829. Slaves were escaping to Mexico, and slaveholders in the US were aware of this. The US attempted to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, which would have required Mexico to send back escaped slaves to the US. But, Mexico refused, arguing that slaves were free as soon as they set foot on Mexican soil.
The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a human chain that united all 3 countries to show the world their desire to escape the Soviet Union and the communism that brought only suffering and poverty. This power stretched 600 km.
Nordlingen, The Town Inside A Meteorite Crater With Millions Of Meteorite Diamonds
The German town of Nördlingen is embedded with 72,000 tons of microscopic diamonds. About 15 million years ago, a meteorite hit this region, and the impact created a massive depression and formed rocks containing diamonds, glass, and crystals. The town was built in the impact crater sometime around 898 CE.
Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 143 days before dying
Terry Fox was a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying.
The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program
In 1986, while doing a night shift at the hospital, Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse, was asked by an elderly patient to stay. She promised to be back after checking on her other patients, but by the time she returned, the gentleman had passed away. Clarke became one of the key figures in launching No One Dies Alone, a program that allows volunteers to sit with terminal patients who have no one else.
Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his own life
Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his life in order to warn an incoming train of an imminent explosion. His telegraph said “Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye, boys.” He saved 300 lives.
Thomas Baker's heroic act that earned him the "Medal of Honor" was 8 bullets until death
Thomas Baker instructed his team to leave him with a pistol and eight bullets propped up against a tree after he was injured. Later, American troops discovered the now-deceased Baker in the same location, lying next to eight dead Japanese soldiers and carrying an empty pistol.
Roller Coasters were First Invented to Distract People from sin
Roller coasters were invented to distract Americans from sin. In the 1880s, hosiery businessman LaMarcus Thompson didn’t like that Americans were going to places like saloons and brothels and created the first roller coaster on Coney Island to persuade them to go there instead.
Marion Stokes recorded 30 years of television
Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn’t stop until her death in 2012. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive.
The Tragic Story Of Mary Ann Bevan, The ‘Ugliest Woman In The World’
After the death of her husband, Mary Ann Bevan had no income to support herself and her children. She then decided to enter a contest where she won the title of “ugliest woman” and was later hired by a circus. She endured this ridicule from the world to provide for her family.
Tunnels Dug by ancient giant sloths, A South American Megafauna
For years, scientists didn’t know what caused mysterious cave networks in South America. In 2010, they learned that the caves were actually tunnels dug by ancient giant sloths
The Arabia Steamboat: Unearthing a 19th Century Time Capsule from the Missouri River
The Arabia was a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856. Over time, the river shifted 800 meters to the east, eventually turning the site of the sinking into a field. The steamboat remained under 45 feet of slit and topsoil until 1988, when it was excavated. The mud, as it turned out, was such a great preserver that most of the artifacts on board were found to be intact. They even found jars of preserved apples that were still edible!
how Ferris wheel invented
In 1891, Chicago challenged engineers to create a structure to surpass the Eiffel Tower for the World's Columbian Exposition. George Washington Gale Ferris jr. responded with the original Ferris Wheel, a giant rotating structure elevating visitors above the city. This invention became an iconic attraction at the fair.
How 18th Century Women’s Rights Movements Shaped Modern Equality
The 18th century marked a turning point in the quest for women’s rights, as passionate voices challenged centuries of gender inequality and laid the groundwork for modern feminism. From pioneers like Mary Wollstonecraft to revolutionary declarations and early advocacy, this era sparked debates on education, political participation, and social justice that continue to resonate today. Journey through the origins of women’s rights movements and discover how their bold ideas shaped the fight for equality.
Nathan's Famous Doctor Stunt
When Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs first opened in 1916, the owner hired people to dress as doctors and eat hot dogs outside his shop, to convince people his hot dogs were healthy.
