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This blog post was written by a winner by Jenny B. '25

my entry for #BlogstonCommons

Author’s note: I wrote this for a challenge that I participated in with Janet ’27, Allison ’27, Ellie ’28, and Sara ’28! I won by hitting 500 words first, which was the goal, but I was also trying so hard to win that I didn’t do any editing or even make an attempt at decent typing.

If this is the first blog post of mine that you’re reading, I promise that my other posts are a lot better.

FUBN USELESS FACT:

 

 

An illustration of the Great Molasses Flood. Usain Bolt is trying to outrun the molasses.

Did you know that there was a great molasses flood in boston?? Absolutely nuts! It was somewhere in North End where in the 1900s or something01 January 15, 1919 a giant tank of molasses exploded and flooded the streets of boston, and it straight up killed some people.02 According to Wikipedia, 21 people were killed and 150 people were injured. it was insane. I read a Harvard article03 It wasn't an article from the Harvard Crimson. It was a History.com article about how Nicole Sharp, an aerospace engineer, made a scaled model of the event with some Harvard undergraduates that she was teaching. where some smart person figured out how fast the molasses were flowing, and apparently it was faster than Usain Bolt.04 Sharp calculated that the initial wave of molasses could've moved as fast as 35 mph. Usain Bolt's top speed is a little over 27 mph. Scary!!!! And then the streets smelled like molasses for a littl ebit which was pleasant i guess. But you know whatisn’t pleasant? The molasses would be hot and runny qwhen it escaped the tank, butt hen when it flowed over the people onthe street on a cold January day in New England, it would move significantly slower and people got stuck and sucked into the molasses and it was liek sweet quicsand! mmmmm! but not mmm they died. DID I mention that they died? 

Paul Revere on a horse.

Also fun fact about boston, there is the Freedom Trail, which I’ve wanted to wlak since frehsman year, but I would keep getting hosed :( but a few weeks agp, I wasn’t hosed and so I could walk the whole thing! I walked all the way from Park street to The battle of Bunker Hill.05 * The Bunker Hill Monument I saw a bunch of historical places like the Samuel Adams statue and aslso the samuel adams brewery/bar06 * The Sam Adams Boston Tap Room where theere were a bunch of miillennials having fun! I saw a bunch of cemeteries, which was realistically two or three.07 King's Chapel Burying Ground and Copp's Hill Burying Ground I didn’t go to the granary burying ground because i’ve alreayd been there before. Anyway I saw this one grave that was next to a stump with these pretty mushrooms. I forgo tth eman08 This is the part of the blog post where I got off the train and found a bench to sit on. The number of spelling errors significantly decreases from here. of the person who was buried there but it was dope. Then I got a bacon cheddar bagel sandwich somewhere. It was delicious, but there were too many poppy seeds on the bagel bun.

Bunker Hill

Anyway, I reached the USS Constitution, and I’ve already been to the museum exhibit but I did go into the gift shop to see if I wanted to buy anything. I didn’t buy anything. But I overheard a couple, where the guy was trying to persuade his girlfriend to let him buy ship-related souvenirs because his friend really liked ships. I think he was lying. Then, I reached the Bunker Hill Monument! On a whim, I stood in line for anyone who wanted to climb the monument. I hate stairs, but then I decided to do it because there was an eight-year-old or maybe a five-year-old boy who was waiting in front of me, so my adult ego got the best of me. I forgot how many steps it was— 269 steps?09 294 steps. Over 250 steps.10 It was 294 steps. It was a struggle. I’m not that fit, so I had to take a rest every 50 steps. I was brathing so hard around the 200th step that i thought I was going to throw up. But I didn’t, and I reached the top! I took a picture of an overhead view of Charlestown and the North End. The trees were just turning red and orange, and it was gorgeous. Those were a lot of fun facts about Boston! Bye!

 

  1. January 15, 1919 back to text
  2. According to Wikipedia, 21 people were killed and 150 people were injured. back to text
  3. It wasn't an article from the Harvard Crimson. It was a History.com article about how Nicole Sharp, an aerospace engineer, made a scaled model of the event with some Harvard undergraduates that she was teaching. back to text
  4. Sharp calculated that the initial wave of molasses could've moved as fast as 35 mph. Usain Bolt's top speed is a little over 27 mph. back to text
  5. * The Bunker Hill Monument back to text
  6. * The Sam Adams Boston Tap Room back to text
  7. King's Chapel Burying Ground and Copp's Hill Burying Ground back to text
  8. This is the part of the blog post where I got off the train and found a bench to sit on. The number of spelling errors significantly decreases from here. back to text
  9. 294 steps. back to text
  10. It was 294 steps. back to text