Jell, tired of the frequent leak complaints, ordered the tank to be painted brown in August of 1918. Upon hearing this, Gonzales quit and enlisted in the Army.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
In November of 1918, World War 1 ended. With that, the demand for munitions (and the alcohol needed to make them) dropped off dramatically. Also, Prohibition was about to be ratified into the US Constitution, but there would be a one-year grace period.
Jell figured USIA could distill a large amount of grain alcohol in early 1919 and push it out to liquor producers before the ban took effect. So, he arranged for 600,000 gallons of molasses to be added to the tank on January 13, 1919. This will fill the tank to 2.3 million gallons of molasses.
For some context, imagine a football field. If you built a wall around the entire playing surface including both endzones, 2.3 million gallons would rise 5.3 feet from the surface.
In the tank, the height of the molasses was 48 ft 9 inches, with a weight of 26 million pounds.
Comments
In the tank, the height of the molasses was 48 ft 9 inches, with a weight of 26 million pounds.