The Mysteries of History (January 15 Edition)
Molasses Flood, 1st Super Bowl, American Pie, Wikipedia, and Miracle on the Hudson
1919 — Death By Molasses
In Boston, Massachusetts on this date in 1919, two-and-a-half million gallons of red-hot molasses burst from a 58-foot-high tank and spilled into the streets of downtown Boston, scalding and drowning 21 people and dozens of horses. The literal cleanup took weeks. The legal “cleanup” (over 100 lawsuits were filed against the molasses mongers) lasted six years and involved 3,000 witnesses and 45,000 pages to testimony. The company was finally found at fault for using a tank not strong enough to contain the molasses, but the payout divided among the claimants was less than one million dollars.
Questions: What caused the bolts on the molasses tank to burst? What was the name of the company involved? Did it survive/remain in business?1967 — Packers Defeat Chiefs in First Super Bowl
In the first Super Bowl, played in Los Angeles, California (for the 1966 season, but played in early 1967), the NFL’s Green Bay Packers defeated the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
Questions: Since then, how many Super Bowls have the Packers won? How many have the Chiefs won? What was the score at halftime? Who were the Quarterbacks in that game? How many receptions did Max McGee have in the regular season? How many did he have in this game? Who was named MVP of the game?1972 — American Pie
On this date in 1972, Don McLean’s enigmatic song American Pie reached #1.
Questions: What were McLean's hopes for the song? What is its meaning? How many copies did the single sell? How many copies did the album sell? How had McLean's career gone prior to the song's release? What has he been up to lately? What is his relationship to the book whose cover is pictured above?2001 — Wikipedia Goes Online
After trying an online encyclopedia called Nupedia with peer-reviewed articles created by professional writers and editors (which failed due to its slow-as-molasses output pace — producing only two articles in the first six months), Wikipedia (a portmanteau of the Hawaiian word for “quick” and a truncated form of “encyclopedia”) burst onto the scene, allowing the public to create and edit content. It now boasts seven million articles in 300 languages.
Questions: Is Wikipedia a revenue-generating website? If so, how? If not, how does it stay "in business"? What is the most-translated website in the world, with material in over 1,000 languages (hint: it's not Wikipedia).2009 — Emergency Landing in the Hudson River
A pilot with the improbable name Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III (but known as “Sully” to his friends) landed his Airbus A320 in the Hudson River after his craft was struck by a flock of accidental terrorists (geese) almost immediately after takeoff. Unable to make it to an airport, Sullenberger landed his craft in the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, a feat that was termed “The Miracle on the Hudson.” None of the 155 people on board (150 passengers and five crew members) died, and most of the injuries that were suffered were minor (although one person broke both legs).
Questions: Where did air traffic controllers direct Sullenberger to land after the bird strike? Why did he not go there? Who came to the rescue of the stranded passengers? Who was the last person to leave the plane, and only after doing what? How long after this event did Sullenberger remain a professional pilot? What is he doing now? What movie was made about this event, and who starred in it? 
