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You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.
Willy Wonka is a serial killer. I mean, right? How many kids have to die at his slaughterhouse of sweets before someone launches an investigation? Think about it, Augustus.
So sad. What happened to him? You know? I don't know. No one knows. He just like died. And it really got me thinking. Have there been any real life Augustuses out there? I mean, come on. Really? Has there? And guess what? Of course there are. Because why wouldn't there be? It really didn't even take that long before I came across some wild stories about sweets killing people.
A whole lot of people. Yeah. Now this may be a little surprise to your little brain out there, but since the 1800s, candy has been at the center of a whole lot of destruction. Candy! I mean, I'm talking from arsenic in children's candies to a flood of deadly burning molasses.
Yeah, to even like a chocolate Easter Bunny explosion. Look baby, buckle in because this is the dark history of killer candy. Way to ruin it for me, Bailey. I'm sorry.
Hey, how are you doing? Are you having a good day today? Mm-hmm. Well, if you don't know, my name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Also, if you're watching on YouTube, I'm wearing the new merch. Look, it's cute. It's available now. Embroidered. Love it. Just had to...
let you know. BaileySarian.com. If you're new here, we believe that history doesn't have to be boring. Nay nay. I mean, yeah, it might be tragic. It might sometimes rarely be happy, but either way, it's our dark history. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and just let me ramble because I got all the info. Okay. So if you don't know anything about me, I'm going to tell you my deepest, darkest secret.
I am addicted to candy, sugar, all of it. It's really hard for me to explain how much I love candy. Like no matter where I'm at, a sweet treat is always within reach. See, right here. I love candy, I need it every day.
But there is this other side to candy, a dark, horrific side. You know, maybe you've heard of it. People always say during Halloween, like, "Be careful of razor blades and needles in your candy." And you're like, "Shut up, Grandma. I'm gonna take that risk, okay?"
Or maybe you've been told don't take candy from strangers, but that defeats the whole purpose of Halloween. But in reality, it's the people that we are close to that we really need to just keep an eye on. In fact, that's the whole reason why the rumor of poisoned Halloween candy even exists. And it's all because of a man named Ronald Clark O'Brien. And fun fact, if you want more information on Ronald Clark O'Brien, I did a murder mystery makeup on him. So I'll link it down below. Check it out.
But back in 1974, an eight-year-old's boy named Timmy
It's not funny. It's just a funny name. You don't hear that often. Timmy went trick or treating and he came home that night with a bunch of candy as one does. And he's just like, yeah, you know? So he ends up eating a pixie stick. But little did poor Timmy know that it was laced with cyanide. Bitch, poor fricking, this is a true story 'cause poor Timmy didn't take long. Boom, dead.
Of course, everyone blamed the Halloween candy, but in reality, he didn't get the laced candy from a random stranger. Get this. Apparently, Timmy's dad, Ronald, well, he was 100K in debt, and his plan was to fix that problem, right? So what do you do? Well, a dumbass guy like him, he takes out a life insurance policy on his kids, and he's like, "I'm gonna collect the money
once they die, 'cause I'm gonna give them poison candy. Like he really thought about this and he tried it. And to throw off investigators, Ronald slipped the poison candy in the Halloween bags of other kids around town. So people wouldn't think like it was him. Thankfully, none of those kids liked Pixie Stix, including his daughter.
But sadly, we can't say the same for poor Timmy. Now this whole ordeal reignited a fear in Americans that candy can be deadly. And this isn't like a one-off example. There have been several times throughout history where killer sweets have destroyed a lot of lives. So let me tell you this first story, okay? Because it's wild. It takes place in an English town called Bradford. And okay, listen, it's October of 1858.
So try and imagine that in your brain. The industrial revolution is going off and it's really changed everything. Businesses were just popping up everywhere and people were trying to take advantage of the holiday season and make some money, right? So they're just like...
"Yeah, I shine shoes, you know, make a store out of it." Just whatever. So on October 30th of 1858, it's like the day before Halloween, people are already celebrating, walking around in like costumes, people are having wild parties and just celebrating, you know? Everyone's probably smelling like shit because there's no such thing as deodorant yet. It was wild.
Anyway, a local candy seller, his name was William Hardacker, was looking to offload some of his holiday candy, right? So he sets up shop at a local market and he's selling like a ton of this one striped peppermint flavored candy. It's like something you would get at like a doctor's, not ideal, you know, but it was called humbugs, like bah humbug.
They loved them back then because they didn't have taste yet. And William, he was actually known for his humbug candies. And in town, he would go by the name Humbug Billy.
So people would like flock to him for this special treat. William was selling these humbugs at a huge discount because the candy he was selling, it kind of had a weird discoloration to them. So they're like, quote, quote, defective, you know? So he's like, I should just sell them at half price and just kind of get them gone. And they must have tasted fine because he was going to try and like sell this candy no matter what. And of course,
People love a sale and they bought a ton of them. By the end of the day, William had sold five pounds of the humbug candies. And then the next morning, it was Halloween, right? Woo! The big day is finally here. And the town of Bradford normally, or is supposed to be, going about their business and celebrating as usual. But this time, the town was in a panic.
Go on, you say, what? That very night, two young boys had died suddenly in their home. What? I know. Even though like it wasn't uncommon for children to like suddenly die of disease back then, which is super sad, right? But like,
These two were different and people were still feeling uneasy about it. So the police, they get involved and they originally thought the kids had died of cholera, which was everywhere at the time. But the boys who were only two and 11
They, at the time, were perfectly healthy. So it was just super confusing and none of it made sense. The parents of the boys were scrambling for answers, right? They were remembering the day before with the boys. Like, what had we done? What happened? You know? And they're thinking and they're thinking. And they realize, like, oh my God, both of the boys ate that weird colored humbug candy, right? And they're putting it together and they're like, oh my God.
They did. So they're thinking, they're like, oh my God, it's gotta be this candy. That's the only thing that makes sense. But they needed to connect the candy to the kid's death because it was just like a thought, you know? So the father and another young man in the house decide to test the candy for poison. But again, this was 1858 and it's not like they're chemists or anything, you know? And the only way they could determine if the candy was poisoned or not was to...
Eat it. Bold. I know. So the father and his buddy pop the candy in their mouths and they're sucking on it, you know? And not long after, both of them were bending over in pain. And they're like, oh my, right? And then following that, they were struck by this intense diarrhea. It was shooting out their ass, you know? Wow. They're just glued to that toilet.
Well, word got out that these two men were sick from this candy. So people are, they're starting to put it together and they're realizing, oh my God, like my kid ate this candy. And then another person's like, my kid ate this candy. And next thing you know, tons of people are realizing that their kids and some adults had eaten the candy and many were getting sick. Oh shit. So it turns out that this candy was actually sick.
You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. What the hell, Humbug Bill? It was such a betrayal. The candy man is trying to kill us all?
Well, with so many cases of candy poisoning popping up all over town, again, the authorities, they got to get involved on like a bigger scale. So they start tracking down the nausea, the pain and diarrhea symptoms of the survivors. Officers spend the whole next day and night rushing around town, knocking on people's doors, warning them not to eat this candy. And it didn't take long for the police to kind of put two and two together and think,
Apparently, along with diseases like cholera, poisoning was pretty common at the time. Remember aqua tifana? Yeah, it is common, okay? Accidental and intentional poisonings usually happened so often because buying poison at the time was very easy. It was like as common as buying a carton of milk from the store. So you're like, hey, I want to kill my husband today. You just go get that poison.
That easy. Now, one of the most common poisons sold at the time was arsenic. Arsenic could be purchased from your local corner store without even a question followed. Like, no one was keeping track of who bought it or looked at them sideways if they did buy it. I mean, think about it. If you did that today, you'd end up on a list somewhere, you know? But not back then. I guess people all over Victorian England would use arsenic as rat poison.
Oopsie. Arsenic is like a white powdery substance and it really was the perfect poison if you were trying to kill something or someone. Because arsenic, I guess it has like a slightly sweet, non-toxic taste sprinkled on top of like cereal, something, you know? It got me thinking it was like, oh, it's kind of like antifreeze.
I do a lot of murder mysteries, you guys. So I'm like, yeah, antifreeze. I hear that's sweet too. So if someone wanted to sprinkle a little bit in your food, you honestly probably would not notice. Many people during that time period were known for eating very heavy, rich, sugary foods. So shitting yourself was pretty common and it was a regular thing.
So the symptoms you would have right after eating the poison to some were pretty standard for Victorian England, the vomiting and diarrhea. I just love that, right? Vomiting and diarrhea being kind of norm.
Which is funny. But what I'm getting at is that no one's mind would automatically think arsenic poisoning. You know? Now, on top of all that, if you poison someone with arsenic, it would be pretty difficult to trace it back to the person who sold it and when it was used. Everything kind of depended on the memory of the arsenic salesperson. Now, all of this is just talking about the intentionals.
arsenic poisonings. But at the time, there were about a million normal uses of arsenic that could lead to accidental death. I mean, it was everywhere. It was used in glassmaking, to clothes dye, to wallpaper, you know. Even doctors found it really useful. They would put small amounts of it in medicinal concoctions because it was said to help stimulate the blood.
We can giggle now. They were so silly, weren't they? So during the investigation, the authorities are trying to put like all these pieces together and track down who the hell sold these humbucks. And eventually the trail leads to this man named William and his little candy stall.
I mean, his nickname was Humbug Billy. But when authorities went to William's home to have a little talk with them, they found him absolutely sick to his stomach in bed. I guess he himself had a few of the weird colored candies and was paying a hefty price. So the authorities, they knew it was the candies that made people sick, but they didn't believe William was like...
you know, an evil child killer. So they decided to find out how the hell these candies were made. And sure as shit, they found their answer because the main culprit was sugar. Oh no, I know, sugar is outside your window right now waiting for you.
If you listened to our episode about sugar, you might remember how expensive it was back in the day. And the Brits, they just loved it. And they were even addicted to it. But the sugar making process was complicated and even expensive. So many candy manufacturers would mix real sugar with cheaper stuff in order to like have more of it. They essentially cut the sugar with other powdered material like limestone, I know, plaster of Paris,
Which I was like, what's that? It sounds so fancy. Or a soft mineral substance named gypsum. Even though to us, we're like, you put tile in my sugar? Back then, it wasn't a huge deal. They were like, oh my God, I love limestone. They would even call these half mystery powder mixtures daff.
So when police were doing their investigation, they realized that the candies were produced using Daff, the weird like sugar mixture. Humbug Willie had purchased the candies from a wholesale candy seller and his name was Joseph Neal. A couple of weeks before the sale, Joseph had sent his employee to purchase Daff from his local pharmacist.
I know, I guess that's where they would get it. Now, unfortunately, the pharmacist, he was sick that day. So we had to have one of his newer, less experienced employees take over for the day and handle this order. When Neil's employee came in asking for DAF, the apprentice, I guess he got like all sorts of confused as to what was in what bin. He's like, I know DAF is like white powdery and uh...
Oh yeah, I know that. So he knew he had to get him a white powdery substance. I mean, that's how, that's daft, right? So he measured out 12 pounds of white powder from an unlabeled bin nearby and handed it over to the employee for the humbugs. But the pharmacist, he didn't realize that he had just given this person 12 pounds of pure arsenic.
Whoopsie. It kind of reminded me like when you are going for a job interview and you lie and you say you know how to use Excel, but really you don't. And then you show up for the job and you're like, yeah, I totally know what I'm doing. And you just start like guessing. It's like that, but not like that because this obviously killed people. I'm sure he couldn't use this job as a reference.
You know what I'm saying? So this guy, he gets that death, right? Well, he thinks it's death, but it's really arsenic. And that was then added to the candy mixture by William. And when they came out that weird color, William, he honestly didn't think much about it. You know, it's just kind of like it happens from time to time. And that's why he felt confident in selling them at a discount and even treating himself to a few. So by this point, authorities, they were trying to get the word out all over Bradford.
They went door to door and posted written warnings in like public locations saying like, these candies are poison, don't eat that. I mean, they tried their best, but in the end, a total of 20 people died from eating the poisoned humbugs.
20! Sadly, 13 of them were children and 7 were adults. The youngest victim was only 17 months old. Around 200 other people got seriously ill. And when a professional inspected the candy, they found out that each humbug contained more than enough arsenic to kill a grown man.
Oh shit, you know? So the 200 people who got seriously sick from the candy but survived were considered very lucky. The authorities quickly pointed the finger at the new pharmacy employee who fucked up, you know? I mean the guy had only been working for like three weeks so whoopsie, but his careless mistake was what led to the deaths of 20 people. So
So, the authorities, they end up arresting this guy, the pharmacist, as well as Peter Neal, the candy maker for the crimes. Now, listen, this trial was highly publicized and the whole debacle became known as the Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858. The prosecution was not able to show that a law was broken by any of these men. Yes, it was an unfortunate and preventable accident,
but it was not done with any intentions to harm any of the poor people who died. I mean, we're all thinking that I hope this all could have been prevented with a label, maybe taking a marker and wrote on the bin, like, Hey, poison, you know, but nobody comes to me for these answers. So this meant that like nobody was ever held accountable for the poisoned people.
on bugs which kind of had me confused because i think i don't know i want to hear what you guys think like if if they should have been charged should they be accountable for an accident but an accident that killed 20 people
I don't, you know, like some, right? I don't know. But there was a silver lining. I mean, 10 years after the poisoning, a law called the Pharmacy Act of 1868 was passed. And this required that poisons be stored and sold in specific bottles made of colored glass so that shop workers and customers would be sure that
They knew what they were getting, you know? Now, some poisons also required specific labels. Finally, what an idea. And now when people purchased poison, the shop workers also had to take note in case of any type of poisoning. I mean, people were still able to purchase their arsenic and use it, but at least this new law would help to avoid little accidents from happening again.
So even though no one served jail time for the 20 deaths that occurred in Bradford, this tragedy did help to make it more difficult to accidentally poison a bunch of children on Halloween for decades to come. So it's a little bit of a win.
I'd say a big win because they started labeling shit like what an idea. But candy isn't just dangerous when it's potentially poisoned. It turns out it can be a lethal force of nature. Let me tell you this next story. When I heard about it, I was like, excuse me? Huh? What? This is not on my bingo card. And also it created a new fear in me. It left me with an irrational fear.
You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced $50 to
80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices
and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year so you're protected no matter what.
Code dark history.
On January 15th, 1919, Boston was having a weirdly warm day. I mean, look, it was the dead of winter and it was 40 degrees.
And you're like, "Oh my God, that's so cold." Because I was thinking that too. I was like, "40 degrees? That's freezing. I can't handle that." Just for comparison, the day before, it had only been two degrees. So on this day, it was 40 degrees. How did that happen? You know, it was a really big shift. 1919 was a really weird year. If you've been paying attention on Dark History, it seems like all the weird shit happened in 1919.
Point blank period, I just wanna say that. Let it be known. Thank you. Put it on record. Okay, back to the story. While the people of Boston were enjoying the nice weather, 'cause it's 40 degrees,
They had no idea that this sunny day was about to cost them their lives. At the north end of Boston, there was like this big factory called the Purity Distilling Company. And I guess one of the things they were distilling there was molasses. Me personally, for the longest time, I thought molasses was like grass. It's not grass. Molasses is this thick, black, almost glue-like substance, and it stinks.
but it can be like made from sugar cane or sugar beets. And it's usually used to sweeten and flavor foods. So over at Purity Distilling, they had a massive tank of molasses. And when I say massive, I'm not kidding. I mean, this bitch could hold over 2.5 million gallons of molasses. Now, allegedly this tank had been leaking forever.
for some time. Now this was not ideal and I guess purity distillery employees had pointed this out to the higher ups on multiple occasions because it was considered a hazard. So
Instead of like, I don't know, fixing the leak, the owners came up with a brilliant idea. They decided to just paint the tank the same color as the molasses leaking out of it to camouflage it. No one can tell it's leaking now because it's all the same color. We did it, you guys. Yeah. This is like when a landlord just paints over all the mold you've been complaining about for weeks.
And they're like, "What mold? We got rid of it." Anyway, the tank was painted, but the leak was never fixed. I mean, somewhere so to the point like where it became known that local kids would come collect the free molasses from the edges of the tank, you know? Fill 'er up. Hell yeah. But on that day in January, you did not want to be licking that tank or be anywhere near it. A batch of hot molasses had recently been added to this big bin thing. And I guess the heat
from this new batch, plus the rapid change in the weather, created a ton of pressure within the tank. Okay? Pressure. And it's not good. Now, because the structure was already leaky, they just could not handle what was going on. Inside the tank, the pressure is building and building and building enough to cause an explosion. At 1230 p.m.,
That's exactly what happened. The sound of the explosion was said to be deafening. So the metal from the tank and the rivets just explode into thousands of pieces of steel that just flew into the air like bullets at like an insane speed, tearing straight through nearby buildings. One huge piece of the tank went flying into the railroad, causing the tracks to collapse. One family, the Lentoskas, were Italian immigrants living on Commercial Street.
just down the road from Purity Distilling. Just before the disaster, Giuseppe was looking out of the second floor window while his son Pasquale, who was 10 years old, he was outside collecting firewood and he was doing so right next to the molasses tank.
Uh-oh, I know. Now, it was hard to miss him because the little boy, he was wearing like this super bright red sweater and you know, so it was easy to spot him. He stood out. And again, it was just like a normal day. So Giuseppe's watching, whatever. And then just out of nowhere,
Giuseppe kind of looks back at the window and that's when he sees a huge tsunami wave of molasses coming at him. What? Yeah. I was thinking molasses wouldn't explode because it's so thick.
dense and glue-like. It's hard to imagine it exploding, but you have to believe me when I say the molasses literally turned into like a huge tsunami wave and was, oh no, it was not good. Okay. The molasses that exploded out of this tank created a tidal wave that was believed to have been 25 feet high and 165 feet wide. What? Huh? Yeah.
That's big. That's real big. Since the molasses was warm and the pressure inside the tank was intense, it moved fast. The wave tore through the town, moving at 35 miles per hour. Like freaking lava. Giuseppe saw the wave engulf his son, but it only took a couple of seconds before the wave reached the building that he was in. So it...
you know, comes through the building, whatever. And it knocks Giuseppe unconscious. Oh, fuck. Like, is that scary? Because molasses is so thick, it'd probably just like suffocate you. Oh my God. Giuseppe and his son, like they weren't alone. The wave engulfed the north end of Boston. The local firehouse, which was like right next to the distilling plant, was ripped right off of its foundation. And the whole building almost ended up in the nearby harbor.
Other houses and buildings were destroyed, along with cars, wagons, and even freight cars. It tore down electrical wires and spilled into cellars, smothering any people that were inside.
I'm telling you, this is a new nightmare that I did not need. I mean, molasses is so much heavier than water, so when it hit the town, it hit with an intense amount of force. And unlike an ocean wave, it didn't move in one direction. Instead, when the tank exploded, it went in like every direction all at once. Oh no. Immediately, buildings were destroyed. Nothing had a chance. And you might be thinking, well, I would float on the surface.
Instead of floating to the surface or like being able to swim to safety, people were pulled under into the thick hot syrup.
Once the initial impact had ended, there was molasses waist deep on the street. Horses and people both became trapped in this sticky substance, sinking further into it the more they struggled. It was kind of acting like, it was acting like quicksand. Yeah. So rescue workers are out there just quickly pulling everyone they could from the molasses. Local firefighters and police were helped by sailors from the USS Nantucket
which was like actually anchored at the nearby pier when the flood had happened. So they set up ladders across the molasses so rescuers could like climb above the spill and pull people out. Super smart, right? When Giuseppe came to, his wife and his daughter were with him. You know, he's like, oh my God, thank God.
But his son, Pasquale, he was still missing. Giuseppe then spent the rest of his afternoon attempting to get past police barricades so he could just look and search for his son. He eventually returned home after being turned away from every person
Across town, a firefighter named George Leahy had become trapped in the firehouse. He was stuck in an 18 inch crawl space where he struggled to keep his head above the molasses. Now, he was trapped there for like four hours. And I was like, oh my God, was he saved? Tell me he was saved.
He wasn't. He was trapped there for four hours and then later died. Hours later, just before dark, the rescue workers had found Pasquale. He had been thrown by the wave and crushed by a railroad car. He was killed instantly. Giuseppe was able to positively identify the remains of his son because of the red sweater the boy was wearing.
and still wearing. The rescue efforts lasted for four days. In the end, 21 people were killed in the Boston Molasses flood. Pasquale's family was awarded $6,000 and George's family was given 7,000 for the pain and suffering he experienced before his death.
I know. It's not funny, but I was like, he died, but he got 7,000. Well, his family did, but it's like, you know. And like 6,000 for Pasquale's family. Like, thanks. Obviously, it's not enough, you know, is what I'm saying. Well, the town, they needed answers. They were like, what the fuck, right? Everyone wanted to know how interesting
How in the hell did this happen? But just like with the humbug poisoning, the culprit wasn't one specific person. Instead, it was a- You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear all the-
time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and my favorite part,
All Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices
and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.
Now let's get back to today's story. The
They had realized the man who supervised the construction of the tank had completely lacked the necessary training for the job. No other engineers or experts had been hired to oversee the building of the tank, and the man they had
He didn't even know how to read blueprints. He's like, "Ah, that looks good." The owners of the Purity Distilling Company quickly looked to shift the blame away from themselves as companies do. They started by trying to minimize the suffering of all the people who had died as the result of a spill.
They had these doctors, you know, come forward and testify during a trial and say that the people who were suffocated by molasses were killed so quickly they did not have a chance to suffer. Which, turns out, is not true. I don't think any of us need to be a doctor to know that suffocating in molasses...
It's not really an ideal way to go. But the company didn't stop there. They also tried to avoid blame for the death of Pasquale. Both he and another child, Maria D'Estecio, had been collecting firewood near the tank when it exploded. Sadly, both of them had died. The company claimed that since they were collecting firewood, they were technically trespassing.
Yeah, they were trespassing on the company's property, so, um, boo. And if the two children were trespassers, the company was not under any obligation to keep them safe. So their families should not receive any compensation for the death of their children. Hmm, yeah, they really thought they were onto something. They also claimed that the explosion had nothing to do with the piss-poor construction of the tank, and instead they blamed terrorists.
Yeah, they basically said the tank was sabotaged, even mentioning a bomb threat against the tank. The trial proved that was as ridiculous as you think it is. I mean, yes, I guess there had been like other bombings in Boston that year because again, 1919 was a fucking crazy year. But are terrorists really circling the molasses tanks as a high profile target?
It didn't make sense. The court case, it went on for over five years, but thank God eventually proving the company was at fault. Thank you, hold them accountable. Structural failure caused the explosion and the company was forced to pay restitution, which would equal about $15 million today. This case established that companies can be held accountable for disasters like this.
I'm rolling my eyes if you can't see me because it's like, is it true? If you try and do that to me, they always fucking get out of it, don't they? I digress.
New laws and regulations were introduced, meaning that a certified architect or engineer would be required to sign off on building plans. Whoa, what an idea. This began in Boston and eventually became a requirement across the United States. So yes, suites can kill people in wild and unexpected ways, or at least they used to.
The humbug poisoning took place in the 1850s and the molasses spill was in 1919. Both led to laws changing to help protect people, right? And you're like, well, yeah, I mean, sadly, but like finally, yeah, overdone. This should never happen again. And if it does, you kind of think it would be an old story. Pause your brain because no, this is not just something that happened in the 1900s or 1880, whatever the hell the dates were.
Because today, disasters involving sweets are still somehow destroying lives. And no, I'm not just talking about when they stopped making Butterfinger BBs, okay? Because what the fuck was that about? Whatever. But believe it or not, a company known for its iconic chocolate Easter bunnies has even taken part in the whole killer sweets saga. What are you telling me, Bailey? A big chocolate bunny killed people?
Yeah, actually. Our final story comes to us from the great state of Pennsylvania. I always imagine there's a lot of murderers out there. I don't know. Now, I want to tell you this one for a couple of reasons, because one, this actually took place, it happened in 2023.
Huh? What? I don't remember hearing anything about it. Did you? Maybe. I don't know. I think it flew under the radar because it happened right around the same time as that horrible train disaster in Ohio. And also because it involves a big-time American candy company. So at the center of this story is the R.M. Palmer Company. Their logo is like this cute little smiley bunny. Yeah, it's cute. And their company motto is making candy fun.
Which, okay, you know, all right, sure, I'll buy it, whatever.
R.M. Palmer was founded in 1948 with just four employees and just four products. Three of them were versions or different versions of chocolate bunnies. And right out the gate, this company hitched their wagon to the Easter holiday. R.M. Palmer began selling hollow chocolate Easter bunnies and these things were like flying off the shelves. I mean, it was an instant hit for Easter, right?
It's that bunny you get when you're like, "Oh my God, a chocolate bunny. I can't wait to eat this." And then you bite into it and you're like, "It's hollow? Really grandma? You're that cheap?" This is the company that makes those bunnies. And they also make those like mini chocolate Easter eggs wrapped in that thin tin foil that takes like 19 years to unwrap because it sticks to the chocolate. Or sometimes you just eat the tin foil 'cause you're like, "Fuck it."
Well, whatever. They make that too. So when these came out, a popular chain of discount stores put in an order right away that would be worth around like $255,000 today, which is huge, which is with four employees, like hello, major. And after that, the company just really never looked back. Today, they have around 850 employees and they sell about 500 different products.
making them one of America's largest candy companies. So you know they can afford rules and regulations. Okay, so listen. When did this happen, Bailey? When? Let me tell you. March 24th, 2023. We're in West Redding, Pennsylvania, which is about 60 miles north of Philadelphia. And this town is the home to the headquarters of the R.M. Palmer Company.
Now, the company has two buildings involved in this story. There is the main corporate office building for the candy company, and right next door is like where the magic would happen, you know? That's where they would use like giant vats of chocolate to produce their sweet treats.
including all the hollow chocolate they gave us. Anyway, so, okay, the time is 4.30 p.m., and there are about 35 office staff and 70 factory workers just grinding away at work between the two buildings. And then a funky stench starts hitting the nostrils of some of the employees at R.M. Palmer. They're like...
You know, it's familiar. What is that? It's not a good sign, okay? The stench and the smell is making its way through both buildings one and two. And it's an undeniable scent of rotten eggs. To the workers at RM Palmer, this was alarming. Natural gas doesn't really have a smell to it, which is why gas companies tend to add a sulfur scent
And that is for the purpose of people being able to know that there's like a gas leak happening. So it's supposed to smell like that. So you recognize it and know that there's a problem. Sulfur is that egg smell. I like it. I used to do a sulfur mask every night because I have like, you know, acne prone skin and it's really good for acne. So I kind of learned to really like that smell. No one needs to know that, but I'm just thought of it right now.
So they're smelling eggs, rotten eggs. The RM Palmer employees knew that if they smelled this, they needed to report it because there's a leak. So they do just that. One of the employees named Patricia Borges said that it was so strong that it was nauseating.
She and some coworkers went up to their supervisor, told them about the suspected leak, and said it's probably best if everyone evacuates the building because they are smart human beings using their fucking brain. But,
allegedly, apparently, the supervisor said that he couldn't make that call. You know? His boss or someone higher up on the food chain would have to make the decision to evacuate, not him. So in the meantime, he's like, everyone just needs to go back to work until I get some answers. So 27 minutes go by and people are breathing in this bullshit. So the clock hits 4.57 p.m. And then...
In a matter of nanoseconds, tragedy strikes. Building two explodes into a million pieces, like a bomb had gone off. The building was made of bricks, so heavy bricks were literally like, they flew up in the air and then were raining down.
in like a nearby community is a lot. The eruption was so large that it damaged the structure of building one and it sent clouds of smoke hundreds of feet into the air and even shook houses nearby.
And caught in the middle of all this chaos was Patricia, the one who tried to, I don't know, mourn people. Just before the explosion, she was on a ladder cleaning a machine. Seconds after the explosion, Patricia was thrown on the ground and she heard screaming and chaos just everywhere.
One of those screams came from a man named Mark Baxter, and he was in the factory's loading dock, dropping off a delivery of melted chocolate just before the explosion. He suffered hearing loss and second and third degree burns on about 20% of his body.
Speaking of burns, that's exactly when Patricia saw that her own arm was on fire. When she saw herself burning alive, she asked God why he was giving her such a horrible death. But she didn't want to die in the fire. So she got up and tried to run out of the building. Dude, it's wild because just then as she's trying to make her way out of that building, the floor underneath Patricia caves in, collapse.
Patricia said that she felt herself falling and falling and just like, it just felt never ending. And after she fell through the floor, she landed in a vat of liquid chocolate. And honestly, I mean, thank God she did because like the liquid chocolate, it had put out the fire on her body.
And not only that, but the chocolate also like broke her fall. Unfortunately, a whole new set of more dire problems cropped up. Patricia broke her collarbone and both of her feet. So she was barely able to stand in that liquid chocolate that was up to her chest.
So she's stuck in this chocolate. She just fell through some floors. Now she's stuck in the basement of this building. And she was down there for hours, screaming.
screaming out for help as firefighters were outside like fighting the blaze and there were helicopters like circling above the scene. She's just hoping somebody's gonna notice her and then somehow... You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right. So you wear all the
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RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. ZocDoc.com slash dark history. So Patricia's inside that chocolate vat. And as time is going on, it starts filling with water from the firefighters' hoses.
Yeah. So she's like, oh shit. Like it's filling and filling and filling. And as the water reached her neckline, she realized she had better move or else she was going to drown. So she's able to get out of the vat and into a pool of water that was on the basement floor. She was able to hold on to some plastic tubing in order to keep herself above the water.
And for the next nine hours, Patricia waited and waited. She yelled help, help, please help like over and over and over again. But nobody was hearing her. Nobody was able to hear her. Now,
Now, after some time goes by, there's freezing cold water was now pouring into the basement and Patricia's pain was only getting worse. But there must have been a guardian angel looking out for Patricia because in the middle of the night, she sees a light and she starts screaming for help again.
On the surface, some rescue dogs alerted the first responders that someone might be alive in the rubble. The rescuers had followed the sound of Patricia's screams, and after some digging, they were able to pull her out to safety. An emergency responder stated that when she emerged from the chaos,
Patricia was banged up and experiencing hypothermia and was completely confused. Patricia's survival gave first responders some hope that there may be other survivors, so they would spend the next two days searching the rubble for any signs of life.
Well, when all was said and done, the R.M. Palmer Candy Factory explosion killed seven people, including Patricia's best friend, Judy. So in the weeks after this tragedy, a federal agency called the National Transportation Safety Board, aka the NTSB, well, they got involved and launched an investigation. If you're like me, you're probably wondering what does this have to do with transportation? Because I was like, what?
The answer is nothing. But the NTSB also investigates accidents involving pipelines. Yeah, the more you know. In May of 2023, the NTSB issued their preliminary report and girl, listen to what they revealed. Okay. They found that natural gas was leaking from two service lines in the building. More
More specifically, the leak was coming from something called a service T, which connects like multiple pipes together in a T-shaped formation. And guess who made this service T?
DuPont, circling all the way back to our very first Dark History episode, DuPont. Of course they did, are you freaking kidding me? Why are they always nearby when the worst shit happens, huh? They're gonna kill me one day at watch. Well, the investigation revealed that in 2021, a utility company did some necessary maintenance on the gas lines and the gas meter.
but that DuPont service tee, which was like installed all the way back in 1982, was still connected and pressurized at full capacity. In other words, it shouldn't have been. The NTSB released images of this DuPont service tee in its report, and there is a giant fracture that is very clear on the pipe,
and it shouldn't have been there, right? It's fractured. Now to be fair, so DuPont doesn't kill me, the source of the explosion hasn't been identified yet. We'll see. In the final report from the NTSB, we'll probably take a couple more years to finish depending on how much DuPont wants to pay to make it, you know, cover it up, but we'll see. So we don't know who really is at fault here. Maybe it was a chocolate bunny. I don't know.
But here's what we know for sure: seven workers died because R.M. Palmer didn't evacuate the building after employees reported there being a freaking gas leak. Because of that, Judy's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming that R.M. Palmer was negligent. As we've learned here, almost too many times at this point,
that it seems to never be good when DuPont is involved. Even though that liquid chocolate maybe saved Patricia's life, she faces a very long road ahead to recovery. Her family even started a GoFundMe to assist with Patricia's mountain of medical bills and rehabilitation. Now here's the crappy part of all three of these stories. Now all of these companies make products that we love, right? And they create jobs for people in the community, but...
It doesn't seem like they're going about it the right way, huh? I'm sure you're on board with that one. It takes me right back to the infrastructure episode and DuPont episode. Actually, every episode. It just seems like we just build stuff and then we don't really give a crap until it's too late. You know, like we need to update the pipes.
And a lot of people like to complain that the government regulates too many businesses. Well, if companies stopped cutting corners, there wouldn't need to be regulation. And are they really regulating? Because bad things still keep happening, huh? You know, and here we are once again, literally this year, like what the fuck? It's just sad that there has to be such a sour truth behind these sweet disasters. I think the moral of the story is, um,
you know, accidents happen, but sometimes they're preventable accidents, aren't they? And maybe if these companies would stop being such shitheads and just fix their shit and handle things correctly. Oh, oh my God. It probably could save so many lives, huh? I don't know. I don't know what the takeaway is other than companies fucking suck. Next week.
Sorry, I don't know how to end it on a positive if there even is one. But listen, next week we're gonna dig into another huge part of American life. Something that millions of us participate in and even fantasize about every single day. Some even consider it an American tradition.
And that's because without it, honestly, America would not exist. Look, it's exciting. It's sad. It's weird. Your uncle is obsessed with it. Next week, we'll be talking about the dark history of the lottery. Woo! Woo!
I know. I know. I was like, let's find out about the fucking lottery. Let's do it. So we're doing it. So hope to see you next week, okay? You can also join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And then while you're there, you can also catch my murder, mystery, and makeup.
I did that candy story, remember? So go check that out. I'll link it down below. I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story. So over on social media, make sure to use the hashtag dark history so I can like find you and see what you're saying. All right. Now let's
Let's read a couple of comments that you guys left me. Nancy Fotis says, "Love Monday and Thursday uploads. Even my very country husband looks forward to your videos." Oh my god, Nancy, please tell your very country husband I said hello, but also hi to you, girl. Also, I would love to know or maybe get a definition on like what does very country mean?
Like, who wants that? He listens to country music? Does he have a farm? Pigs? Animals? What's going on? I have questions. Let me know. Zav Nails left a comment on our Rasputin episode saying, quote, we love your dad. I mentioned my dad? Thank you, Zav. I love my dad too. He's pretty cool. Hey, dad. He doesn't watch my videos. He doesn't even, he does not understand what I do on the internet. He's like, how's that internet thing going? Ha ha ha.
Uh, maybe I said that. I don't know, whatever. Hey, dad. Never gonna say this, but everyone loves ya. Here's a comment I got from Ka Millie. Ka said, "Bailey, please do a dark history on capitalism." Um, hello, Ka. Why didn't I think about that? Hell yeah. Duh, that makes so much sense. Why haven't I done an episode on... Oh my God. You're brilliant, Ka. You're brilliant. I am excited to see what we uncover.
Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junya McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Enloe from Maiden Network.
Writers, Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, Allison Filobos, and me, Bailey Sarian. Production lead, Brian Jaggers. Research provided by Xander Elmore, Rodney Smith, and Colleen Smith. I want to say a big thank you to our expert,
Paul Crystal, a confectionery historian and author of this book called The History of Sweets. Highly recommend. You can get his book at bookstores everywhere and even online. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good rest of your week. You make good choices. Please be safe out there. And I'll be seeing you guys later. Goodbye. Bye.
I'm Stanzi Potenza. And I'm Brad Padre. Launching June 13th is our new podcast, Late to the Party. In this post-ironic chat show, we'll show you a window into our world of crazy post-ironic thoughts. An unlikely friendship founded on a shared love for riffs, ranting, and getting absolutely wrecked.
Consider this an invitation to our inside jokes. You're late to the party, but no one cool ever shows up on time. Follow Late to the Party on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this kind of stuff.
