Grown men cried

February 12, 2011 7:13 AM

The 1906 fire that sent rivers of burning whisky flowing down the streets of Dundee
posted by Artw (31 comments total)

The loss of perfectly good Whisky makes grown men weep. Yes, I sympathize.
posted by Namlit at 7:20 AM on February 12, 2011

Even I, with my abiding love of Things That Are On Fire, feel their pain over the century gap.
posted by Artw at 7:24 AM on February 12, 2011

Somewhat similarly: The Boston Molasses Disaster.
posted by kmz at 7:25 AM on February 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

Similarly: Zeppelin raid on Edinburgh, 1916.
posted by the cuban at 7:31 AM on February 12, 2011

again
posted by the cuban at 7:32 AM on February 12, 2011

At least it wasn't whiskey! Faith, begorrah, etc.
posted by Eideteker at 7:40 AM on February 12, 2011

You wouldn't want to confuse the two.
posted by Artw at 7:49 AM on February 12, 2011

I am going, I am going
Any which way the wind may be blowing
I am going, I am going
Where streams of whiskey are flowing.
posted by three blind mice at 7:51 AM on February 12, 2011

The Horror. The Horror.
posted by Splunge at 8:10 AM on February 12, 2011

Talk about "firewater"!
posted by Krazor at 8:10 AM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I can't believe this isn't the first post with a Dundee tag.
posted by pracowity at 8:27 AM on February 12, 2011

And in 1996, the Heaven Hill distillery burned.
posted by dilettante at 8:33 AM on February 12, 2011

Things like this make me want a time machine. I want to travel back to this day/(s) in 1906, talk to someone fighting the fire, or enduring severe burns on their hands and legs, and ask them:

"Would you mind, terribly, if we were to crack one-liners about this a century from now?"

Then I would travel to 1916 and ask the same people the same question.

If I get the opportunity, I'll post the statistical analysis. In fact, I'll even do a bar graph. Judging from the fact I haven't been visited by an older version of me right now, I can assume I won't have the opportunity. Still, I'll put the date/time in my wallet just in case.
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 9:35 AM on February 12, 2011

"Would you mind, terribly, if we were to crack one-liners about this a century from now?"

They might reply, as Oscar Wilde once suggested, that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
posted by three blind mice at 9:43 AM on February 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

"Rivers of Burning Whisky" is begging to be the title of the next Tom Waits album.
posted by davebush at 10:19 AM on February 12, 2011

*coddles bottle of whiskey*
"There there baby, it'll be alright - tonight you sleep with me"
posted by mannequito at 11:07 AM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Would whisky actually burn so strongly? I wouldn't have thought the alcohol content was high enough. Perhaps he was referring to the flames reflected in the puddles of whisky.
posted by Flashman at 11:08 AM on February 12, 2011

7/19/06 NEVER FORGET
posted by nathancaswell at 11:10 AM on February 12, 2011

Would whisky actually burn so strongly? I wouldn't have thought the alcohol content was high enough. Perhaps he was referring to the flames reflected in the puddles of whisky.

Huh? Not high enough alcohol content? I've spit a mouthful on a campfire and it pretty much explodes.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:11 AM on February 12, 2011

It better have been blend.
posted by Artw at 11:44 AM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Would whisky actually burn so strongly?

Oh, sure. Try flambeing something with ordinary brandy poured out of a bottle - burns like heck. It's unclear in the article, but it sounds like much of the whisky was in casks, and so not yet diluted to bottle-strength. In which case, it's even more flammable, being higher in alcohol content.
posted by rtha at 11:44 AM on February 12, 2011

.
posted by smirkette at 11:49 AM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've spit a mouthful on a campfire and it pretty much explodes.

Getting a good fuel/air mixture is the basis of all successful explosions. Setting fire to a pool of standing whiskey would be far less exciting.

Who's up for some experimenting?
posted by Dr Dracator at 12:22 PM on February 12, 2011

I think that Mythbusters should build a similar warehouse over on Alameda, fill it with whisky....and then be unable to make themselves set fire to it, and then invite us all over to drink said whisky. SF mefites showed very recently that we're pretty good at drinking whisky, but it's not like we shouldn't keep practicing.
posted by rtha at 12:35 PM on February 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

SF mefites showed very recently that we're pretty good at drinking whisky, but it's not like we shouldn't keep practicing.


Ooh!! That gives me an idea!!!!

THE METAFILTER-MASH (I'm not married to the name, but hear me out...)!

MeFites from the colonies vs. Mefites from the Old World

Last MeFite standing claims the Golden MetaFilter Snifter for their respective representation. I mean, not to leave the rest of the world out, we could turn it into a Ryder Cup Shotglass sorta deal and, if the whole idea of alcohol poisoning is a concern, we just cut people out when they're too drunk to snark.

On preview, I have a feeling this has been suggested before...
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 1:29 PM on February 12, 2011

I am going, I am going
Any which way the wind may be blowing
I am going, I am going
Where streams of whiskey are flowing.

Curses! Beaten to it!
posted by dougrayrankin at 2:01 PM on February 12, 2011

Whiskey river take my mind
Don't let her memory torture me
Whiskey river don't run dry
You're all I've got, take care of me

Yeah, I've got that song stuck in my head because of this post.
posted by majonesing at 2:24 PM on February 12, 2011

I wouldn't have thought the alcohol content was high enough.

This was presumably cask-strength, so it must have burned well enough.
posted by Skeptic at 3:22 PM on February 12, 2011

"fire postcard"?
posted by DU at 5:12 PM on February 12, 2011

No one made a crack about him being in high spirits despite being burnt yet? For shame!
posted by arcticseal at 6:16 AM on February 13, 2011

Metafilter: Too drunk to snark.
posted by Hugh Routley at 1:31 AM on February 14, 2011