The Subject is Molasses
Molasses is the viscous by-product of processing the naturally sweet juice from a variety of plants (sugar cane, sugar beets) into sugar. The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet, the amount of sugar extracted, and the method of extraction. Molasses (and by-products) feeds people and animals, and is used in a variety of non-food industries. About 70% of the world's supply of sugar is derived from sugar cane, the remaining 30% from sugar beet; the vast majority of both is produced in industrialized countries. The top producers of cane sugar are Brazil and India; Russia produces the most beet sugar.
Molasses is what gives gingersnaps their dark snap, Christmas its gingerbread men, Mary Jane candy its chewy goodness, and so many other warm, homey treats.
So, how could such a staple of the world's diet, a thing of comfort and nutrition, be at the center of an event of death and destruction that spurred the US Government and the people of this country to create a system of laws and agencies that, to this day, would regulate and hold corporations and other parties accountable for actions causing damage to life and property? How could that be?!
The impetus for choosing MOLASSES as the focus of this website began with a small book entitled, DARK TIDE: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo. At the center of this grotesque story of mayhem caused by careless and greedy actions (or inactions) by officials of the US Industrial Alcohol Company was ... MOLASSES.
The contrast between molasses' innocence as a syrupy food stuff, its connection with slave trade, World War One, government regulation, and a host of other topics, broad and narrow, makes the study of it deliciously intriguing and a topic as deep or as wide as you want! I will be using molasses as the theme in 5th grade unit and lesson plans covering a number of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) goals.
Molasses is what gives gingersnaps their dark snap, Christmas its gingerbread men, Mary Jane candy its chewy goodness, and so many other warm, homey treats.
So, how could such a staple of the world's diet, a thing of comfort and nutrition, be at the center of an event of death and destruction that spurred the US Government and the people of this country to create a system of laws and agencies that, to this day, would regulate and hold corporations and other parties accountable for actions causing damage to life and property? How could that be?!
The impetus for choosing MOLASSES as the focus of this website began with a small book entitled, DARK TIDE: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo. At the center of this grotesque story of mayhem caused by careless and greedy actions (or inactions) by officials of the US Industrial Alcohol Company was ... MOLASSES.
The contrast between molasses' innocence as a syrupy food stuff, its connection with slave trade, World War One, government regulation, and a host of other topics, broad and narrow, makes the study of it deliciously intriguing and a topic as deep or as wide as you want! I will be using molasses as the theme in 5th grade unit and lesson plans covering a number of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) goals.
The Gingerbread Man - A Classic Children's Story
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