OCTOBER 17

On this date in 1814, some people drowned in their beer.  You've heard of a 'drink-n-drown' party? Well, this was no laughing matter.  This event became known as the "The London Beer Flood".  It happened in the St. Giles neighborhood of London, England.

Eight people drowned or died of injuries including two small children.  Several homes and a bar were severely damaged or destroyed.

The local brewery, Meux and Company Brewery, had a huge 135,000 gallon vat rupture.  The gush of beer from that vat caused all their other vats to also rupture and break,  Over 320,000 gallons of beer gushed out into the poor neighborhood.  Many of the dead lived in basement apartments which flooded to the ceiling.

So, the next time you wish you could drink all the beer in the house, remember what happened to the poor people of  St. Giles - just 202 years ago today.
(o).(o)