# Have you ever heard of the Black Tom Explosion, and if so, when was the first time you ever heard of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579 "2021-05-07T06:08:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Something](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Something](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Something)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/1 "2021-05-07T06:08:13Z")
> **[Black Tom explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_explosion)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 ($500 million in 2023 dollars) worth of military goods. This incident, which happened prior to U.S. entry into World War I, also damaged the Statue of Liberty. It w... Let the polling begin 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/2 "2021-05-07T06:14:29Z")
Are we voting on when we first heard of it? What is being polled here? ---
**Author:** ![Something](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Something](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Something)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/3 "2021-05-07T06:21:10Z")
The poll is: a) have you ever heard of it and b) if you have, when was the first time you ever heard of it? I just searched the archives of these boards, and the only time this incident has ever been mentioned is once, back in February three months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/4 "2021-05-07T09:25:41Z")
Never heard of it. Never heard of it when discussing the Statue of Liberty, never heard of it in regard to WWI sabotage, never heard of it in regard to ‘large explosions’. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/5 "2021-05-07T09:59:08Z")
> [@Something](#): > > I just searched the archives of these boards, and the only time this incident has ever been mentioned is once, back in February three months ago. It has been mentioned at least seven times before this: [https://boards.straightdope.com/search?context=topic&context\_id=941581&q=%22black%20tom%22%20explosion%20&skip\_context=true](https://boards.straightdope.com/search?context=topic&context_id=941581&q=%22black%20tom%22%20explosion%20&skip_context=true) Edit: direct link doesn’t seem to work-- search for “black tom” explosion. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/6 "2021-05-07T11:36:26Z")
Be a great name for a jazz trio. I think I _maybe_ heard of it, in that my brain didn’t think “What? No way!” but more “Ah, yeah… that?” No idea for sure or where I would have soaked it in (unless it was one of the seven previous times on this board) ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/7 "2021-05-07T11:44:07Z")
> [@Something](#): > > The poll is: a) have you ever heard of it and b) if you have, when was the first time you ever heard of it? No, this is the first time I’d heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/8 "2021-05-07T12:20:21Z")
I had never heard of it. When I saw the thread title, I wasn’t thinking “explosion as in bomb”. I briefly thought it might be about feline overpopulation. You’d think such an event would be better known. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/9 "2021-05-07T12:52:11Z")
I think I might have read about it once. But if so, I had completely forgotten by this morning. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/10 "2021-05-07T12:54:06Z")
Nope. I’ve only ever heard of the Black Betty Bamalam. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hk0e2HFFk1I/maxresdefault.jpg "Ram Jam - Black Betty (Official Music Video) 60FPS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk0e2HFFk1I) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/11 "2021-05-07T12:55:22Z")
I heard about it in 2020 during the pandemic when I started binge watching videos from the History Guy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SlzjfxqosFA/maxresdefault.jpg "The 1916 Black Tom Explosion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlzjfxqosFA) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/12 "2021-05-07T12:58:01Z")
I have either not heard of it before, or, if I did hear of it, I’d forgotten about it. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/13 "2021-05-07T13:00:56Z")
No I don’t recall having heard of this before, you think it would have been talked about as much as the Zimmerman telegram or the sinking of the Lusitania. But in just reading the thread title I would have thought this was yet another thread about modern day black republicans being traitors to their race. I am pleased that it wasn’t and that it is about learning new knowledge for I am sick of political baiting threads. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/14 "2021-05-07T13:26:51Z")
Don’t recall hearing anything about it until now. If I had I think I’d remember the name if no other details. ---
**Author:** ![nofloyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nofloyd/32/2870_2.png) [@nofloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nofloyd)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/15 "2021-05-07T13:33:20Z")
Yes! I’ve known the story since I was a kid. Grew up in Jersey City. Driven right past the spot the island was in liberty state park. When you’re down there on the water, seems like it ought to be more than a mile to the Jersey Journal building (fragments hit it) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/16 "2021-05-07T13:39:46Z")
Yes, I heard of it but not by that name. I think the damage to the statue was mentioned during the 1980s restoration, perhaps as one of the issues to be addressed. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/17 "2021-05-07T13:40:40Z")
Here’s one that’s been waiting to happen. Since 1944… > **[SS Richard Montgomery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > SS Richard Montgomery was an American Liberty cargo ship built during World War II. She was named after Richard Montgomery, an Irish officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. > The ship was wrecked on the Nore sandbank in the Thames Estuary, near Sheerness, Kent, England, in August 1944, while carrying a cargo of munitions. About 1,400 tonnes (1,500 short tons) of explosives remaining on board presents a hazard but the likelihood of e... ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/18 "2021-05-07T13:41:22Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > But in just reading the thread title I would have thought this was yet another thread about modern day black republicans being traitors to their race I figured it would be another “Forgotten/buried achievements of African-Americans” tidbit like Black Wall Street. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/19 "2021-05-07T13:42:27Z")
I’ve heard of it, quite a long time ago. But I am fuzzy on the details. I believe the site is currently part of Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The excellent Liberty Science Center is nearby and we use to take the kids there yearly. Also one of the 2 ferry docks for the Statue of Liberty. * * * Back to the explosions, you occasionally see claims that windows as far away as Bloomfield were broken. (About 10 miles). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579/20 "2021-05-07T13:45:29Z")
Familiar with the story from a book read many years ago (probably Jules Witcover’s “Sabotage at Black Tom”). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-black-tom-explosion-and-if-so-when-was-the-first-time-you-ever-heard-of-it/941579.md?page=2)