# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 2:52pm 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/941579/21 "2021-05-07T14:52:57Z")
I know what it is. Probably learned about it in the late 80’s or early 90’s. Got my info from PBS. Same place I learned about The Great Molasses Flood, The Johnstown Flood and The St. Francis Dam Disaster. That David McCollough could narrate the hell out of a flood! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 3:10pm 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/941579/22 "2021-05-07T15:10:04Z")
Pretty sure that’s where I first heard of it, too. I found his channel a couple years ago and binged most of the episodes. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 3:19pm 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/941579/23 "2021-05-07T15:19:04Z")
Never heard of it, was not aware of direct hostilities from the Germans towards the US prior to our participation in WW I Except perhaps something about interference with shipping to Allies. But not about anything on our own soil like this. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 3:26pm 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/941579/24 "2021-05-07T15:26:27Z")
I never heard of it, but it must have made an impression on our military because my grandpa, before he was shipped overseas during the second world war, did guard duty on the docks of New York Harbor. Security was very high. ---
**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, 4:15pm 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/941579/25 "2021-05-07T16:15:50Z")
A good overview of clandestine German efforts targeting America in WWI is Howard Blum’s book “Dark Invasion”. It covers sabotage at munitions factories, the placing of delayed-action firebombs on merchant ships in N.Y. harbor, and the use of germ warfare (including anthrax) to infect liverstock in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 4:18pm 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/941579/26 "2021-05-07T16:18:21Z")
Hadn’t heard of it - but it may be the inspiration for this movie [All Through the Night (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Through_the_Night_(film)) which I have seen. History is big > **[History](https://xkcd.com/1979/)** > > HISTORIANS: We've decided to trim the past down to make things more manageable. Using BCE/CE, would you rather we lose the odd-numbered or even-numbered years? ---
**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, 4:30pm 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/941579/27 "2021-05-07T16:30:53Z")
Yeah, history is so big that certain aspects of it can be altered and half the world’s population goes completely unaware 😄 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 4:46pm 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/941579/28 "2021-05-07T16:46:27Z")
I learned about the explosion around 1982 or so, when talking to my father about the Statue of Liberty. His father (an immigrant born in 1891) had been able to visit the torch sometime before the explosion. I was distressed to learn that I would never be allowed to, because of damage from the explosion. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned the explosion was German sabotage. I think I heard that from a TV documentary sometime about 1995 or 2000. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 4:51pm 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/941579/29 "2021-05-07T16:51:00Z")
I’m familiar with the Marvel villain, [“Black Tom” Cassidy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_Cassidy), who fought against the X-men (he’s a cousin to Sean “Banshee” Cassidy) numerous times - often at the side of the Juggernaut. He blasts concussive force (like … an explosion might?) using his shillelagh as a focus. In Deadpool 2, he is played by Jack Kesy. ---
**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, 5:32pm 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/941579/30 "2021-05-07T17:32:39Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > … The St. Francis Dam Disaster. > > That David McCollough could narrate the hell out of a flood! I know all the others, but that one is new to me. I’m off to read a little on it. > **[St. Francis Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_Dam)** > > The St. Francis Dam was a concrete gravity dam located in San Francisquito Canyon in northern Los Angeles County, California that was built between 1924 and 1926 to serve the city of Los Angeles's growing water needs. It failed catastrophically in 1928 due to a defective soil foundation and design flaws, unleashing a flood that claimed the lives of at least 431 people. The collapse of the dam is considered to have been one of the worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th centur The... David McCullough is my favorite writer of History and Bios. please note the spelling for what it is worth ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:04pm 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/941579/31 "2021-05-07T18:04:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I know all the others, but that one is new to me. I’m off to read a little on it. I’ve got a little concrete chunk of the dam. Sorry for the typo. I knew better. ---
**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, 6:08pm 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/941579/32 "2021-05-07T18:08:55Z")
Sad thing is, I watched a Doc about that dam failure and forgot about it anyway. ☹ I guess it is impossible to forget about the Molasses Flood once you read it and Black Tom was in my state and The Johnstown Flood is really famous. ---
**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, 6:11pm 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/941579/33 "2021-05-07T18:11:13Z")
> [@Something](#): > > Let the polling begin 🙂 @Something, what interests you the most about this event? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:27pm 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/941579/34 "2021-05-07T18:27:41Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I guess it is impossible to forget about the Molasses Flood Boy, you ain’t said shit there! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:29pm 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/941579/35 "2021-05-07T18:29:17Z")
It’s something I’ve heard about and so long ago I don’t know where or how. My father’s family lived in Jersey City since the 1880s. I worked for a large container ship company that works out of Port Elizabeth. I could have learned about it either of those ways. Or maybe I just read it somewhere. I didn’t remember it well enough to give any details. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:34pm 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/941579/36 "2021-05-07T18:34:33Z")
Actually, there was not any proof it was by German agents. That was suspected as a couple German agents had apparently done other sabotage. Munitions blew up all by themselves and there had been a series of small fires for smudge pots set- that was claimed to be not the cause, but America was looking for a excuse to declare war. Note that it is also likely that The Maine blew up all by itself. Mind you, it could have been sabotage. America was shipping a lot of munitions to the Allied Powers. I read about this some time ago in several histories of the Great War. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:43pm 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/941579/37 "2021-05-07T18:43:02Z")
That Dam is quite close to where I live. There is not much left, they blew up one of the big remaining pieces as some fool was cavorting around on it and fell. In Santa Paula the local museum had a big exhibit on it. They have bronze statues of the two motorcycle cops who raced ahead of the water warning people. Also of note were the “Hello Girls” who bravely stayed at their telephone company stations, calling everyone they could. > **[Timeline of the Disaster](https://stfrancisdammemorial.org/timeline-of-the-st-francis-dam-disaster-and-los-angeles-aqueduct/?v=7516fd43adaa&gclid=Cj0KCQjwytOEBhD5ARIsANnRjViKC37YLazgMkwe3S1SfWQ7BvwsONMNW-ExI-GqVeo_nGD5tqxm5TQaAhNXEALw_wcB)** > > All the events leading to and occurring during and after the St. Francis Dam Disaster in a convenient and detailed timeline. _Gipe immediately calls California Highway Patrol officer and Santa Paula resident [Thornton Edwards](https://stfrancisdammemorial.org/the-st-francis-dam-disaster/?v=7516fd43adaa) with the news of the flood. She then starts calling the homes of those in danger. Edwards is soon joined by another officer, Stanley Baker. The two men use their motorcycles to awaken and warn residents by leaving their sirens running and crisscrossing the streets in the danger zone. Whenever a resident comes out to investigate the commotion, the officers stop, give orders to evacuate, and instruct the citizen to pass along the warning._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 6:59pm 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/941579/38 "2021-05-07T18:59:25Z")
I heard of it, but have no idea where or when. I pick up a historical facts like a lint roller picks up lint. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 10:23pm 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/941579/39 "2021-05-07T22:23:59Z")
I have heard of it, but don’t remember where. Probably the History Channel. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 10:29pm 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/941579/40 "2021-05-07T22:29:05Z")
Would that be in the alternate Universe where the History Channel actually broadcasts …_history?_ 😜 > [@The Physical Geography of the world and our historical timeline are being supernaturally changed as I type this](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-physical-geography-of-the-world-and-our-historical-timeline-are-being-supernaturally-changed-as-i-type-this/941576): > > Hello, SDMB slight_smile I know that many of you have heard of the Mandela Effect (if you haven’t, I advise a google search). I’m posting this message to share something important: the geography of our world and our historical timeline are being supernaturally changed as I write this. South America has been shifted thousands of miles east of where it once was. The size, shape, and location of countries and continents- Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea- are apparently being altered on a daily b… [Previous 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=1) [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=3)