# Origin of "slow as molasses"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560 "2004-01-15T07:21:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/1 "2004-01-15T07:21:17Z")
I know it’s damn near impossible to pinpoint when exactly people started saying that, but does anyone at least know _why_ we say it? Are molasses slow? ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/2 "2004-01-15T07:27:29Z")
Molasses is a thick sugary liquid. It pours slowly. That’s about it, really. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/3 "2004-01-15T07:27:52Z")
Molasses is a thick, syrupy byproduct of the sugar-manufacturing (from sugarcane) process. If poured, it flows very slowly. If you don’t believe me, go to the store, buy a jug of molasses, and sit at your kitchen table holding the bottle upended over a bowl until the entire thing is empty. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/4 "2004-01-15T07:29:36Z")
And then you can make rum! ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/5 "2004-01-15T07:30:50Z")
Thanks. I’ve eaten foods that had molasses in them, but never saw the stuff on its own, so I didn’t know it was a thick liquid. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/6 "2004-01-15T07:33:51Z")
My versian, via American (Montana) grandmother is “Slower than molassas in January.” I used to love sneaking a spoonfull of the stuff out of the carton. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/7 "2004-01-15T07:46:15Z")
> [@zoogirl](#): > > “Slower than molassas in January.” Slower than molasses running uphill on a cold January morning. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/8 "2004-01-15T07:48:47Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Slower than molasses running uphill on a cold January morning. Slower than molasses running to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways on a cold January morning and you’ll never see molasses these days doing that now will you with their new-fangled game boys and such. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/9 "2004-01-15T08:06:24Z")
However, a [flood of molasses](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/molasses.htm) can flow fast enough to drown 21 people. In January, no less. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-slow-as-molasses/224560/10 "2004-01-15T08:10:48Z")
Ah, yes. The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. My favorite expression along these lines has always been “slower than sucking peanutbutter through a straw.”