The Exploding Whale Oil Tank (1858) #history #shorts

In 1858, in New Bedford, Massachusetts — the whaling capital of the world — a whale oil storage tank overheated and exploded, sending jets of flaming oil across the docks. 🔥🛢️

Workers scrambled, dousing the fire with sand — the standard method back then — and once it was out, they simply went back to work.

No panic. No headlines.
In a town built on blubber and boiling cauldrons, this was just another Tuesday.

Before petroleum, whale oil lit homes and powered industry — and New Bedford burned bright, sometimes literally.

A fiery reminder of the messy, smelly, and occasionally explosive cost of 19th-century progress. 🐋💥

#NewBedford #WeirdHistory #DidYouKnow #history #shorts