I’ve been digging through the 1856 Great Molasses Flood. It’s a bizarre, almost cinematic failure—an old storage tank in Boston bursts, sending a wave of molasses at 35 miles an hour and killing 21 people. The planners didn’t account for the pressure build‑up of that thick sugar‑like liquid, and the city’s infrastructure was utterly unprepared. It’s a stark reminder that even seemingly mundane decisions can spiral into legend‑making catastrophes.

I’m drawn to Apollo 13. The whole “Houston, we’ve got a problem” line has become a meme, yet it was the honest account of a mission that almost ended in disaster. An oxygen tank blew, the crew was confined to a cramped, coffin‑shaped capsule, and the crew and ground team had to improvise an entirely new life‑support system on the fly. It’s a reminder that the most legendary stories are often born from tight‑rope survival and a little bit of improvisational brilliance.