The phrase "slow as molasses" was first heard in the early 1800s. Some believe it developed in the aftermath of the European Condiment Conference of 1801, where the condiment derby is held each year. Sir Dillon Yorkenshire, for the first time in the derby's history, entered molasses (some claimed this wasn't even a legitimate condiment) against a bottle of Hines ketchup. Of course the stakes were high, and when the gates opened up, molasses faltered and froze in its tracks. The ketchup took off and didn't look back. The loss was one of the greatest controversies in condiment history, and when something is slow, anything at all - it is only natural that people should casually reflect on that dark dark day at the derby in 1801.
Do you question the legitimacy of this? Go ahead, check the Wikipedia article on molasses.
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