This week, we’re talking about Halley’s Comet Panic of 1910. Comets have long been seen as omens of disaster, bad luck, or death. Even with scientific advancements and solid historical proof that Halley’s Comet had passed Earth repeatedly without incident, its return in 1910 caused widespread panic. After a frightening prediction by French astronomer Camille Flammarion, people across the world prepared for the end of life as they knew it. From anti-comet pills to comet-proof umbrellas, people were willing to try just about anything to survive being consumed by the poisonous tail of the comet.
Highlights:
The Halley’s Comet Panic of 1910 was a nearly unbelievable widespread panic about the approach of a comet that had already passed Earth without incident hundreds of times. Highlights of this week’s episode include:
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Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2015/01/fantastically-wrong-halleys-comet/
https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1955/5/14/the-panic-over-halleys-comet
https://daily.jstor.org/the-long-history-of-comet-phobia/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/halleys-comet-1910
