For those that weren’t afraid the world would end, the comet turned out to be a source of great fun. The first major news stories about Halley’s Comet begin to circulate.

Yet another paper detailed an interview with a Reverend Fr Hillig, who attempted to assuage fears by colorfully announcing “There is as little danger in that collision as there is in colliding with the odoriferous particles emanating from the highly perfumed dress of a person that has crossed the sidewalk a few seconds before you arrive on that spot”. Another newspaper reported that the famed astronomer Percival Lowell seconded this, stating the gas wasn’t truly a threat because of its rarity and thinness; just because it’s present doesn’t mean there’s a lot of it. The next morning the world was fine. In the end, the May 1910 event proved harmless, while marking the first use of the spectroscope and the first photographic documentation of the comet’s sighting. Thankfully, the tail of Halley’s Comet is 25 million kilometers, so “close” is relative. Chat with a librarian, Monday through Friday, 2-3 pm Eastern Time (except Federal Holidays). On May 26, 1910, Estelle Clements saw Halley’s Comet; she wrote in her diary, “Fine sight of comet in p.m.”It was an historic occasion to which she gave short shrift, going on to write nonchalantly, “Rhododendrons are in full flower.Poppies and peonies are coming out.” The famous comet named for astronomer Edmond Halley only passes by the Earth roughly once every 76 years, but it’s appearances have often played a surprising role in historical events.

1910 Halley's Comet: People Bought 'Anti-Comet Pills', Umbrellas, and Gas Masks In 1910, as Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet, people bought "Anti-Comet Pills", special "comet umbrellas", and gas masks, because there was public hysteria that all life on Earth would be destroyed by gas - called cyanogen - that was detected in the tail. In the 17th century, Edmund Halley was studying some reports on comets that had been visible from Earth in 1531, 1607, and 1682 when he came to the sudden realization that all the comets were actually the same comet coming around every 76 years!

Lauren Beverung, an assistant psychology professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, put it best in a recent news article: “fear spreads faster than the virus”. Make no mistake, COVID-19 is a serious threat, but it is important to remember to fact check and consult experts like the CDC and WHO rather than panic buy supplies and fraudulent preventatives like the people of 1910. Streaking toward Earth after a 75-year absence, Halley's Comet is reported in the popular press as an "evil eye of the sky," creating mass hysteria, the public fearing it would “snuff out all life on Earth.” Opportunistic entrepreneurs hawked anti-comet pills, gas masks, and comet-protecting umbrellas.

And some charlatans even sold bogus anti-comet pills. 101 Ferry Road (Rt. . The first sightings of Halley’s Comet are reported. Because the tail was found to contain toxic cyanogen, people panicked. Read more about it! In 1909, newspaper predictions about the impact of Halley's Comet led to public fear and mass hysteria. Use our online form to ask a librarian for help now. Atlanta, GA thanked the cloud cover that saved them from being obliterated, and the rest of the world moved on, happy they didn’t die. The University of Hawai`i Observatory, Kaimuki, 1910 to 1958, as seen in 1917 by E.H. Bryan, Jr. S. oon after the turn of the century an astronomical event of major scientific as well as popular interest stirred the citizens of Honolulu: the predicted appearance of Halley's Comet in 1910. Don't miss out on the latest from Historically Strange! A quick google search reveals alarming headlines, and the effects are already obvious. We all know that gravity, specifically the moon’s, does affect the tides, but only minimally. The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America. terms and conditions, disclaimer, & privacy policy, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window). Others sealed all their windows. It was detected at an observatory on April 20, 1910, and, indeed, Mark Twain died the following day. For those that weren’t afraid the world would end, the comet turned out to be a source of great fun. Phone: (401) 253-2707 People in countries like the U.S. are panic buying in mass; hand sanitizer, thermometers, paper products, you name it and people are clearing it from the stores. https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-halleys-comet, Halley's Comet: Topics in Chronicling America, Directory of US Newspapers in American Libraries. In essence, the article said only women could possibly pack a comet properly, and if it were to be packed, it’d be completely ruined. In 1910, Halley's Comet zipped by Earth, forcing our planet to pass through its tail. Buckle up this week for a story full of mass hysteria and overly dramatic verbiage! Songs were sung and poems were even written. While it’s one thing to prepare for the possibility of staying home for a few weeks, it’s a whole other to prepare for the end of the world. . Need assistance? Ball quickly informed the public “the whole comet could be squeezed into a portmanteau”, a dated word for a suitcase. Not only did the Times explain what a portmanteau was, it went on in great detail to explain why putting a comet in one was a bad idea. The cyanogen gas in Halley’s comet was an “almost inconceivable rarification” according to the San Francisco Call. This certainly didn’t stop the public from preparing for the end of the world though, nor did it stop newspapers from publishing sensational headlines like the one below. By the time Halley’s Comet was visible in 1910 using contemporary telescopes, astronomers realized the quickly approaching comet would pass close enough to Earth that our planet would actually pass through its tail. We can’t really blame the people of 1910 for their reaction to the news, afterall, with headlines like “Halley’s Comet May Snuff Out Life on Earth” what are they supposed to think? For every scientific doomsayer, there were several other scientists trying to calm everyone down. The year was 1910, and people everywhere were accusing poor Halley’s Comet of causing just about everything going wrong in the world. In reality, Herschel was just commenting on the ephemeral nature of the gaseous tail as Lowell and Hillig had. Public anxiety about the “end of the world” persists for months. The idea that the comet would exert enough gravitational pull to change the seas was quickly called out as absurd. There was one ray of light in the darkness though! . Most of us will be familiar with the story of the Jamestown settlement, be it the factual or fictional version, from history classes and movies . Robert Ball, the director of the Cambridge Observatory, also weighed in with his own fun analogy, or rather his misguided interpretation of a statement by astronomer John Herschel.

The passing of Halley’s Comet in 1910 wasn’t all bad though. Apparently, if you weren’t English in 1910 you didn’t know what a portmanteau was either, so the New York Times graciously educated the public in a fantastic clapback to Ball’s statement. Fraudulent “anti-comet” pills flew off the shelves as did gas masks. Public anxiety about the “end of the world” persists for months. An interesting parallel can be draw between the public reaction in 1910 and the reactions of some to Coronavirus today. The comet appears about once every 75 years, and wouldn’t be seen again until 1986; the next sighting is expected in 2061. Poppies and peonies are coming out.”. 114) While it was made clear several times by experts that there was no threat, the headlines which spoke louder were those that provoked fear, not reassurance. Obviously that didn’t happen, as we can tell by our perfectly intact oceans, and the notion itself was improbable. Comet dinners were held throughout the city on the May night Halley’s comet passed. Citizens were advised to plug their keyholes, not unlike the advice given to Americans in 2003. Comet dinners were held throughout the city on the May night Halley’s comet passed. The astronomers analyzed the tail using spectroscopy and found it contained deadly cyanogen. When Comet Halley approached Earth in 1910, with the use of a scientific process called spectroscopy French astronomer Camille Flammarion detected cyanide gas in its tail that incited real panic. It has a nucleus of 10 x 5 x 5 miles, and its 2061 approach has followers predicting that it will then collide with the earth and cause untold ruin.

Enter your email address to receive notifications about new posts via email. The passing of Halley’s Comet in 1910 wasn’t all bad though. Halley's Comet as photographed May 13, 1910, by a wide-angle camera at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Ariz., during the comet's last appearance. A particularly concerned alarmist wrote to the Royal Observatory: “[the comet] will cause the Pacific to change basins with the Atlantic, and the primeval forests of North and South America to be swept by the briny avalanche over the sandy plains of the great Sahara, tumbling over and over with houses, ships, sharks, whales and all sorts of living things in one heterogeneous mass of chaotic confusion”. In 1909, as speculation about the upcoming appearance was rife, Mark Twain predicted he would die when the comet next passed over the earth. The flaws in Flammarion’s statement were swiftly pointed out in equally dramatic and eloquent fashion. Fear-based media has been used for decades to draw readers in. The first major news stories about Halley’s Comet begin to circulate. Yay? Our moon is not only much closer than the head of the comet passed, but also larger, and it isn’t constantly threatening to reverse all of our oceans. Have a question? Sometimes there’s an explanation... and sometimes not. Over 80 books, close to 2 billion copies sold worldwide, and one . For those asking “What is Halley’s Comet?”, in short, the comet is arguably the most famous to be tracked. . On May 6, as it approached the earth, King Edward VII died, his demise blamed squarely on the comet’s malevolent effects.

“Time is the best killer” – Agatha Christie You’ve probably heard of her. If the world hasn’t ended by then, Halley’s Comet is coming back in 2061. While this tactic is effective, it is also dangerous; sometimes it is not the threat being reported, but the public’s reaction to the news that we should fear. Believe it or not, gravity is actually the weakest force in the universe. Songs were sung and poems were even written. February 1910: French astronomer Camille Flammarion is reported as saying that cyanogen gas in the comet’s tail will “snuff out” all life. The next morning the world was fine. Halley’s Comet passes between the earth and the sun without causing any atmospheric disturbances. Elsewhere, however, the world was in a panic, people fearing impending disaster from the comet’s poisonous gases. In a fantastically over-dramatic statement, French astronomer Camille Flammarion announced to the world that “cyanogen gas would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet” – que mass panic.

Some sold all their possessions. Bristol, Rhode Island 02809 It wasn’t the tail itself that was scary though, but rather what was in it. The affect the comet would have on the Earth’s oceans also seemed to be a common focus among those convinced life as they knew it would be ending soon. French astronomer Camille Flammarion is reported as saying that cyanogen gas in the comet’s tail will “snuff out” all life.

Herschel didn’t mean his statement literally of course, something Ball failed to convey when he re-uttered his variation of the statement. On May 26, 1910, Estelle Clements saw Halley’s Comet; she wrote in her diary, “Fine sight of comet in p.m.” It was an historic occasion to which she gave short shrift, going on to write nonchalantly, “Rhododendrons are in full flower.