People who think the end of the world is imminent

There are a lot of crazy people out there. An Ipsos Global Public Affairs survey conducted for the Reuters news agency finds that one in 7 (14%) of the global population believes that the world will end in their lifetime. About 10% associate this with the so-called Mayan calendar prophecy that supposedly signals the end of the world on December 21, 2012, totally ruining the Christmas holidays. [Read more…]

The myth about The War of the Worlds panic

Almost everyone has heard the story about how Orson Welles produced a radio drama based on H. G. Welles’ story The War of the Worlds that was broadcast October 30, 1938, the night before Halloween. The dramatization largely took the form of a series of news bulletins that interrupt regular programming about the Earth being attacked by Martians. The story goes that people who heard it thought it was a real news story and there was mass panic and hysteria, with people all over the country running out of their homes and into the streets in fear. [Read more…]

Athletes sticking up for each other

As everyone knows, Jamaican Usain Bolt won the 100m with a new Olympic record. Caity Weaver reports that just before the 100m final began, some jerk among the spectators had been hurling abuse at Bolt and that just before the starter gun went off, he threw a green bottle at him that fortunately fell behind the athletes and did not distract him or cause a false start. [Read more…]