May 21, 2025

The Origin of Weird: Anti Comet Pill

The Origin of Weird: Anti Comet Pill

Fear and opportunism collide in this fascinating dive into one of history's strangest mass panics. When scientists discovered cyanogen gas in Halley's Comet's tail before its 1910 arrival, what should have been a minor scientific footnote exploded into worldwide hysteria. We explore how a single French astronomer's speculative comment about the gas potentially "snuffing out all life on Earth" sparked terror across continents.

The resulting panic is both hilarious and sobering. People frantically "comet-proofed" their homes by stuffing rags in window cracks, wearing wet towels as makeshift gas masks, and retreating to basements. Churches overflowed with terrified worshippers praying for salvation as Earth passed through the comet's tail. Meanwhile, opportunists saw dollar signs, creating an entire industry of bogus protective products almost overnight.

We unpack the wild array of scams that flourished: "anti-comet pills" (basically sugar tablets), colored water "elixirs," special umbrellas supposedly designed to protect from cosmic debris, and even comet insurance policies. Some bartenders brilliantly claimed alcohol would neutralize the comet's poison – perhaps history's most creative excuse for a drinking spree! Without strong consumer protection laws and with communication systems that took weeks to spread accurate information, these fraudsters made fortunes before anyone could stop them.

What makes this story so compelling is how it illuminates timeless aspects of human nature. The speed at which fear spread, the media's role in amplifying misinformation, and our vulnerability to snake oil salespeople feels eerily familiar more than a century later. When Halley's Comet finally passed by with no effect beyond a spectacular light show, the world collectively exhaled – and quietly tucked away their useless anti-comet products.

Join us for this cosmic journey through panic, pseudoscience, and profiteering that proves some aspects of humanity never change – even as we gaze at the stars. Have you encountered modern versions of these astronomical scams? Share your thoughts with us on social media or email us at historybuffoonspodcast@gmail.com!

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00:00 - Welcome to History Buffoons

03:00 - Introducing Halley's Comet

09:00 - The 1910 Cyanogen Gas Panic

13:30 - Mass Hysteria and Media Frenzy

18:40 - Anti-Comet Pills and Snake Oil

23:00 - Comet Passes, Panic Subsides

26:10 - Episode Wrap-Up

WEBVTT

00:00:16.355 --> 00:00:18.176
Oh, hey there, oh hey there.

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I like how you do that and then you open your beer and it's like let's just not talk anymore.

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Wow.

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Welcome to the Origin of Weird but History Buffoons.

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Hey.

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The History Buffoons.

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I'm Bradley.

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I'm Kate.

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And let's find out something weird.

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Oh my gosh.

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Okay, I have a molasses cookie.

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I know.

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With ice topping.

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Oh my God From Festival.

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So delicious.

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Holy smoke I love how we keep mentioning this in our episodes.

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It's so good, holy smoke.

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Holy balls.

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Oh my, what you drinking.

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I'm having a beverage.

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Cut water, tiki rum, mai Tai.

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I really didn't want to bring that up, because this is going to come out two weeks after the one.

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We just had this on it's fine, cut water, tiki rum, my type we had two left over from our sure fucking good anyways it's not seltzer a week and a half ago.

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I should say it's not seltzer.

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We learned that twelve and a and a half percent.

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How?

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are you and let's move on.

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I am well.

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How are you?

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I'm eating a cookie, so I want you to talk some more.

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Okay, so what I'd like to say is that Kate likes cookies.

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And she's currently eating one.

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And back to you, Kate.

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Okay, so here we go All right.

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so I'm going to keep talking because, good lord, that was terrible.

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How was?

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your week, my week has been okay.

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I'm still chewing, so you really want me to say more and I'm purposely giving minimal, so okay, so we have an origin of a weird story.

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How?

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was your week.

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Well, I've been sitting on this story for about three weeks yeah, because we, maybe two, we yeah, we don't know, we don't know we uh, okay, so yeah sometimes we we do well with planning um, um topics in advance, okay, and occasionally we'll squeeze in something yes, if it's pertinent to the time.

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Yes, aka the derby correct.

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We squeezed in a little bit of the derby history of the kentucky derby for you thank you for everyone who listened to that.

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That was one of our best episodes in terms of downloads.

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So we appreciate everyone who actually listened to it and, uh, thank you very much.

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Hope you enjoyed it yeah.

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So this is, um, an episode, or today's topic has been around for a couple weeks now, yeah, and just kind of waiting to be talked about.

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So, yeah, this is about Halley's Comet and the anti-comet pills.

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Anti, oh, I'm going to go into it?

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I hope so, because what the fuck?

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Okay, so Halley's Comet, you know of Comes out every 75 years.

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You're right, it's either 75 or 76, depending on the time frame Give or take, yeah, but yes, and it has all sorts of superstition, much like Joey Ortiz on the Brewers shaving his mustache.

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Shout out to our last episode.

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Fast forward.

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Nope, not our last episode.

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Fast forward.

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Nope, not our last episode, but yep.

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In our future Afrofarm.

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Nope, definitely not that either.

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It's even less that than our last episode.

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Okay, it's either our future episode or our last episode.

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Two episodes ago.

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By the time this comes out, son of a bitch.

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Haley's Comet yeah 75 or 76 years and it leads to all sorts Of superstition.

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So Fast forward or rewind, I guess.

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Or rewind to the 1990s, 1900s, my bad 1900s.

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I mean 1990s were In the 1900s but the 1900s astronomers had actually figured out whether it would Be back.

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Yeah, they're like oh, it's gonna come around in 1910.

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Because it was around in 1986, right.

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Yes.

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I remember it.

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Let's say that 85, 86.

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I'm sure I say it later on the episode that I don't remember because it's been a couple weeks.

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I'd like to say I believe you, but this is the episode that I don't remember because it's been a couple weeks.

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I'd like to say I believe you, but but they even calculated that Earth would pass right through the tail around May 18th or May 19th of that year.

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Oh.

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Now this led to a big public outcry, Because People are superstitious.

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Did they drink the Kool-Aid?

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Oh, they drank the Kool-Aid.

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That is a great idiom as well.

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Shout out to Jim Jones and the cult Sure.

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What.

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Do you know what drink the Kool-Aid means?

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What Tell me?

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So Jim Jones.

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Who is what?

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He was a self-proclaimed reverend that had a cult.

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I think it was California.

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You're saying cult, right, yeah, not colt.

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Because every time you say it you say colt.

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That's what confused me.

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You keep saying colt.

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I'm like what the fuck?

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is that A?

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colt.

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There it is Jesus.

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I'm like he had a horse.

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What the shit.

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A colt Still too close to cult, but all right, let's run with it, holy shit, because, like I, I know where it's from.

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Okay, you said, you said jim jones and his cult, but you said cult and I'm like what?

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Oh my god, it's like how I pronounce root beer.

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I don't pronounce it root Root beer.

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I pronounce it root beer.

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A lot of people call it root beer.

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Yeah.

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Or root beer.

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Nathan always.

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Nobody calls it cult or cult or cult or cult.

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Okay.

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Jim Jones had a cult in ghana.

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Africa, south america, ghana, south america you're the one who's doing the story, not me ghana, south america yeah and he had everybody commit suicide by kool-aid did they have cults there in their cult?

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stop it okay okay, well, you're talking about hayley's fucking comet fuck yeah, we are okay, hayley represent.

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Okay, so in night in february10, scientists used a technique called spectroscopy.

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Spectroscopy Spectroscopy.

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Exactly.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, and found cyogen, a poisonous gas, oh dear, in Halley Comet's tail.

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How did they find that that's in space and they weren't in space?

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in 1910.

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Spectroscopy so that's how okay are you gonna go into that?

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fuck, no.

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So even though these scientists knew the gas was super thin and on a very large scale, meaning not concentrated, the public only heard the word poison.

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Of course they did yes, especially back in 1910.

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Yes, so you can imagine the newspaper headlines Mass hysteria.

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They were screaming about deadly gas heading straight for the earth, something like that.

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I don't know.

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Was this newspaper from Transylvania?

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Transylvania, heading straight for earth.

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No, Transylvania was alreadyylvania heading straight for Earth.

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Transylvania is already on Earth, anyways.

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So apparently a really well-known French astronomer named Camille Flammarion Flammarion, camille Flammarion.

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Can we stop saying his name?

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Flammarion.

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He was quoted as saying that the Earth went through the comet's tail.

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Can we stop saying his name?

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He was quoted as saying that the earth went through the comet's tail and our whole world would be filled with.

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Poison.

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Cyanogen gas possibly snuffing out all life on earth.

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Possibly snuffing out all life on Earth.

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Why the fuck would you tell newspapers that Possibly snuffing out all life?

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on Earth.

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Can I answer the question why he would say that?

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Because he wanted to be famous?

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Fucking panic mode.

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No shit, because especially in 1910, you can't just be like is he fucking real Google that shit, google that shit.

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Obviously you can't do that.

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You only get your news from what avenues of news you get, which is typically newspapers.

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Back then it's not like you had TV.

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You couldn't tune into Channel whatever and get the local news Channel 4.

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Or 6.

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Cnbc, NBC or 7 or 9.

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I mean, we can go every number if you'd like, but we're not going to, but no.

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So they took in the news with the mediums they had, which was typically newspaper.

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Newspaper telegrams.

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So fuck y'all dude for causing a mass hysteria so all right.

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Stop with that he actually did try to clear things up, saying that it was an unlikely situation, but more of a like what if thought so, but the newspapers were like yeah we're gonna run with that, others we're gonna run with the scary stuff yeah, because that's way more.

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That's gonna sell more papers.

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Dude, dude.

00:10:00.892 --> 00:10:01.812
Sorry, but not sorry.

00:10:01.812 --> 00:10:10.769
So comets if you will, comets if you will.

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Had a spooky reputation Throughout history.

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People linked them to wars, dragons, Plagues, dragons, tell-all black death.

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Fuck, yeah, yeah, Hello, black Death.

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Fuck, yeah.

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Yeah, we did that.

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There was a comet before the Black Death.

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Yeah, we did that episode.

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I also brought up dragons in that episode.

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Sure Game of Thrones.

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Sure.

00:10:33.164 --> 00:10:34.831
It's really not relevant.

00:10:35.304 --> 00:10:50.596
So Halley's Comet in 1910 started all those old fears, Plus, a few months before, another comet called the great daylight comet was it really bright, which must have been, oh, you don't know.

00:10:50.596 --> 00:10:59.979
It showed up out of nowhere and was super bright, which already had people on edge I literally just said oh, is it really bright?

00:10:59.979 --> 00:11:04.076
May have been, and you're like it's been several weeks since I've read this.

00:11:04.076 --> 00:11:04.557
I get it.

00:11:05.986 --> 00:11:06.890
I understand.

00:11:06.890 --> 00:11:13.725
That was fucking amazing, wow Way back in 1907.

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So three years prior.

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Oh my God, that's so long ago.

00:11:16.804 --> 00:11:22.644
Headlines were already asking things like will the coming cut Hold on?

00:11:22.644 --> 00:11:24.628
There's a lot of alliteration here.

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Will coming comet collide with curse?

00:11:28.490 --> 00:11:31.544
I put this in myself.

00:11:31.544 --> 00:11:41.038
It literally said will coming comet collide with earth and I said will coming comet collide with curse.

00:11:41.078 --> 00:11:44.673
We were there, we heard you that was.

00:11:44.754 --> 00:11:56.230
That was a bit much okay, the beverage that we're drinking is 12 and a half percent 12 and a half percent we went over that two episodes ago.

00:11:56.250 --> 00:11:59.238
I'm sorry, sorry if you can tell you're really not that sorry.

00:11:59.238 --> 00:12:04.378
Okay, I have to drive home after this Shut the fuck up.

00:12:06.206 --> 00:12:06.929
You were cut off.

00:12:07.532 --> 00:12:09.990
Oh, hold on while I slam the rest of this.

00:12:11.466 --> 00:12:45.421
As Haley's comic got closer in the spring of 1910, things really went into overdrive with the media and the public, and scary news stories and people's fears were like feeding off of each other like wildfire right idiom like wildfire oh yeah I mean, I feel like that one speaks for itself lots of newspapers were writing these crazy alarming articles about how dangerous the comet was, and that just made people around the world even more panicked.

00:12:46.166 --> 00:12:53.716
You saw all sorts of reactions from people trying to be practical and getting ready to others just completely fucking losing it.

00:12:53.916 --> 00:12:54.096
Yep.

00:12:55.206 --> 00:12:56.431
Losing their fucking minds.

00:12:56.431 --> 00:12:59.510
Lost their shit, lost their shit.

00:12:59.510 --> 00:13:06.232
Big newspapers like the New York Times actually repeated that scary prediction from Flamin' Young.

00:13:06.754 --> 00:13:07.514
Flamin' Young.

00:13:07.696 --> 00:13:08.517
About life.

00:13:08.537 --> 00:13:08.817
Is that what?

00:13:08.857 --> 00:13:11.504
you said Flaming Flamerion, my bad.

00:13:11.565 --> 00:13:13.534
Because you said Flamin' Young, I sure fucking did.

00:13:13.534 --> 00:13:14.769
That sounds delicious right now.

00:13:14.789 --> 00:13:19.013
Flamerion About all life being snuffed out.

00:13:19.774 --> 00:13:21.211
Okay, I don't like the sound of that.

00:13:21.230 --> 00:13:39.575
That so they even talked about these totally wild breeder stories, like the ocean sloshing out of the basins because of the comets, and stories that were right on the front page really push this idea of the world ending isn't it?

00:13:39.794 --> 00:13:46.325
I mean, again, we're talking about 1910, so I obviously get it, but isn't it just wild?

00:13:46.325 --> 00:13:54.581
At that time they thought the ocean was literally gonna slosh out of its fucking spot.

00:13:54.581 --> 00:13:57.628
I mean, again, they don't know better.

00:13:57.628 --> 00:13:59.613
K crossed her eyes.

00:13:59.613 --> 00:14:11.818
She took a sip of her beverage this is very potent but isn't it just amazing, like, oh man, that's just gonna all come up on here now.

00:14:11.818 --> 00:14:14.169
I know that's gonna be empty, but it's all gonna be up here.

00:14:14.611 --> 00:14:22.715
We're gonna be under their feets of water churches all over europe and america are filled terrified people.

00:14:23.176 --> 00:14:23.998
Can you blame them, though?

00:14:23.998 --> 00:14:25.470
I mean, they don't fucking know better.

00:14:25.730 --> 00:14:29.014
They don't know better, they're just like look end of the world.

00:14:29.445 --> 00:14:30.571
You know I got to itch my ear.

00:14:32.884 --> 00:14:37.496
People were trying to get their spiritual lives in order, thinking that it was the end.

00:14:38.227 --> 00:14:47.836
In Paris, churches stayed open all night while Earth was supposed to be Just to take in the people, because, yeah shit, we need people, want to give their confessions or whatever.

00:14:47.836 --> 00:14:48.378
Blah, blah.

00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.234
And we're about to be passing through the comet's tail.

00:14:52.234 --> 00:15:03.259
Tens of thousands of people gathered at saint peter square just to pray for salvation basilica yeah it's like the Pope was just reelected or whatever the fuck they do.

00:15:04.264 --> 00:15:06.854
I mean, he wasn't just like he was.

00:15:07.105 --> 00:15:10.048
Elected, not reelected, but like elected yeah he wasn't really.

00:15:10.067 --> 00:15:11.273
he didn't go for a second term.

00:15:11.273 --> 00:15:17.351
Sure, you get elected until you die or you resign, because we've had what one Pope resign?

00:15:17.351 --> 00:15:18.991
I think he was what two Popes ago.

00:15:28.924 --> 00:15:30.847
But he had like some health issues or some shit.

00:15:30.847 --> 00:15:31.809
I don't remember, doesn't matter.

00:15:31.809 --> 00:15:45.256
So, anyways, it's wild to think about like these things people did to try to protect themselves at home, right, okay, so we're talking about comet proofing their lives, comet, comet, proofing their lives okay that that's a little clearer, because the first time was really like Comet, I'm drunkard.

00:15:45.256 --> 00:15:47.184
Proofing their lives.

00:15:47.264 --> 00:15:48.410
Yeah, I got that.

00:15:48.410 --> 00:15:50.350
Oh, Jesus fuck.

00:15:50.585 --> 00:15:52.211
Stop itching your ear and it won't happen.

00:15:52.284 --> 00:16:04.546
And stop telling my ear to itch and I wasn't itching my ear, I was scratching my ear because I had an itch here because it had an itch.

00:16:04.567 --> 00:16:14.604
So they people would seal up their windows and doors, stuffing rags and paper into any little crack to keep the quote-unquote toxic gas out.

00:16:14.604 --> 00:16:21.238
Let me use what you had so I get that some families even went down go ahead do they not have any clock?

00:16:21.485 --> 00:16:22.894
I don't know they could have clocked it up.

00:16:22.894 --> 00:16:24.000
I don't know they could have caulked it up.

00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:24.784
I don't know if they have caulk.

00:16:24.784 --> 00:16:27.052
They could have filled it up with caulk and it would have been fine.

00:16:27.404 --> 00:16:34.099
But some people went down to their basements and wore wet towels over their faces.

00:16:34.605 --> 00:16:35.804
Did they just think that wouldn't let as?

00:16:35.825 --> 00:16:37.528
like makeshift gas masks.

00:16:37.587 --> 00:16:37.788
Right.

00:16:37.888 --> 00:16:38.690
That's what I was going to say.

00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:39.691
Okay, that's what I was going to say.

00:16:39.691 --> 00:16:40.192
Okay Makes sense.

00:16:40.192 --> 00:16:41.214
I mean, I get that.

00:16:41.955 --> 00:16:43.738
Hey look, listen to this.

00:16:43.738 --> 00:16:52.458
Hey look, look, people in the US are cocking their homes.

00:16:52.458 --> 00:16:53.783
I literally had to do sentences later.

00:16:53.783 --> 00:16:54.907
Are you fucking?

00:16:54.927 --> 00:16:55.207
kidding me?

00:16:55.207 --> 00:16:56.230
I haven't read this in three weeks.

00:16:56.230 --> 00:16:56.652
Stop with that.

00:16:56.652 --> 00:16:57.434
I understand that.

00:16:57.434 --> 00:17:00.014
That's just fucking hilarious that I brought that up.

00:17:00.014 --> 00:17:04.733
I am okay with you having read this.

00:17:04.733 --> 00:17:06.748
In a couple weeks I get that, or three weeks, whatever.

00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:08.211
But that's fucking funny.

00:17:08.211 --> 00:17:09.134
Yes, they were clocking.

00:17:09.625 --> 00:17:14.998
He's like hey, man, we need to clock our windows, clock our doors, shout out to JFK.

00:17:15.664 --> 00:17:20.990
And of course, sales of actual gas masks shot way up.

00:17:21.866 --> 00:17:23.393
Do you think anyone bought those old?

00:17:23.393 --> 00:17:26.674
What was the pointy?

00:17:26.845 --> 00:17:32.489
the plague doctor masks, it wasn't mentioned, it was mostly gas masks that would be fantastic though.

00:17:32.489 --> 00:17:35.853
So it wasn't just about being cautious.

00:17:36.125 --> 00:17:49.390
People really panicked and to let led to some really sad and bizarre things Can you blame them, though, because this paper said hey man, we're all going to die because this fucker said it's all poisonous and we're going through its tail so we're all going to die.

00:17:49.390 --> 00:17:52.432
I mean to cause that mass hysteria.

00:17:52.432 --> 00:17:55.771
It's like and I get it it's 1910.

00:17:55.771 --> 00:18:00.075
I understand they don't know the science behind it or whatever, blah, blah, blah.

00:18:04.904 --> 00:18:06.269
But people have been around for a long fucking time.

00:18:06.288 --> 00:18:16.535
We're not gonna get taken out until a fucking meteor hits our goddamn, like a giant fucking meteor hits our planet or some other just ridiculous thing.

00:18:16.535 --> 00:18:18.378
But they didn't know that.

00:18:18.378 --> 00:18:22.560
So they panicked and they started being like how do we save ourselves?

00:18:22.560 --> 00:18:23.905
They thought shit like that.

00:18:23.905 --> 00:18:30.125
So it's wild to think that because we know so much more today than they did a hundred years ago.

00:18:30.125 --> 00:18:33.814
But, holy fuck, that would have been scary as fuck.

00:18:33.933 --> 00:18:41.036
Just being like, oh my god, we're gonna die so you want to know what some of the things are that came out of this hysteria.

00:18:41.036 --> 00:18:41.778
I would love to.

00:18:41.778 --> 00:18:43.862
Things are that came out of this hysteria.

00:18:43.862 --> 00:18:47.027
I would love to Anti-comet pills.

00:18:47.047 --> 00:18:48.028
Who came up with that?

00:18:48.568 --> 00:18:53.896
I don't know what the fuck, but it was probably the biggest scam.

00:18:54.417 --> 00:18:55.259
Was it the government?

00:18:55.259 --> 00:19:08.625
So there were basically medical patent pills that were advertised as a cure for the comet's poison.

00:19:08.625 --> 00:19:09.007
So okay, Keep going.

00:19:09.166 --> 00:19:24.276
It was harmless, but I read that a lot of them were just sugar or quinine, With no special powers, that's the problem is the pharmaceutical industry, which I don't agree with personally and to each their own on this.

00:19:24.875 --> 00:19:26.336
There are some benefits that come out of.

00:19:26.336 --> 00:19:28.137
It is full of shit.

00:19:28.137 --> 00:19:31.460
They want to sell you something.

00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:33.821
They're selling sugar pills.

00:19:34.382 --> 00:19:35.883
You could have fucking made that at home.

00:19:35.883 --> 00:19:43.999
Yes, they didn't need to sell it to you, and fucking somebody got rich off that shit because of the hysteria and the panic that that fucker caused.

00:19:44.346 --> 00:19:46.954
And some of them were arrested for fraud.

00:19:47.185 --> 00:19:50.471
Good, because they should have been, because that is horse shit.

00:19:50.471 --> 00:19:56.234
Yes, there's so many pills even today that it's like why are those on the market?

00:19:56.234 --> 00:19:58.625
You look at all those commercials.

00:19:58.625 --> 00:20:03.651
I'd be like don't take this if you have whatever, because it could cause death.

00:20:03.751 --> 00:20:22.935
It's like cool, yeah, but my skin's gonna look a hair better than it used to so there was also anti comet elixirs oh, jesus christ pharmacist or offered a special haley's comet elixir, basically just colored liquid, claiming that it would fight off poisonous gases those.

00:20:22.976 --> 00:20:48.503
Those people should be shot in the fucking street also completely useless yeah, that's bullshit and then get this anti-comet umbrellas what the fuck you can't stop a fucking comet with an umbrella inventors were trying to sell these as protection from falling debris or other nasty stuff coming from comet's tail isn't it sad how gullible people are because, you know people bought that shit.

00:20:49.186 --> 00:20:53.460
Yes, because why else would that be, even in your story, if no one bought that?

00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:55.125
There's there's no reason that would be in your story, but people did.

00:20:55.125 --> 00:21:11.442
There's no reason that would be in your story, but people did, and those people should be also shot in the street all sorts of businesses were advertising respirators and masks that were guaranteed to filter out the poisons see they shouldn't have guaranteed that.

00:21:11.442 --> 00:21:14.724
Can we file a class action lawsuit against them?

00:21:15.557 --> 00:21:20.877
the funny thing is no special mask was really needed at all, since the comments comments.

00:21:20.877 --> 00:21:24.006
Gas was way too spread out to really hurt anybody.

00:21:24.006 --> 00:21:25.349
Yeah, it was all fake.

00:21:25.349 --> 00:21:56.625
After may 19th, people realized that the only thing those masks did was make the sellers richer exactly, so they fucking caught on good but there was also insurance brokers like fuck in los angeles who would offer comet insurances that's horseshit he would promise to pay out 500 to your family if hailey's comet killed you that is complete and utter fucking fraud at least 50 people signed up for this.

00:21:58.147 --> 00:22:01.000
I feel bad for those 50 people, at least 50 people.

00:22:01.154 --> 00:22:02.882
But also the taverns.

00:22:02.882 --> 00:22:05.381
The taverns took advantage of this.

00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:07.286
All right, this I back.

00:22:08.335 --> 00:22:14.067
Bartenders, either as a joke, because they were clever started telling customers that drinking was a way to protect themselves.

00:22:14.067 --> 00:22:37.228
The idea that if you had enough whiskey or gin in your system, the comet's poison could not get to you okay, that is genius drink for your health not for your wealth absolutely positively and some of the news coverage actually ended up being like free advertising for these scams, of course.

00:22:37.548 --> 00:22:42.640
Um, they they took stories about voodoo doctors selling comet pills.

00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:48.358
Um, they would list all different kinds of people buying them and how much faith they had in the product.

00:22:48.358 --> 00:22:51.384
Um, so, like a resounding endorsement.

00:22:51.384 --> 00:23:02.540
Um, you would read things like they are well packed with comet pills and that was you could sell them as fast as you can, and it creates this feeling that you could.

00:23:02.540 --> 00:23:05.837
You needed to hurry up and buy some more, otherwise it's too late.

00:23:05.837 --> 00:23:08.041
You need to miss out on the safety right.

00:23:08.041 --> 00:23:16.701
Um, and then there were some businesses who would advertise around the comet.

00:23:16.721 --> 00:23:37.637
So not necessarily like talk about the comet right but um pears soap, for example, had this famous magazine ad and it is part of our social media um in 1910 that actually showed haley's comet in the picture okay but the slogan was haley's comet appears about once in 75 years.

00:23:37.637 --> 00:23:47.305
Pear soap is visible day and night, every day of the year, all over the world, wow, so it doesn't really play on the scarcity or the scare tactics.

00:23:50.838 --> 00:23:52.781
It just used it in its advertising.

00:23:52.781 --> 00:23:56.929
Saying this shows up once we're there every day is what it's saying.

00:23:56.929 --> 00:23:58.479
Okay, I mean, I get that.

00:23:58.479 --> 00:23:58.760
That.

00:23:58.760 --> 00:24:00.259
That's fine to me, that's fine.

00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:18.433
The whole like let's utilize and sell shit based off of a fucking lie, basically, is what's irritating yes, so um, another big product of why those fake comic products did so well was that back in 1910 they weren't really strong.

00:24:18.433 --> 00:24:29.003
There weren't really like strong laws right to protect people from scams and I get that again different times, so it makes sense they, they had pure food and drug act.

00:24:29.003 --> 00:24:33.859
If you used earlier to try and stop false, stop false medical claims.

00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:37.606
But it was still pretty for sure and wasn't really enforced very well.

00:24:37.787 --> 00:24:45.858
Right, so these con artists artists would like sell their bogus comic cures before anyone in charge could really step in yeah they.

00:24:45.959 --> 00:24:48.204
They tried to make a quick buck before anyone could stop them.

00:24:48.244 --> 00:24:53.665
Basically yeah, and then think about the communication back then they didn't have radio or tv, no internet.

00:24:53.665 --> 00:25:01.088
It took them a long time for people to uh catch on to scam to get accurate information and prove these rumors wrong.

00:25:01.556 --> 00:25:11.547
Or to just literally catch on to the scam because it took weeks back then Probably certain areas of the states and whatever.

00:25:11.547 --> 00:25:12.997
So, yeah, that's bullshit.

00:25:13.757 --> 00:25:24.189
So when Halley's Comet finally zipped by in May 1910, the Earth passed right through its tail noting nothing bad at all.

00:25:24.189 --> 00:25:25.971
No one got poisoned.

00:25:26.234 --> 00:25:27.480
Weird, the world didn't end.

00:25:28.435 --> 00:25:34.667
The only real result was a pretty amazing light fucking show in the night sky.

00:25:34.667 --> 00:25:41.407
Yeah, yeah, and pretty soon the public panic faded away and so did those fucking gadgets.

00:25:41.875 --> 00:25:49.926
See, and that's what sucks is that those people made a quick buck and some of them honestly got rich off of it for nothing.

00:25:50.248 --> 00:25:50.670
For nothing.

00:25:50.769 --> 00:25:51.974
Literally nothing, nope.

00:25:51.974 --> 00:25:55.724
But it would have came back the year you were born, then 85?

00:25:55.724 --> 00:25:56.346
, 85?

00:25:56.346 --> 00:25:59.261
Or the year after you were born.

00:26:01.057 --> 00:26:02.040
I vaguely recall.

00:26:04.857 --> 00:26:07.921
Because I remember it when I was a kid, Like very vaguely.

00:26:07.921 --> 00:26:09.460
I remember it when I was a kid.

00:26:10.202 --> 00:26:14.823
Yeah, I vaguely recall.

00:26:16.036 --> 00:26:18.344
I reach out to Kate's parents here, do you remember?

00:26:23.515 --> 00:26:23.816
vaguely recall.

00:26:23.816 --> 00:26:25.180
I reach out to kate's parents here do you remember?

00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:26.884
the last one was february 9th of 1986.

00:26:26.903 --> 00:26:29.551
Yeah, so you, you would have been less than a year old yeah, seven months old.

00:26:29.571 --> 00:26:38.140
The very next one is going to be july 28th, 2061 I'd like to say I'd be around, but I don't think so.

00:26:39.300 --> 00:26:44.003
Yeah, so that's the anti-comet pills of 1910.

00:26:44.424 --> 00:26:46.665
So it's snake oil for comets?

00:26:46.665 --> 00:26:50.669
Yes, absolutely, Basically yeah absolutely.

00:26:50.669 --> 00:26:53.990
There's a million ways to die in the West, and that's one of them.

00:26:54.030 --> 00:26:55.653
That's one of them, so Welp.

00:26:56.575 --> 00:26:58.092
I suppose All right, buffoons, that's it for them.

00:26:58.092 --> 00:26:59.430
That's one of them, so Welp, I suppose All right, buffoons, that's it for today's episode.

00:26:59.795 --> 00:27:02.963
Buckle up, because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you.

00:27:02.963 --> 00:27:10.988
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00:27:11.234 --> 00:27:12.560
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00:27:12.560 --> 00:27:17.324
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00:27:17.324 --> 00:27:21.881
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00:27:21.881 --> 00:27:23.284
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00:27:23.284 --> 00:27:24.907
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00:27:30.295 --> 00:27:33.305
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