Why People Bought Pills to Survive a Comet — And Why We Still Fall for the Same Panic

In 1910, people bought “Anti-Comet Pills” to survive Halley’s Comet. This weird history episode exposes why mass hysteria and fear still spreads faster than truth—and why we keep falling for the same panic-driven traps today.

In 1910, a misunderstood scientific discovery triggered global panic, misinformation, and a wave of bizarre “comet cures.” Sound familiar? This episode connects a century-old frenzy to the modern panic cycles we still struggle to escape.

You’ll learn how fear, misinformation, and confidence-in-the-wrong-places shape public behavior—and how to stay curious instead of getting swept up by the next viral scare.

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Related Episodes / Playlists:
The New Snake Oil: Outrage and Validation in the Digital World - https://youtu.be/Kd1KMd1GFPQ

Reclaiming Your Mind in the Age of Outrage - https://youtu.be/Ma7PDZ5PFhM

An Ounce Podcast Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtrh6QOIZpApuBCHIfaZQmmP
📚 References:
Halley’s Comet Overview – https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/halleys-comet/
1910 Cyanogen Gas Panic – https://www.history.com/news/halleys-comet-1910-panic
Contemporary Newspaper Archive Examples – https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
ʻOumuamua Scientific Summary – https://www.eso.org/public/usa/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/
Psychology of Mass Panic – https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/07/panic-misinformation
Credits:
Images: Public domain / NASA / Wikimedia Commons. Some images and Video are generated by AI, including background images.
Hashtags:
#History #AnOuncePodcast #HalleyComet #MassPanic #ScienceHistory
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🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
(You will refine once video is edited.)
00:00 – People Bought Pills for a Comet
00:41 – A Strange Visitor in the Sky
01:58– Logic Takes a Lunch Break
03:19 – The Cyanogen “Poison Cloud”
03:30 – The Comet Merch Table
04:20 – Comet Day Arrives
05:24 – The Real Story
06:51 – An Ounce