Modern man is no less prone to panic than his historical predecessors. Anything can serve as a reason for the start of hysteria and chaos.
In 2005, when, due to an accident in the Moscow power system, the electricity supply was cut off for several hours in half of the districts of the capital, the Moscow region, as well as the Tula, Kaluga and Ryazan regions, panic began to grow among residents without sources of information.
Fantastic rumors spread around Moscow: allegedly as a result of the explosion of some nuclear power plant, half of the capital was destroyed, radioactive fallout is expected soon, and it is necessary to immediately stock up on food, water, iodine and red wine. Sellers in just a few hours sold all their goods, including the absolute "illiquid".
When the electricity returned to the houses, the madness stopped. But this case clearly demonstrates that modern man is subject to panic no less than his historical predecessors.
The story we told above came from a lack of information. But it also happens the other way around: false information provokes panic in people. Moreover, the perpetrators of the incident, as a rule, do not expect such an effect at all.
The year is 1938. The invasion of the Martians in America
This incident has long been a classic example of mass panic triggered by a radio broadcast.
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Famed actor, director and screenwriter Orson Welles with the Mercury Theater on the Air decided to stage a radio show of HG Wells's War of the Worlds. The play, which aired on CBS radio on October 30, 1938, was stylized to resemble a regular program guide. The audience of the station, having heard the announcement of the start of the radio play, soon forgot about it, since the concert began on the air.
The concert was interrupted by reports of strange outbreaks on Mars. They were followed by news of the landing of the Martians on Earth and their battles with the police and the American army.
Only 40 minutes later, the listeners were reminded that everything that was happening was just a radio play. But it was too late. The Americans grabbed their rifles and prepared to fight the aliens, the less brave fled. More than a million people are believed to have panic. Many kilometers of traffic jams have formed on the roads, consisting of cars of refugees. Some have turned themselves so much that they assured that they really smell the chemicals used by the Martians to poison earthlings.
Numerous lawsuits by listeners against Orson Welles and CBS were dismissed: the judges concluded that the authors of the production did not pursue malicious intent and did not seek such a result.
1926 year. Revolution in London
Something similar happened in London 12 years before Orson Welles was staged. Another talented person acted as an involuntary provocateur: a religious preacher and detective writer Ronald Knox.
On the air of the BBC radio station "Report from the barricades" sounded: a sketch about the alleged revolution in London. As in the case of Wells, before the start of the “reportage” there was a warning that it was a fictional event.
And then the radio listeners learned from the "correspondent" that Big Ben had been destroyed by mortar fire, the Savoy Hotel had been burned, the millionaire Theophilus Gutsch had been torn to pieces, and the Transport Minister, who was trying to escape in a woman's dress, was hanged on a pole.
The scale of the panic was not comparable to that of the American, but the police had to calm down a lot of ordinary people who asked for help, as well as to revive dozens of fainting ladies. Knox was not brought to criminal responsibility, but for some time he was removed from the radio air.
1874 year. Man-eating beasts in New York
In the 19th century, newspapermen did an excellent job of creating panic out of the blue. On November 9, 1874, the New York Herald reported to readers of the animals escaping from the Central Park Zoo. The material said that among the escaped there are dangerous predators who are now rampaging on the streets of the city. As stated in the article, 49 people became victims of the animals, and more than 200 were injured.
The article ended with the words that everything written in it is fiction. Apparently, few people read to the end, as New Yorkers began to prepare for a real war. Many took their children from schools and locked themselves in their homes. The braver ones united in small detachments, going to clear the city of cannibals. New York Herald editor Thomas Connery had to repent. He explained that in such an unusual way he wanted to draw attention to the fact that the zoo really does not follow safety measures.
1989 year. Mutant rats in the Moscow metro
In the midst of glasnost and perestroika, new editions multiplied at an incredible rate. And one of them published a story that the tunnels of the Moscow metro were occupied by huge mutant rats, whose height is either 50 cm, or 1 meter at the withers. The article cited the revelations of a special squad fighter who destroys monstrous creatures with flamethrowers.
The article was reprinted by other media as well, and soon Muscovites began to be afraid to enter the subway. The stop in the tunnel caused real panic. The bravest ones tried to see the rats through the glass of the subway car.
The famous digger Vadim Mikhailov in 2016 in an interview with "Lente.ru" claimed that he was directly related to the story of rats: “This story really went from us, although we denied their existence. This is how this myth was born. The journalist Vladimir Ruga, with my tacit consent, wrote how diggers use machine guns and flamethrowers to destroy mutant rats underground. It was a humorous note, but people believed in it. When they turned to me, I explained that there is a pasuk at the withers of 15 centimeters under the ground, it can reach 25-30 centimeters in length, with a tail up to 45-50 centimeters. Journalists immediately concluded that 50 centimeters is the main length of a rat's body, and after a few more publications it turned out that rats the size of an average dog are found in the subway. Mutant fish and mutant cockroaches really existed,and we filmed them, but the yellow press was not interested in that."
Interestingly, some today are convinced that mutant rats exist and still roam somewhere in the underground labyrinths.
2010 year. Russian attack on Georgia
On March 13, 2010, Georgia experienced a shock. Imedi TV reported in the evening news bulletin that Russia had invaded the country, President Saakashvili had been killed, and Russian military units were approaching Tbilisi. It was also reported about the formation of a new government headed by Nino Burjanadze. Panic began in Georgia after Imedi reports, the ambulance service recorded an increase in calls in connection with heart attacks. And only half an hour later it turned out that all this was "a special report on a possible development of events."
A huge scandal broke out in Georgia. Since the Imedi TV channel was under the complete control of the authorities, no one doubted that the broadcasting of such a program was sanctioned by the head of the country, Mikhail Saakashvili. The authorities, however, tried to distance themselves from the actions of the journalists, but they did not believe them. Moreover, after this Saakashvili said: “Naturally, the film was unpleasant, but the main thing was that it was unpleasant, and I want everyone to understand this well, yesterday's report was as close to reality as possible, as close as possible to what could happen on the very deed or what is in the mind of the enemy of Georgia”. As a result, Mishiko joked: today he cannot appear in Georgia, since he will be prosecuted. Not for the hoax, of course, but she certainly contributed to his bad reputation.
2018 year. Nuclear strike on Hawaii
On January 13, 2018, at about 8:00 local time, the mobile phones of Hawaii residents received a notification: “Threat of a missile attack on Hawaii. Find shelter immediately. These are not teachings."
The message was duplicated in creeping lines on local TV channels. Also, online media reported about the missile attack, which published news marked "urgent". For example, Hawaii 24/7 announced: “Hawaii has been alerted to a missile attack. Go to the shelter immediately. These are not teachings."
Hawaii Congresswoman Thulsa Hubbard later told reporters, “You can't imagine what started. Such a threat does exist in Hawaii, so the people who received this message on their phones thought that they and their family members had only 15 minutes to die."
People threw their cars in panic and ran towards what they considered safe cover. Both ordinary people and celebrities were shocked.
“I woke up today in Hawaii, and I have 10 minutes of my life left,” Hollywood actor Jim Carrey wrote on the social network.
One of the local MPs admitted that he and his family took refuge in the bathroom, cried and prayed.
Someone tried to hide in the garage, someone relied on the reliability of the bridges: under them, drivers first of all sought refuge. According to local media reports, traffic on the main highway of the Hawaiian capital Honolulu was completely blocked.
In this case, there was no deliberate hoax. Authorities said there was an error checking the missile attack warning system: “It was an equipment check procedure that is done three times every day throughout the year. The Emergency Management Agency employee pressed the wrong button.
Andrey Sidorchik