Welcome to this edition of Time Suck Short Sucks. I'm Dan Cummins. Today I will be talking about the day the Martians invaded Earth.

Or more accurately, the day a lot of people thought that Martians, hostile Martians no less, truly invaded Earth and some

pandemonium in suit. On the evening of October 30th, 1938, the CBS Radio Network

broadcasted a live adaptation of the 1897 H.G. Wells Classic

groundbreaking sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds.

Though some folks tuned in that night and knew what they were

listening to, they knew it was pure theater and fiction, others, thousands and

thousands of others. Did not. They didn't think they were listening to a

dramatic telling of a fictional work. They thought they were listening to a dramatic telling of a fictional work.

They thought they were listening to honest to God news coverage of a large scale extraterrestrial attack.

And they couldn't hop on the internet or check Facebook to find out what the truth was or to see if anyone else was freaking out.

No, they just panicked and prepared to fight, hide, or die.

When these listeners heard breaking news bulletins about New Jersey being overrun with seemingly

invincible, hyper intelligent, blood-sucking, laser gun-wielding aliens, they freaked the

fuck out.

It was maybe the best accidental practical joke of all time. the of the program, Orson Wells, awoke to discover he was the most hated man in all of America.

Newspapers around the nation were flooded with reports of mass hysteria,

stampedes, theft, suicides, even murders, all committed by those who would believe the radio broadcast was real

and that humanity had finally met its inescapable and horrific end. Today we will examine not only

this fascinating moment in time time but also ask the question

did Orson Wells want to create mass hysteria?

Words and ideas can change the world.

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