It's Cosmic

It's still faced an uphill battle. The British and French began imposing harsh economic sanctions on the United States during the Napoleonic Wars. The Royal Navy also forced American sailors to abandon their ships and serve England instead, a practice known as impressment. In retaliation, the US refused to trade internationally and act that impacted its own fledgling economy. Average Americans were angry as farmers and factory owners were unable

to sell their wares overseas. On top of all this, the tribes of the Western United States were being supported by the British against American expansion. It's no wonder that in eighteen twelve everything came to a head and led to a new war, the aptly named War of eighteen twelve.

Once again America was up against the British, who now had help from the indigenous tribes they were assisting financially, and it didn't help that there were still parts of the u s that were dependent on the United Kingdom for support. The newly independent America had its work cut out for it. Two years into the war, while both sides were vined for claim of the West, the Royal Navy was busy taking over the eastern coastline. A seventy four gun ship known as the HMS Bulwark invaded the

town of Situate, Massachusetts in June of eighteen fourteen. Sayers and fishermen from the nearby town of Cohasset formed a militia to fight the threat head on. They numbered fewer than a hundred, but they were ready. On June six, words spread of an attack on Situate Harbor. The Bulwark had already sunk several ships with barges full of soldiers headed towards the town to bring the fight to land.

By the time the British reached the harbor, though the militia's numbers had grown from ninety four to almost twelve hundred, and the British, seeing that they were clearly outnumbered, now retreated back to their ship. The battle was over before it had even begun, and without a single shot fired. Things calmed down for a while after that, and by September the militia was not as vigilant as it had been over the summer. The British felt the time had come for them to try their luck again, and this

time nobody saw them coming. Another seventy four gun ship entered the harbor. Some reports claimed that it was the Bulwark back for revenge, while others suggest it was a different ship called the Lahog. Meanwhile, in Situate, Simeon Bates and his family were attending to the town lighthouse. Bates had been made lighthouse keeper in eighteen eleven and had lived there with his wife and nine children ever since. Simeon was a god fearing man who had served during

the Revolutionary War years earlier. On the day the British ship came to Situate, Simeon and seven of his kids were away from the lighthouse. His daughters, Rebecca, who was twenty one at the time, and Abigail, seventeen, stayed behind with their mother. They looked out on the water and saw the ship in the harbor, with smaller boats full

of British soldiers heading towards shore. Rebecca knew her way around a rifle and probably could have picked off one or two men from where she sat, but she worried the remaining soldiers might destroy the town as payback, and the girls were too far away to warn everyone from the impending attack. Instead, Abigail and Rebecca decided to fight

back with something else, entirely music. Rebecca picked up her fife, while Abigail fetched her drum, both of which had been left behind by some of the militia A men who had come to the lighthouse over the summer. They had taught the girls how to play several songs during their stay, a talent that was about to come in very handy. Abigail and Rebecca left the lighthouse on a mission to save their town. They found a spot near the harbor where they could remain hidden from sight and started playing

Yankee Doodle as loud as possible. The sounds of the fife and the drum build the air. The British heard the song as they were approaching the docks, and as the girls had hoped, it filled them with dread. The men believed the militia had arrived to fight back. Not wanting to engage them and risk heavy casualties, the Red Coats turned around and rode back to their ship. This time it wasn't a homegrown militia that had scared them away.

It was an American army of two and all it had taken to ward off a few hundred troops was a fife and a drum, a musical event that gave a whole new meaning to the term British invasion. It killed King Edward the seventh in although the British weren't sure exactly how, they remained convinced the cosmic phenomena had something to do with his death, and they also believe that it was an omen of an impending German invasion, and they weren't the only ones in a state of panic.

The French swore it had caused the Scent to flood. A letter to the Royal Observatory warned the event would cause the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to change basins. South and North American forests would be swept away, sharks, whales, ships, and houses would go tumbling together across the deserts and oceans in a mass of chaos. The events in question was Halle's comments a ball of volatile ices and dust visible with the naked eye, named after Edmund Halley in

seventeen fifty eight. The period or short term comets can be seen just once every seventy five or seventy six years, and in Earth passed through the tail of the comet. Scientists using spectroscopic analysis found that the comet contained the toxic gas psionogen. In turn, French astronomer Nicolas Camille Flammarion claimed that this gas would penetrate the atmosphere and potentially snuff out all life as we know it. People panicked, they bought gas masks, conmen made a hefty fortune selling

anti comet pills and anti commet umbrellas. When other world astronomers wrote that the gases were so diffused that they posed no threat, no one listened. Throughout times, comets have caused panic. Ship captains were said to be swayed off course, and cultures believed in cause and effect when it came to such events. If a war or prominent death followed within the year, the comet was an omen a sort of hindsight bias, if you will. But in eighteen ten

people got really creative. In China, people believe the comet would cause war and that the dynasty was about to change. People didn't open their doors on some days. Others abstained from water, fearing that the gases had rained down on the earth. The New York Times ran a headline story

about Flammarion's theory of deadly gas. A single grain of the potassium salt from the comet's tail was sufficient to cause instant death, according to the paper, though the Times also noted that leading scientists disagreed with the French astronomers hypothesis. The article caused people to ransacks stores for supplies and

gas masks. Citizens sealed up keyholes to prevent the gas from entering their businesses and homes, and a cult called the Sacred Followers in Oklahoma attempted to perform a human sacrifice to stop the comet. Fortunately for the young girl involved, the police stopped them first. In Texas, two con men were arrested for selling sugar as that promised to prevent death by comet, but customers stormed the police building and

despite having been con demanded the men's release. Con artists sold anti commets umbrellas to people who were convinced that what stopped the rain would surely stop a speeding commet. And I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere about a t rex trying to hold up an umbrella, but I'll leave that one for you to sort out. In California, a religious prospect or nailed his feet and one hand to a cross, and, despite the agony, insisted rescuers leave

him alone. In Georgia, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution claimed that the cloud cover had surely saved a lantern's from near death. Those who didn't buy into the superstitious hype clamored for telescopes and other viewing devices. They purchased tickets that allowed them to stand on hotel rooftops to be closer to the commet and get a better look. Of course, life on earth did not end well. It's up for

one man who accurately predicted his own death. He'd been born right when the comment passed through in eighteen thirty five. He jokingly told reporters that God looked at him and the comment and said that they'd come in together, and they might as well go out together too. At least that would be his wish, and uncannily enough, he passed away on April one, nineteen ten, when the comment was once again passing the Earth and that man Mark Twain.

I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. H