An Ounce - For Your Consideration
Discover hidden stories from history—bite-sized, clever tales that challenge what you thought you knew. At An Ounce, we uncover the little moments that quietly changed everything, surprising truths, and fascinating facts you won’t hear elsewhere.
I’m Jim Fugate—retired firefighter, lifelong learner, and an outside-the-box thinker who loves sharing history’s hidden gems. These quick, engaging stories don’t take themselves too seriously, won’t steal your precious time, and might just make you feel a little bit smarter.
I hope you’ll join a community of curious minds who enjoy a fresh take on history—where conversation is always open and everyone’s invited.
An Ounce - For Your Consideration
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.
Tap subscribe so you don’t miss the next twist in history.
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
10 second pre-roll promo for An Ounce Podcast on YouTube