Skip to comments.

Posted on 10/13/2001 12:40:33 PM PDT by Cobra64

"On October 30th, 1938, the United States experienced mass hysteria--most pronounced on the east coast in New York and New Jersey--in response to a radio broadcast put on by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater On The Air. The public reaction has prompted decades of research into mass hysteria, been used as a model by the military around the world to design information warfare against enemy troops and civilian populace, and used as the most compelling reason to protect the public from the knowledge of the presence of aliens on Earth....That's the fascinating aspect to all this. You know, when you think about it, Welles was a genius. He had people believing there was an invasion, then he turned around and told them that it was all a joke. We think people were afraid to admit that they'd been taken."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.