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'Meteorite' Crash Breeds Mass Hysteria
Initial suspicions of an airplane crash quickly spiraled into widespread reports that a meteorite had plummeted to Earth and left a smoking, boiling crater whose supposedly noxious fumes were reported to have sickened curious locals who went to peer at the hole.Geologists doubted that the crater was actually caused by a meteorite, and firm explanations were offered that a meteorite would not even emit fumes and that the "sickness" was likely a case of mass hysteria. Run away, run away! Nevertheless, onlookers far and wide were fascinated by the idea that this event could be a real-life "Andromeda Strain," after the 1969 novel by Michael Crichton in which a mysterious rock from outer space carries a lethal microbe that kills nearly everyone infected by it. Media reports of the number of locals afflicted by a "mysterious disease" with symptoms such as nausea, headaches and sore throats after visiting the crater figured in every news article about the Aug. 15 event, with some reporting that as many as 600 people had fallen ill. But doctors who visited the site told the Associated Press they found no evidence that the crater had actually sickened such a large number of people. No, really? If noxious fumes did emanate from the crater, they were most likely the result of a hydrothermal explosion that could have actually formed the crater, or were released from the ground if and when the meteorite struck, according to many geologists. Hmmm - noxious fumes emitted from a crack... Arsenic is found in the subsoil in that area of Peru and often contaminates the drinking water there, according to Peruvian geologists quoted on Sept. 21 by National Geographic News. Arsenic fumes released from the crater could have sickened locals who went to look, said one geologist who examined the site. Some health officials suggest instead that the symptoms described by the locals, the large number of people reporting those symptoms and the apparently rapid spread have all the hallmarks of a case of mass hysteria. When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. Posted by: Spot 2007-09-27 |
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