Through the tail of Halley’s Comet and 15 other notable mass freakouts
Tue., May 19, 2020
On this date 110 years ago, the Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s comet. A French astronomer noticed that a spectroanalysis of the comet suggested the presence of cyanogen, a toxic gas. So, naturally, he announced the gas would “impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet.”