Monday, August 21, 2017

Total eclipse generating mass hysteria - just like centuries ago

I am somewhat bemused by the mass hysteria that seems to be holding sway south of the border regarding today's total solar eclipse.
Viewing glasses have been sold out for weeks now - as indeed they at here in Canada for our paltry partial eclipse, and every welder is probably enjoying unprecedented popularity right now. The interwebs are rife with advice on how not to fry your cellphone (amd ylur eyes) during this Event of the Century. There are probably more pinhole cameras being hastily constructed right now than ever before.
But the event is also being accompanied by sold-out motels and campsites anywhere the path of the full eclipse; catastrophic traffic jams are being predicted for some of the smaller towns along the eclipse's path; and there are warnings of Wi-Fi outages as excessive Facebook and Instagram uploads occur.
I guess I should happy be that a natural event is garnering so much attention and interests in all walks of life, but it does all seem a little de trop, wouldn't you say. Back in the Middle Ages, such an event used to generate any amount of panic and hysteria - it seems like we have not really progressed so much today.

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