The people of APU aren’t the only ones to get a scare from a false alarm or two. As a whole, our world has dealt with its fair share of suspicious backpacks.
Ashley Cameron | Online Editor
October 22, 1855: The Great Disappointment
A young Baptist farmer, William Miller, closely studied the book of Daniel and analyzed the prophecies within. Miller concluded that Daniel 8:14, which reads, “And he said to me, ‘For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state’” refers to a restoration of the Earth from sin. Although the Bible repeatedly says that we cannot know the exact day of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:36, Luke 12:40), Miller used the idea of 2,300 days and with much assurance calculated the exact day Christ would return to Earth: Oc- tober 22, 1855. Many people joined his beliefs and were soon thrown out of their churches. When the eve of October 22 arrived, the 100,000 individuals went to mountain tops and grave sites eagerly looking to the sky for Christ’s arrival. However, midnight passed and October 23 began, leaving many people disappointed (hence the name) and embarrassed.
June 1980: North American Aerospace Defense Command
NORAD is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning and air sovereignty and defense. On June 3 and June 6 of 1980, a computer malfunction caused warning messages to continually flash in U.S. Air Force bases around the country . This malfunction told the Air Force that a nuclear attack was taking place. Pacific Air Forces properly responded and had their planes ready in the air and loaded with nuclear bombs. Luckily, the command posts knew with certainty that it was a false alarm, and the nuclear bombs remained safely in the planes.
Jan. 1, 2000: Y2K
The first day of the millennium provided a different kind of end-of- the-world prediction. Instead of God’ s wrath raining down on the world, our dependence on computers would bring our demise. For months leading up to the New Year, analysts were speculating that the entire computer system would crash. Their reasoning was that most computers were programmed to record only the last two digits of the year, meaning that when the New Year hit, every computer would revert to 1900. Shockingly , when the New Y ear hit, our technologically advanced society was still standing.
Dec. 21, 2012: Mayan Calendar Crisis
Many researchers and analysts predicted yet another end-of-the-world prophecy. Because the Mayan calendar promptly ended on Dec. 21, 2012, many people understood this to mean the Mayans were foretelling the end of the world. Though there were many differing beliefs as to how exactly the world would end (aliens, asteroids, God’s wrath, etc.) many strongly believed the end was near. People responded by selling their belongings, creating bunkers, and starting countdowns. Luckily, all those Christmas presents did not go to waste, and we all survived to see another day.