*Ø* Blogmanac March 7, 1973 | Kohoutek
1973 Comet Kohoutek was discovered; it attained perihelion on December 26, 1973.
Kohoutek was hyped by the media as the ‘comet of the century’, but gave a poor display and was considered a letdown, leading some to nickname it ‘Comet Watergate’.
Many people and some groups, particularly the Children of God aka The Family (a cult within the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s), predicted that Kohoutek was an omen of the end of the world, or Apocalypse, or at least the destruction of America.
'Moses' David Berg (d. 1994), the Children of God leader wrote, "But it will be a 40 day warning culminating somewhere in January, most likely between the 11th and 21st of January" (The 3rd Letter of Moses on the Comet!, 12 November 1973, p. 1). Just before this impending destruction, many Children of God members moved to Europe.
Comets as portents
Comets have a long history of association with prognostications of doom. In 1066, for example, Halley's Comet was in the sky for two months while the English and Normans planned for a Norman invasion. At the Battle of Hastings on October 14, the Normans were victorious and from that time on the comet was said to have been a sign that favoured William the Conqueror.
In 1665 a comet was held responsible for the Black Plague that killed 90,000 people in London.
In 1997, the Heaven’s Gate cult believed that Comet Hale-Bopp was similarly associated with apocalyptic prophecies. Wacky leader Marshall Applewhite convinced 39 followers to commit suicide on March 26, so that their souls could take a ride on a spaceship that they thought was hiding behind the comet.
Australian doomsday cult leader William Kamm ('The Little Pebble') as recently as July 15, 2000 had Comet Kohoutek in his apocalyptic pronouncements ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
1973 Comet Kohoutek was discovered; it attained perihelion on December 26, 1973.
Kohoutek was hyped by the media as the ‘comet of the century’, but gave a poor display and was considered a letdown, leading some to nickname it ‘Comet Watergate’.
Many people and some groups, particularly the Children of God aka The Family (a cult within the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s), predicted that Kohoutek was an omen of the end of the world, or Apocalypse, or at least the destruction of America.
'Moses' David Berg (d. 1994), the Children of God leader wrote, "But it will be a 40 day warning culminating somewhere in January, most likely between the 11th and 21st of January" (The 3rd Letter of Moses on the Comet!, 12 November 1973, p. 1). Just before this impending destruction, many Children of God members moved to Europe.
Comets as portents
Comets have a long history of association with prognostications of doom. In 1066, for example, Halley's Comet was in the sky for two months while the English and Normans planned for a Norman invasion. At the Battle of Hastings on October 14, the Normans were victorious and from that time on the comet was said to have been a sign that favoured William the Conqueror.
In 1665 a comet was held responsible for the Black Plague that killed 90,000 people in London.
In 1997, the Heaven’s Gate cult believed that Comet Hale-Bopp was similarly associated with apocalyptic prophecies. Wacky leader Marshall Applewhite convinced 39 followers to commit suicide on March 26, so that their souls could take a ride on a spaceship that they thought was hiding behind the comet.
Australian doomsday cult leader William Kamm ('The Little Pebble') as recently as July 15, 2000 had Comet Kohoutek in his apocalyptic pronouncements ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 4:37 PM | Permalink
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