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Originally Posted by montsnmags
Popular amongst all the cooler geeks in the 70's.
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Funny story I heard once about Iridium flares - it sounds like an urban myth, but I'd very much like it to be true:
This guy gets invited to this party/BBQ that's being held in the evening; he already knows the people who are attending, and knows also that a good proportion of these people are ... gullible. So he decides to play a bit of a joke.
You see, he's been tracking Iridium satellites for a while, and is aware of precisely the location and time of when the famous flare will show. So he attends the party, and starts talking about this book he read. 'Apparently, it'll be the end of the world tonight,' he says, not taking it too seriously. He tells them it will be heralded by an exploding star at a precise time and location. Smirking, he says it might be worth a look. 'You never know,' he says.
Course, most people there don't take it too seriously, but there is curiosity enough to make some of the more gullible ones take a peek at the due time and location...
From what I heard, there was a major freakout. The guy didn't get invited to many parties after that one.