9 Everyday Inventions That Caused Widespread Panic

2. Halley's Comet Will Cause The Apocalypse

Okay, whilst this isn't technically a piece of technology, the all-too-familiar public obsession with doomsday predictions was clearly alive at well over a century ago in 1910.

Halley's comet is a short period comet that makes an appearance roughly every 75 years. There is evidence for it zooming across the skies scattered throughout history but, for some reason, everyone in the early 20th century became very concerned about its next passing in 1910.

They didn't think that it would necessarily hit the Earth, but rather that when Earth passed through the tail, the gas "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet." The hysteria snowballed until charlatans were selling "comet pills" and people were swearing blind that it would cause the Pacific to empty itself into the Atlantic.

Evidently, it did not.

Incidentally, it is next due to pass us by on the 28th July 2061, and you can be darn sure the apocalypse hype will rear its ugly head once again.