On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and his theater troupe presented a radio play of H. G. Wells' novel «The WAR OF THE WORLDS», which was stylized as emergency reports from the site of the Martian invasion. Many listeners did not turn on the radio from the beginning of the production and, not hearing the introduction, mistook the fake report for the truth. This caused an incredible panic: people called the police in horror, packed their bags and fled the cities, and some even «felt» the smell of poisonous gas and «saw» flashes on the horizon. The next day, the newspapers came out with loud headlines about mass hysteria, and Orson Welles himself, then still a young director, woke up famous.... Show more