We live in a day where we can get on the 'net...and learn about anything. The thing about the 'net...just because we read an article on a topic of choice...doesn't mean the article is factual...or even true.
"Mass Media"...its power and influence...how did it get started???
In 1835, the "New York Sun" was a newspaper only 2 years in the making. It had an uphill climb if it ever wished to compete with the mighty "New York Herald".
At the same time, there was a type of printing being evolved which became commonly known as the "Penny Press", and the New York Sun had been birthed from this type of printing. Basically, the idea was to produce a mass amount of newspapers at cheaper prices, and to incorporate a narrative style of journalism...that is to say "reporting the latest as news came in".
On August 25th, 1835...this narrative report was published in "The Sun". The article claimed: "Life is Discovered...on the Moon."
It was the first article of a series of 6...all dedicated to the discovery of life on the moon!
These 6 articles were supposed to have derived from the Edinburgh Journal of Science, which happen to be an elite scientific journal of its day. In the initial article, written by a Dr. Andrew Grant, he begins to unfold some of the discoveries that have been made by fellow colleague Sir John Hershel, who really was a very renown astronomer during this time in history.
What made these so intriguing was the fact Sir John Hershel had indeed travelled to Capetown South Africa in January of 1834 and set-up an observatory...complete with the newest and most powerful telescope man had yet designed.
So, Dr. Grant opens with the article claiming life had been found to exist...on the moon!...through the use of the new highly developed telescope.
So...What was found???
Get ready...this is truly extraordinaire!
Dr. Grant reports that: Unicorns were found to be living on the moon, along with 2 legged beavers who lived in huts...that had smoke coming from chimneys. Also found through the use of this highly advanced telescope were herds of quadrupeds (bison like), who had a bluish lead color, and humanoids...with wings that resembled bats.
And more... a beautiful Sapphire Temple, along with the geographic conditions: massive craters, beautiful and enormous amethyst crystals, rushing rivers, and lush vegetation!
As these articles in the New York Sun began to circulate, sales increased, and people everywhere were excited on this discovery of "Life on the Moon!"
Did the readers take these articles seriously? You better believe it! In fact, a group of scientists from Yale University went to New York to investigate the findings as recorded in the Edinburgh Journal. These scientists were sent from one office to the next in hope of discouraging them. They finally returned home....not knowing....
It was all...a hoax! The problem with the 6 articles written in the New York Sun...none of it was true!
Actually, the Edinburgh Journal of Science has stopped publication years before, and "Dr. Grant" was nothing more than a fictional character.
The author of these articles was most likely a man named Richard Adams Locke, a New York Sun reporter who had received his journalism education at Cambridge University.
The initial motive behind the writing of these articles: they were intended to be only a satire with the intent of making fun of the popular notion that the moon supported extraterrestial life.
You see, during this era, there was a Reverend Thomas Dick who was a popular science writer and author who made claims that the moon actually had...4.2 billion inhabitants.
Reverend Dick was of Scottish ancestry and a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He developed an eccentric passion for astronomy, after seeing a meteor pass the earth at 9 years of age.
So, on August 25th, 1835, the first of these 6 articles on "Life on the Moon" began, and on September 16th, 1835, the New York Sun admitted the articles were nothing more than a hoax.
As far as the popularity of the penny press newspaper "The New York Sun", the "Life on the Moon" stories helped them immensely, and they continued in operation until 1950.
Note: I found it interesting how society during this era and for the next hundred years or so became so fascinated with these type of thoughts. As the "fantasy thought" crept into into the the 1920's and 1930's, it seemed people were looking for an almost "fantasy relief" from real life...an escape. Perhaps the Great Depression had triggered it, or even the vanities of the Roaring 20's...who knows.
Along with "The Moon Hoax" in 1835, it seemed other writings and even movies were creating this aura to be entertained in a fantasy world. Walt Disney had begun the world of animation with Mickey Mouse, Alice in Wonderland, and in 1940 came out with Fantasia.
Of course, who can forget the little girl...who clicked her shiny red heels in 1939...wishing she was back in Kansas.
"Mass Media"...its power and influence...how did it get started???
In 1835, the "New York Sun" was a newspaper only 2 years in the making. It had an uphill climb if it ever wished to compete with the mighty "New York Herald".
At the same time, there was a type of printing being evolved which became commonly known as the "Penny Press", and the New York Sun had been birthed from this type of printing. Basically, the idea was to produce a mass amount of newspapers at cheaper prices, and to incorporate a narrative style of journalism...that is to say "reporting the latest as news came in".
On August 25th, 1835...this narrative report was published in "The Sun". The article claimed: "Life is Discovered...on the Moon."
It was the first article of a series of 6...all dedicated to the discovery of life on the moon!
These 6 articles were supposed to have derived from the Edinburgh Journal of Science, which happen to be an elite scientific journal of its day. In the initial article, written by a Dr. Andrew Grant, he begins to unfold some of the discoveries that have been made by fellow colleague Sir John Hershel, who really was a very renown astronomer during this time in history.
What made these so intriguing was the fact Sir John Hershel had indeed travelled to Capetown South Africa in January of 1834 and set-up an observatory...complete with the newest and most powerful telescope man had yet designed.
So, Dr. Grant opens with the article claiming life had been found to exist...on the moon!...through the use of the new highly developed telescope.
So...What was found???
Get ready...this is truly extraordinaire!
Dr. Grant reports that: Unicorns were found to be living on the moon, along with 2 legged beavers who lived in huts...that had smoke coming from chimneys. Also found through the use of this highly advanced telescope were herds of quadrupeds (bison like), who had a bluish lead color, and humanoids...with wings that resembled bats.
And more... a beautiful Sapphire Temple, along with the geographic conditions: massive craters, beautiful and enormous amethyst crystals, rushing rivers, and lush vegetation!
As these articles in the New York Sun began to circulate, sales increased, and people everywhere were excited on this discovery of "Life on the Moon!"
Did the readers take these articles seriously? You better believe it! In fact, a group of scientists from Yale University went to New York to investigate the findings as recorded in the Edinburgh Journal. These scientists were sent from one office to the next in hope of discouraging them. They finally returned home....not knowing....
It was all...a hoax! The problem with the 6 articles written in the New York Sun...none of it was true!
Actually, the Edinburgh Journal of Science has stopped publication years before, and "Dr. Grant" was nothing more than a fictional character.
The author of these articles was most likely a man named Richard Adams Locke, a New York Sun reporter who had received his journalism education at Cambridge University.
The initial motive behind the writing of these articles: they were intended to be only a satire with the intent of making fun of the popular notion that the moon supported extraterrestial life.
You see, during this era, there was a Reverend Thomas Dick who was a popular science writer and author who made claims that the moon actually had...4.2 billion inhabitants.
Reverend Dick was of Scottish ancestry and a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He developed an eccentric passion for astronomy, after seeing a meteor pass the earth at 9 years of age.
So, on August 25th, 1835, the first of these 6 articles on "Life on the Moon" began, and on September 16th, 1835, the New York Sun admitted the articles were nothing more than a hoax.
As far as the popularity of the penny press newspaper "The New York Sun", the "Life on the Moon" stories helped them immensely, and they continued in operation until 1950.
Note: I found it interesting how society during this era and for the next hundred years or so became so fascinated with these type of thoughts. As the "fantasy thought" crept into into the the 1920's and 1930's, it seemed people were looking for an almost "fantasy relief" from real life...an escape. Perhaps the Great Depression had triggered it, or even the vanities of the Roaring 20's...who knows.
Along with "The Moon Hoax" in 1835, it seemed other writings and even movies were creating this aura to be entertained in a fantasy world. Walt Disney had begun the world of animation with Mickey Mouse, Alice in Wonderland, and in 1940 came out with Fantasia.
Of course, who can forget the little girl...who clicked her shiny red heels in 1939...wishing she was back in Kansas.
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