One of the pieces I linked to in my previous post is a “must read” about scientific speculation and its selective dissemination in the media. Sam Kean, “The Comet Panic of 1910, Revisited,” Distillations Magazine, January 16, 2025, www.sciencehistory.org…

Colón-Vásquez’s drawing remains a prime example of how interactions between scientists and the public can go wrong: the prestige and imprimatur of science is such that people take even wild speculation at face value sometimes. It’s easy to chuckle over the sillier manifestations of the 1910 panic—comet pills, insurance scams, and the like. But the record left by a frightened teenager also helps Méndez and Acosta-Colón appreciate the “blend of fear, fascination, and artistic expression that such events can provoke.”