Hale-Bopp soars past Death Valley. (Image by Mkfairdpm.)

Newmark’s Door pointed me to a list of (thankfully) failed end-of-the world prognostications collected on Live Science. Here’s a particularly stupid one:

“Heaven’s Gate, 1997

When comet Hale-Bopp appeared in 1997, rumors surfaced that an alien spacecraft was following the comet — covered up, of course, by NASA and the astronomical community. Though the claim was refuted by astronomers (and could be refuted by anyone with a good telescope), the rumors were publicized on Art Bell’s paranormal radio talk show Coast to Coast AM. These claims inspired a San Diego UFO cult named Heaven’s Gate to conclude that the world would end soon. The world did indeed end for 39 of the cult members, who committed suicide on March 26, 1997.”