This Day in History: EBS False Alarm

[scooter]

Here's a truly insane bit of radio lore: the false activation of the Emergency Broadcast System on this day 51 years ago. It remains the only time ever that the EBS was activated nationwide (no, 9/11 did not do it). Surprisingly, or maybe not surprising at all, only a few stations reacted when the Air Force put the "this is the real thing" tape on as opposed to the usual test; one of them was WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

[WolfofWords]

I remember reading about that. Lucky that the country didn't tear itself apart in despair and fear.

[scooter]

I remember reading about that. Lucky that the country didn't tear itself apart in despair and fear.

Again, it was only heeded by a few stations. A great many either ignored it entirely or didn't know what to do. Also, it was a weekend morning, fairly early; most people heard about it on the news roundup at noon, or later in the afternoon.

Clearly, the news reporter, Bob Sievers, is thinking that we have just been, or are about to be, nuked.