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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| In ] in 1806 a hen began laying eggs |
In ] in 1806 a hen began laying eggs with the phrase "Christ is coming" on each one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33622934/ns/technology_and_science-science/?pg=2#Tech_Doomsday |title=10 failed doomsday predictions |accessdate=2009-11-12 |quote=History has countless examples of people who have proclaimed that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent, but perhaps there has never been a stranger messenger than a hen in the English town of Leeds in 1806. It seems that a hen began laying eggs on which the phrase "Christ is coming" was written. As news of this miracle spread, many people became convinced that doomsday was at hand — until a curious local actually watched the hen laying one of the prophetic eggs and discovered someone had hatched a hoax. |publisher= }}</ref> Eventually it was discovered to be a hoax. The hoaxster had written on the eggs in a corrosive ink so to etch the eggs, and reinserted the eggs back into the hen.<ref>{{cite book |author=] |coauthors= |title=Extraordinary popular delusions & the madness of crowds |year=1980 |publisher=] |quote= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=r6avC4YcHYcC&lpg=PA89&ots=mCk1M-EBpI&dq=%22a%20panic%20terror%20of%20the%20end%20of%20the%20world%22&pg=PA89#v=onepage&q=%22a%20panic%20terror%20of%20the%20end%20of%20the%20world%22&f=false |isbn=051788433X }}</ref> | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 06:24, 15 November 2011
The Prophet Hen of Leeds was a doomsday hoax involving the Second Coming of Christ in England in 1806.
History
In Leeds, England in 1806 a hen began laying eggs with the phrase "Christ is coming" on each one. Eventually it was discovered to be a hoax. The hoaxster had written on the eggs in a corrosive ink so to etch the eggs, and reinserted the eggs back into the hen.
References
- "10 failed doomsday predictions". Retrieved 2009-11-12.
History has countless examples of people who have proclaimed that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent, but perhaps there has never been a stranger messenger than a hen in the English town of Leeds in 1806. It seems that a hen began laying eggs on which the phrase "Christ is coming" was written. As news of this miracle spread, many people became convinced that doomsday was at hand — until a curious local actually watched the hen laying one of the prophetic eggs and discovered someone had hatched a hoax.
- Charles Mackay (1980). Extraordinary popular delusions & the madness of crowds. Random House. ISBN 051788433X.
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