1938 – Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, causing a nationwide panic in the United States. (Wikipedia)

Land of the free, home of the spaz.

Of course, like many failures, it was also a success – America’s failure of common sense and courage was mirrored by the success of Orson Welles, a noted Failanaut (see below), who became a national celebrity.

* Failanaut: An ordinary person who blasts off from obscurity into the heights of success, only to splash down into the ocean of failure later in life. Paul Masson wine, anyone? Other Failanauts: Britney Spears, David Hasselhoff, Marlon Brando, anyone ever on MTV.