Five Bullets 10.13.23

War of the Worlds, Monsters, Fear & more

Good morning and happy Friday everyone!

Welcome back to Circles in Space.

Thanks to everyone for reading week and after week and a big Hello to some new subscribers!

Spooky season is upon us and I’m celebrating this week by reading H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

Orson Welles and cast rehearse radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, 1938. © Bettmann/CORBIS

Today’s Bullets:

• Books: One of the most influential science-fiction novels, H.G. Wells’ 1898 War of the Worlds recounts the events of a Martian invasion of England. The idea for the novel came from Wells’ brother while the two were on a walk near Wells’ home in Woking, Surrey where much of the novel takes place. Wells was a science teacher and his first book was a biology textbook. On October 30 1938, Orson Welle’s radio dramatization of aliens invading New Jersey allegedly created a panic due to it’s realism. The novel was made into films in 1953 and in 2005, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise.

• Friday the 13th: Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13. In Western society, this fear manifests itself in a variety of ways, where buildings may be without a thirteenth floor or airliners without a thirteenth row. Perhaps fear of the number is related to a Norse myth in which a dinner party guest died once the 13th guest, Loki, arrived; or that Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest at the Last Supper. Superstitions and fear have surrounded the number 13 for ages and when the date falls on a Friday, this superstition is especially prevalent, perhaps due to Thomas W. Lawson’s 1907 novel “Friday, the Thirteenth”.

• Movies: Monsters, Gareth Edwards 2010 directorial debut is a different take on the alien invasion story. Six years after a NASA probe sent to retrieve samples of possible alien life crashed somewhere in Mexico, a photographer escorts his boss’s daughter through the infected zone to safety within the United States. The film depicts some of the same commentary on politics, war, race and immigration Edwards presented in The Creator (discussed last week).

• Science: Watch How Animals React to the Scariest Sound on the Savanna. When animals roaming the savanna in South Africa’s Kruger National Park heard recordings of calm human voices, they were twice as likely to immediately run away than when they heard recordings of lions, dogs or guns. Researchers measured the animals fear responses by playing recordings of different sounds, from harmless to scary, to see if they could deter animals from risky poaching areas. Recordings of lions snarling and growling caused animals to pause and listen but upon hearing humans talking, the animals fled instantly, suggesting that humans are “super lethal”.

• Seinfeld: Jerry Seinfeld recently hinted at a possible Seinfeld reunion or revamp, saying that he and co-creator Larry David were working on something regarding the show’s ending in which Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer were jailed for violating the ‘good samaritan’ rule. David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7 featured a Seinfeld reunion of sorts and the show is scheduled for another season, so perhaps fans will find out soon enough!

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That’s all for this week!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Keith