# What were people scared of in the past that now seems funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653 "2010-10-28T13:24:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/1 "2010-10-28T13:24:21Z")
I got to thinking about the article recently that talked about how Google was creating a self-navigating car. What has struck me when I talk about it with people, they are universally scared of the prospect. I’m not mocking them either, I don’t think such a prospect is without risks, but my first thought is, “Humans don’t exactly have a flawless track record when it comes to driving.” The way I look at, my kids could very likely be shocked and amused that we would ever be more scared of a machine that can simultaneously monitor all directions for movement and run calculations about its velocity and whatnot over a person who can only look in one direction, who is listening to the radio, who is thinking about what he or she needs at the grocery store, etc. So, looking back, what kinds of technology, new philosophies, medical procedures, etc. were feared by contemporaries, but now seem quaint to us? PS: I started [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13075345#post13075345) for things that our kids will look back on and wonder about us. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/2 "2010-10-28T13:27:40Z")
When the raildroad was first introduced, people were concerned that the mindboggling speed of 40mph might hurt the human body - why, we’re simply not built for such hellish speeds! ---
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/3 "2010-10-28T13:34:17Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > When the raildroad was first introduced, people were concerned that the mindboggling speed of 40mph might hurt the human body - why, we’re simply not built for such hellish speeds! Wasn’t the first person killed by a car, hit by someone going at the incomprehensibly rapid speed of like 20 mph? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/4 "2010-10-28T13:36:11Z")
I recall reading that the first time a movie was shown with a close up of an actor’s face some people panicked and ran out of the theater. Giant face! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/5 "2010-10-28T13:39:08Z")
Of course ol’ Sputnik raised quite a stir. Yes, the satellite’s source had a lot to do with that but it is amusing given our knowledge of satellite capabilities now to think that such an antiquated, harmless little space basketball caused such widespread concern. ---
**Author:** ![ramel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ramel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/6 "2010-10-28T13:40:29Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I recall reading that the first time a movie was shown with a close up of an actor’s face some people panicked and ran out of the theater. Giant face! Along those lines, there was a very early movie of a train coming towards the camera. That also made people run out of the theater. Also, when the first special effect gun shot was shown, the person who created the movie was briefly arrested for murder. Outside of theatre. The first ever hot air balloon landed in a field, and the farmers attacked it because they thought it was an evil spirit. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/7 "2010-10-28T13:43:46Z")
The concept of Hell? ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/8 "2010-10-28T13:47:36Z")
Gaulish people were afraid that the sky might fall on their head. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/9 "2010-10-28T13:49:05Z")
some were scared of the tomato ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/10 "2010-10-28T14:02:41Z")
Interracial marriage? Plenty of people were afraid that “they” were going to marry “our” daughters and raise “mongrels” until no one could tell the races apart. Of course the funny thing is they were largely _right_ about those “consequences”; it’s just that most people don’t care anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Vorpal\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9de0a6/32.png) [@Vorpal\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorpal_Blade)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/11 "2010-10-28T14:03:25Z")
> [@gitfiddle](#): > > …So, looking back, what kinds of technology, new philosophies, medical procedures, etc. were feared by contemporaries, but now seem quaint to us?.. God ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/12 "2010-10-28T14:08:06Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > some were scared of the tomato Or of being attacked by a man armed with a piece of [fresh fruit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piWCBOsJr-w). ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/13 "2010-10-28T14:09:13Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > Gaulish people were afraid that the sky might fall on their head. Now, now. There is a difference between what the people were afraid of and what their leaders feared… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/14 "2010-10-28T14:10:27Z")
Swimming after a meal. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/15 "2010-10-28T14:13:58Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Swimming after a meal. People are still afraid of that in many places. And I’m not talking about “little old ladies dressed all in black”, but about young doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/16 "2010-10-28T14:15:23Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > When the raildroad was first introduced, people were concerned that the mindboggling speed of 40mph might hurt the human body - why, we’re simply not built for such hellish speeds! I’ve always heard this but wondered how true it was. Before cars and trains people rode horses which average around 30mph running and can easily close in on 40mph sprinting. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/17 "2010-10-28T14:22:39Z")
[Deadly New World Fruit:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato) > [@](#): > > Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s.[3]:17 One of the earliest cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon.[3]:17 Gerard’s Herbal, published in 1597 and largely plagiarized from continental sources,[3]:17 is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew that the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy[3]:17. Nonetheless, he believed that it was poisonous[3]:17 (in fact, the plant and raw fruit do have low levels of tomatine, but are not generally dangerous; see below). Gerard’s views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North American colonies.[3]:17 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/18 "2010-10-28T14:23:18Z")
When the first astronaunts came back from the moon, they were put in quarentine in case they brought back any moon diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/19 "2010-10-28T14:27:40Z")
Autopsies. Interracial organ transplants. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653/20 "2010-10-28T14:33:42Z")
Communists. Today? Muslims. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-people-scared-of-in-the-past-that-now-seems-funny/558653.md?page=2)