My SO (female) started laughing loudly on a recent plane journey. She has flown a lot in the past and had stated that she is increasingly nervous about the experience. What gives? [more inside]
posted by Anonymous on Jan 3, 2007 - 8 answers

I have been thinking recently about the y2k silliness and how I had not ever read a good autopsy of the phenomenon or, rather, beyond the claim of hysteria, an adequate explanation of the lack of phenomenon. (long preamble and a long technical question inside) [more inside]
posted by dances_with_sneetches on Aug 30, 2006 - 44 answers

Research: Where should I look for stories or journalism about the type of thing that happened in the Superdome during Katrina, specifically where people believed (and reported to the press) that they had seen horrific acts that later were determined never to have taken place? I'm not even sure what the correct term would be (mass hysteria?) but I'm interested in the unreliability of primary sources in journalism, especially as it relates to Katrina.
posted by klangklangston on Apr 17, 2006 - 11 answers