Salt abounded in the region in several shapes. Mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, red lead, and orpiment are said to have been actually worked under the Persian kings and some of the other minerals were so patent and obvious, that we can scarcely suppose them to have been neglected.

The mineral treasures of the country appear to have been considerable, though to what extent they were known and made use of in ancient times is open to some question. Their camels, sheep, goats, asses, and oxen, are also expressly mentioned by the Greeks, who even indicate a knowledge of the fact that goats were preferred to sheep by the herdsmen of the country. The statement of Xenophon, that anciently a horse was a rarity in Persia Proper, is contradicted by the great bulk of the early writers, who tell us that the Persians were from the first expert riders, and that their country was peculiarly well fitted for the breeding of horses. And it points out that 'several important CBS affiliates (including Boston's WEEI) pre-empted Welles' broadcast in favor of local commercial programming, further shrinking its audience.It is probable that in ancient times the domestic animals of the country were nearly the same as at the present day. Slate also argues that there's no data to support the idea that many radio listeners heard about the broadcast and tuned in during it. Welles' program was scheduled against one of the most popular national programs at the time - ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's Chase and Sanborn Hour, a comedy-variety show.' In other words, 98 percent of those surveyed were listening to something else, or nothing at all, on Oct. None said a 'news broadcast,' according to a summary published in Broadcasting. Only 2 percent answered a radio 'play' or 'the Orson Welles program,' or something similar indicating CBS. 'To what program are you listening?' the service asked respondents. Hooper ratings service telephoned 5,000 households for its national ratings survey. How do we know? The night the program aired, the C.E. 'Far fewer people heard the broadcast - and fewer still panicked - than most people believe today. some percentage of that 1 million people ran out of their homes.' Just this past weekend, our colleagues at Radiolab devoted their very first live hour to a 'deep dive into one of the most controversial moments in broadcasting history: Orson Welles' 1938 radio play about Martians invading New Jersey.'Īccording to Radiolab, about 12 million people were listening when Welles' broadcast came on the air and 'about 1 in every 12. Morning Edition, for instance, reported in 2005 that 'listeners panicked, thinking the story was real.' Many supposedly jumped in their cars to flee the area of the 'invasion.' OK, as far as we know that hasn't happened.īut we wanted to issue that faux alert because 75 years ago tonight, as our friend Korva Coleman pointed out on the NPR Newscast, Orson Welles and his troupe of radio actors interrupted the Columbia Broadcasting System's programming to 'report' that our planet had been invaded.Įver since then, it's been accepted as fact that the broadcast scared the dickens out of many Americans.

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