Some of our readers may be old enough to remember the night before Halloween in 1938, nearly 80 years ago.
It was radio's heyday and many Americans were at home that evening, listening as the CBS Network heard an announcer introduce Orson Welles and the Mercury Radio Theatre of the Air. A band was heard playing music and then a series of simulated news broadcasts announced first some unexplained explosions on Mars and then a full-scale invasion of the Earth by aliens from the red planet.
For those who tuned in from the beginning, it was all good fun. But not everyone caught the program from the beginning. Many listeners tuned in late, in some cases switching the dial from other programs. What they heard wasn't so much fun. It sounded like a real news broadcast, a real invasion from Mars.
It's easy to laugh at that now. But it was just three years later that news broke of the very real attack on Pearl Harbor, plunging the U.S. into World War II.
The Cold War brought more fears, this time of possible nuclear war. We were sure the Soviet Union was ready to launch at any minute. There were Civil Defense drills in schools, an emergency warning system implemented and some even built fallout shelters in their backyards. You can still see a few of them here in Texarkana.
Now, we come to the present day. Saturday in fact, in Hawaii.
A state Emergency Management Agency worker pressed the wrong button during shift change and a message went out across the state that a ballistic missile attack was on its way. Residents were advised to seek immediate shelter. The message ended with "THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
Many received word on their cellphones. And while it was quickly determined to be a false alarm and word spread on social media, another official message was delayed for more than a half-hour. The state had prepared for a possible attack but had no pre-written words in case of a mistaken alert.
Considering the situation with North Korea's mad leader and his threats of nuclear attack, you can't blame those who took this alert very seriously indeed. Right now we are more conscious of the devastating possibility, however remote, than we have been since the 1960s.
Now Hawaiian authorities-already under fire for the system and tests of warning sirens some see as "warmongering"-are wondering if residents will take further warnings seriously if something really happens.
The fact is Hawaii, site of the Pearl Harbor attack, has more to worry about than the rest of the country. But the risk is small.
Times aren't nearly as hot as they were at the height of the Cold War. But they are warmer than they've been in a long time. Hawaiians should take comfort that a warning system exists. And they should still pay attention in case it sounds the alert again.
Unless the warning says something about Martians.