[snip] On September 3, 1859 the Memphis Tennessee Daily Appeal noted a most startling event. "On Thursday night last, about 12 o clock, the heavens were suddenly lit up as with a half dozen moons." The glow was so remarkable that people assumed it must be coming from a massive fire, and the paper reported that city fire bells were rung. But, the paper writes "When the truth revealed itself, it appeared that old nature had only lit up its own chandelier." The lights were the aurora borealis, although you can hardly fault people from the American South for not...