The July 10, 1873 Decatur Republican (Decatur, IL) describes, in a rather condescending manner, a prediction of one Professor Plantamour. It seems Plantamour was fond of making predictions involving comets, predicting in 1872 that Plantamour's Comet would collide with Earth on August 12, 1873. After it was fairly certain that such an event would not take place Prof. Plantamour moved his disaster dates further into the future. In the case of this prediction from 1873, the year 2011 would bring about a completely frozen Earth.

We have heard from our ally, Prof. Plantamour, again. Last year he prophesied we were to be burned up. Now he declares in a paper just issued in Paris, that everybody will be frozen to death in the year 2011. We are glad to have the date accurately fixed, for we shall arrange for our life insurance policy to expire in the year 2011. The first news of the freeze will appear in the Saturday Evening Post for Jan. 1st, 2011, an we shall offer as a premium to clubs that year, an all-wool overcoat four feet thick, with an air tight stove in each breast pocket, and a gas heater in the tail, and an open grate arrangement at the collar. The getter up of two clubs will have a pair of skates, and a double breasted pink undershirt thrown in. Persons who wish to compete for these prizes, can send their subscriptions now, from this year to 2011, in order to make the thing certain. No paper shall beat us, if we have to get up a corner in a double-breasted undershirts and create a panic in the market. --Max Adeler

Previously on Paleo-Future:

• Final Date of the Earth: August 18, 1999 (1973)
• The Prophetic Year 2000 (1968)
• The Coming Ice Age (1982)
• Global Warming/Cooling (1982)