People in several countries stopped in their tracks today to be wowed by a total solar eclipse that plunged a narrow swath of the planet into daytime darkness. The eclipse's path began in Brazil and extended across the Atlantic Ocean, northern Africa, and central Asia, ending at sunset in northern Mongolia.
As usual, superstitions die hard:
One Indian paper advised pregnant women not to go outside during the eclipse to avoid having a blind baby or one with a cleft lip. Food cooked before the eclipse should be thrown out afterward because it will be impure and those who are holding a knife or ax during the eclipse will cut themselves, the Hindustan Times added.
In Turkey's earthquake-prone Tokat province, residents set up tents outside despite assurances from scientists that there was no evidence of any link between eclipses and tremors.