In 1997, the Hale-Bopp comet made its way across the Earth’s skies along its 4,000-year solar orbit. Many attribute the strange and curious events of that year to the comet’s visit. Here are 10 of those peculiar, notable, and downright unearthly events that occurred in 1997.

Dennis Rodman kicks cameraman

There’s no doubt that Dennis Rodman is strange in his own right. The NBA hall-of-fame player is a talented athlete, but not without controversy. On January 15, 1997, the Chicago Bulls forward lost his balance during a ball tussle and landed in the media area outside of the court. Frustrated, Rodman kicked in anger… right into the groin of cameraman Eugene Amos.

Yup. Dennis Rodman kicked a cameraman in the nuts.

The fall-out was a $25,000 fine from the NBA, a $200,000 settlement with Amos, and a near-record setting 11 game suspension. The total cost to Rodman for the incident was a whopping $1.1 million.

This is likely history’s most expensive kick in the balls.

Dolly the sheep is cloned

On February 22, 1997, British scientists announced they had cloned a Finn Doset ewe named Dolly. They cloned her from the cell of another sheep near Edinburgh, Scotland. Scientists believed, after many failures, that cloning an adult mammal was not possible. Yet, Dolly, the first successful clone of another adult mammal, proved otherwise.

The world was in awe, but God-fearing Americans freaked out.

On March 4, 1997, President Bill Clinton banned any and all funding for human clone research.

Yet, much of the rest of the world continued with the research and cloned other mammals in Europe and Asia. While cloning could apply to the preservation of near-extinct species, scientists lauded its application in stem cell research.

Dolly went on to live for over 6 years. You can visit her at the National Museum of Scotland where she’s stuffed and on display.

Dolly had “siblings” of sorts: Daisy, Debbie, Dianna, and Denise. They were also clones from the same cell as Dolly and subject to a 2016 study.

Brazilian women leaders allowed to wear slacks

Women started assuming office in the Brazilian Senate in 1979. Women even became candidates for Brazilian president for the first time in 1989. Yet, it wasn’t until March 4, 1997, that the Brazilian Senate allowed women to wear trousers.

You might think, “oh, those backward Brazalians.”

But did you know that female U.S. senators were unofficially disallowed from wearing pants… until 1993?!

That’s only a four-year difference, so stop judging.

Japanese citizens sue Prime Minister for smoking

On March 8, 1997, five plaintiffs had sued Prime Minister Hashimoto for his heavy smoking habit. They argued the prime minister’s public smoking violated the country’s constitution of guaranteeing a wholesome life. Article 25 of the Japanese constitution states:

“All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living.”

The plaintiffs also sought ¥500,000 ($4,000) from the government. claiming the prime minister’s past remarks encouraged smoking, a statement made in Singapore:

“Taxes on cigarettes are a big revenue source amid our country's fiscal crisis. I intend to smoke as much as possible, to the extent that it does not damage my health or become a burden to medical insurance finances.”

Almost a year later, Presiding Judge Tatsuki Inada acknowledged that smoking is bad for the health of citizens who. But the judge ruled that smoking was lawful, and the prime minister could smoke as much as he wanted regardless of his position or title.

The Phoenix Lights

On the evening of March 13, 1997, people reported strange lights in the skies over Arizona and parts of Nevada. This wasn’t an isolated incident from a drunk farmer. Thousands of people reported the bright, V-shaped lights and there are many angles of video footage.

People were a bit frightened.

To sooth the concerns of his citizens, then Arizona Governor Fife Symington made a joke of it at a press conference. He even had his aide wear an alien costume.

People were not amused, and he did a typical politician 180 and asked why anyone would ridicule the sightings. Smooth Fife. Smooth.

Although the phenomenon was later explained as the use of flares by a military plane, the origins of the Phoenix Lights was never confirmed. Many believe the event extra-terrestrial in origin. Some even think it related to the Hale-Bopp comet, which was approaching Earth at the time.

We had a chat with Vanessa on ‘The 80s and 90s Uncensored’ podcast who saw the Phoenix Lights for herself. Have a listen at the 13:30 mark!

Heaven’s Gate mass suicide

One strange event of 1997 that does have a confirmed link to the Hale-Bopp comet was the mass suicide of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate following. Cult leaders, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, convinced followers an alien spaceship was on its way. The aliens would rescue them from “recycling” during an upcoming apocalypse. All the members had to do was abandon all loved ones and possessions to serve the group.

The narrative amplified further in the mid 1980s when Nettle died of cancer. According to Applewhite, the human body itself restricted members from achieving “The Evolutionary Level Above Human” or “TELAH”. Later, Applewhite was convinced that their liberation ship was behind the Hale-Bopp comet. The only way for them to get onboard was to leave their bodies.

On March 26, 1997, authorities discovered 39 bodies in a Southern California mansion. The group had matching black track suites, Nike footwear, and armbands that read “Heaven’s Gate Away Team”. Their cause of death was suicide by poisoning.

There are still four surviving members of the group who claim to keep in contact with the Away Team. They also maintain a website that is almost unchanged since the 1990s.

Dexter King meets James Earl Ray

If you’ve ever had an awkward encounter, it would probably never compare to a meeting on March 27, 1997. On this day, Dexter King met with James Earl Ray in a Nashville prison hospital. Dexter King was the son of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray was the convicted assassin of his father almost three decades prior.

Dexter King looked James Earl Ray in the eye and asked: "I just want to ask you, for the record, did you kill my father?"

“No, no, I didn’t,” Ray said.

“Well,” King replied, “as awkward as this may seem, I want you to know that I believe you and my family believes you; and we are going to do everything in our power to try and make sure that justice will prevail.”

It seems that the King family is convinced to this day that Ray was a pawn of the government which conspired with organized crime to murder MLK and framed Ray for the assassination.

Ray died just over a year later on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70. His ashed were flown to Ireland as he did not want to be buried in the U.S.

So, the next time you have an awkward meeting, think about Dexter King meeting James Earl Ray.

Amusement park riders upside down for 90 minutes

Instances of people stuck on malfunctioning amusement rides are occasional. But the event on August in Brussels, Belgium on August 28, 1997 stands out among the rest. 26 fun goers on a roller coaster were stuck upside down for a full 90 minutes before being rescued! That’s an hour and a half of danging in the air on the opposite side of gravity.

Imagine being on The Scirocco, zipping around at 80 kph. You come to an abrupt stop on a loop upside down. You then spend the same time it takes to watch a feature length… hanging out.

Fortunately, none of the passengers were injured. They were no doubt pretty pissed off though. Since this event, there have been more reports of amusement riders hanging upside down for even longer. Keep this in mind the next time you’re at your state fair.

$17.3 million in cash robbed

On the evening of October 4, 1997, vault manager David Ghantt and accomplices pulled off the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. at the time. The gang of conspirators, including former and current employees, robbed the Charlotte regional vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. They stole a whopping $17.3 in cold, hard cash. But Ghantt’s plan was not meticulous enough. for example, he only disabled three security camera’s and overlooked a third.

The robbers were eventually captured by the FBI due to their lack of impulse control and expectorant spending. In total, 24 people were convicted in the conspiracy and heist. Ghantt was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, and released on parole after 5 years. Authorities recovered bout $15 million, the remaining $2 million unaccounted for to this day.

A film about the heist, “Masterminds”, was released in 2016. Ghantt was a consultant on for the film. As he still owed millions to the IRS, they took every penny of his pay for the work.

McCaughey septuplets born

Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey of Carlisle, Iowa were having fertility issues so started treatment with Metrodin drug to stimulate ovulation. It worked. Bobbi became pregnant with seven babies. That’s right, seven babies in one womb! The couple a selective reduction procedure but they refused.

On November 19, 1997, Bobbi gave birth to the septuplets, four boys and three girls. As expected, they were born prematurely via Caesarean section. Although it took 40 medical specialists to deliver the babies, they were all born within six minutes of each other.

The septuplets, along with their older sister, are all grown up now with lives and families of their own.

There are my top 10 strange and interesting events. Can you think of more? Drop me a line in the comments. Also be sure to check out other events articles and podcast episodes. With that, I leave you with this quote: