Mass hysteria has occurred in the past and not just for drones: Seattle windshield pitting epidemic – Wikipedia
The Seattle windshield pitting epidemic is a phenomenon which affected Bellingham, Seattle, and other communities of Washington state in April 1954; it is considered an example of mass panic.[1] It was characterized by widespread observation of previously unnoticed windshield holes, pits and dings, leading residents to believe that a common causative agent was at work. It was originally thought to be the work of vandals, but the rate of pitting was so great that residents began to attribute it to everything from sand flea eggs to nuclear bomb testing.
Not sure why but people stop thinking, or perhaps most people were not capable of thinking before these events, leading to mass hysteria – the link says the official term is “collective delusion”.
