The Blackout of 1965 plunged 30 million people into darkness for ten hours.

The Great Blackout of 1965
While the power outages in the NY-NJ region caused by hurricane Sandy made life difficult for millions, a far larger blackout in November 1965 plunged some 30 million Americans across eight states into darkness. In New York City 800,000 people were trapped during the evening rush hour in underground subway cars. Power was eventually restored after just 10 hours. Read about the cause of the the Great Blackout of 1965

The Myth of the Blackout Baby Boom
And read about one of the great myths associated with the blackout — that nine months later hospitals in the eight affected states reported a sudden spike in births. The myth began with a series of three August 1966 articles in the New York Times that reported a sudden rise in births at 3 New York area hospitals.  While it’s certainly fun to think of an overnight blackout inspiring couples to “make the best of it,” leading to spike in the birthrate, a major study in 1979 cast cold water on the myth.
Read about that study and how the myth got started.