Still fresh in the memory of many is the huge power failure that involved much of the northeast United States in November 1965. At 5:18 p.m., New York City went black, as well as much of the entire state. The area affected covered some 80,000 square miles and took in most of seven U.S. states and most of Canada's province of Ontario. Whether it was a generator feeding power at the wrong frequency or a switch thrown in error by some utility company employee was hard to determine.

But the millions of people living in New York and the surrounding area quickly determined that they were without electricity. The lights were out, the power was out, and many were stuck for the night in subway train stations, elevators, and tunnels under the East River.

The blackout left some 200 planes in the air above New York's Kennedy International Airport. They had to be rerouted to airports in other states where runway lights were still burning. Overall loss in business due to the blackout, which lasted in some areas up to 13 hours, was estimated at $100 million dollars. A tire company, for example, lost $50,000 worth of tires when power failed during a critical curing process. A car manufacturer had to throw away 50 engine blocks because high-speed drills froze while boring piston holes. Bakeries in New York alone reported a loss of 300,000 loaves of bread, which were spoiled when the power went off.

All in all, modern civilization as Americans and Canadians knew it that November night came to a screeching halt because the power supply on which they were dependent had been cut off.