US class goes from laughter to complete silence as TV breaks news of 9/11
A US class went from laughter to complete silence as the TV broke the news of 9/11.
One student, without knowing that what he was filming would go on to mark the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil, inadvertently memorialised the moment his classmates found out about the Twin Tower attacks.
The student was filming his class as part of a school project and footage of his fellow teenage classmates' reactions has emerged on a TikTok page dedicated to the devastating terrorist attacks in the US.
Have a look:
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The first half of the video shows the students as they're laughing around and studying, serving as a stark juxtaposition to the follow-up clip of them watching on in silence as the terrifying news unfolds.
A newsreader can be heard discussing how a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, causing one student to cover his mouth in shock and another to say, "Oh my gosh."
While it's been more than 20 years since one of the world's deadliest terrorist attacks took place in New York City, to this very day haunting new details of the incident that killed almost 3,000 people continue to reveal themselves.
This video is no exception, demonstrating just how terrifying it was to watch the events unfold.
Reacting to the footage, one person explained that they hadn't been born yet, writing: "I can’t imagine what it would [have] been like seeing it on TV."
"The chills. This isn’t something you can forget," said another, while a third wrote, "It felt like the world was ending!"
A fourth added: "I was in high school at that time too and remember how school ended and we were all glued to the tv. Crazy to see this."
What makes the clip even more striking is how much of a shared experience it was – if the same were to happen now, everyone would have been on their phones, either filming footage for themselves or watching updates on their newsfeeds.
But back then, only those who happened to have their camcorders running were able to capture the historic moment.
Another student similarly filmed the reaction of her roommate as they sat in their New York apartment and watched the scene unfolded in front of them.
Caroline Dries and her friend Megan were woken up by the first explosion and assumed it was a bomb that had been planted at the top of the building.
But shortly afterwards, the young women launch into panic as they see the second plane crashing into the neighbouring tower.
Speaking to CNN in 2011, Caroline – who is now a successful TV writer and producer – said: "We were kids, like we were so vulnerable and so naïve.
"My reaction was 'there's no way people are going to be jumping to their death'. [I] just couldn't go there.
"I just remember feeling like I don't know what to do, that feeling of being so vulnerable, so overwhelming.
"We ran out of the apartment, took the elevator down to the street and it was just kind of pandemonium on the street with no one knowing what was happening."
Speaking of the significance of the clip, she said: "Sometimes I think you know it would be nice to have not filmed it. To just have run and let time kind of erase all of the details and just move on a little faster."
Rhiannon Ingle