The Mother of All Accidents
In 2001, Seth MacFarlane was the 27-year-old executive producer and creator of the not-yet-hit animated show Family Guy. Having broken into the entertainment big leagues at such a young age, MacFarlane was invited back in September to address his alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design. After giving a talk, he went out for what turned out to be a late night of drinking with some professors.
The next morning, September 11, MacFarlane raced to catch an 8:15 a.m. flight out of Boston back to Los Angeles. He was too late—the flight was actually at 7:45 a.m.; his travel agent had written down the wrong information. MacFarlane was rebooked on a later flight and went to doze in the passenger lounge. He was awakened by a commotion as passengers gasped at news coverage from New York showing the North Tower of the World Trade Center aflame. A short while later, the plane that struck the Tower was identified as American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles—the flight MacFarlane had missed.
Had the asteroid arrived 30 minutes sooner or 30 minutes later, the dinosaurs would still be here.
Actor Mark Wahlberg and , Wahlberg and some friends changed their plans and hired a charter plane to a film festival in Toronto. They later flew on to Los Angeles.
