Were the Crowds in Maine’s Aroostook County 26 Years Ago Bigger Than the Eclipse Crowds?

People from all over the United States and other parts of the world flocked to Houlton, Maine, on April 8 to view the rare, total solar eclipse. Maine was one of the best viewing locations as a shadow of the moon traveled from San Antonio, Texas, to Houlton. There was little to no cloud cover, offering a spectacular view of this celestial phenomenon.

Crowds were large, but spread out over Aroostook County. The roads did get a bit congested, but everyone got in and out after one of the biggest gatherings in Aroostook County history. However, there's one that might be bigger.

In 1998, 65,000 people gathered at the former Loring Airforce Base in Limestone for two days on August 15 and 16 for "LemonWheel," featuring the band Phish. Those 65,000 people set up camp, and the entire area became one giant tent city. Unlike that eclipse, all the people who came to Aroostook County were in one place. All 65,000.

Take a look at this video from that weekend.

So the question is, which event drew more people to Aroostook County?

Here's a shot of the line of cars on I-95 on the day of the eclipse, just to give you an idea of how many cars were on the road that day.

According to WMTW, The Maine Department of Transportation estimated around 15,000 more cars than usual were in Maine over the weekend to witness the eclipse. Unlike the Phish concert, no one bought any tickets to the astronomical event, so the number 65,000 is more accurate.

So for fun's sake, let's say that there's an average of three people in each of those 15,000 cars. That's a total of 45,000 people in Aroostook County viewing the eclipse. Using that estimate, the Phish concert saw 20,000 more people who traveled to see the eclipse.

I'm not a mathematician, so take this estimate for what it's worth.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.