16 years ago today, an earthquake of 6.2 shook a good region of Quebec and eastern Ontario. I was an active JW then. I was baptized just a few months earlier. In my mind and in the mind of other witnesses, this earthquake seemed to fit in so well with Jesus's prophecies concerning the end times.
The next day in the field service, we jumped on the occasion to read Matthew 24 talking about earthquakes during the end times.
Today, 16 years later, this event is meaningless and forgotten. But, 16 years ago, as a newly converted JW, I thought that the end had to be very close, because of this earthquake. Not only I, but the entire congregation.