Siri ‘Open Gates of Hades’ July 27, 2014 iPhone Message Goes Viral: Why?

The Siri voice program on the Apple iPhone has been perplexing numerous people in the past month, saying the “Opening [the] Gates of Hades” will take place on July 27, 2014, with many wondering why.
Siri ‘Open Gates of Hades’ July 27, 2014 iPhone Message Goes Viral: Why?
Siri's response from an iPhone after asking it "what day is July 27, 2014?" on Dec. 19, 2013. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)
Jack Phillips
1/5/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

The Siri voice program on the Apple iPhone has been perplexing numerous people in the past month, saying the “Opening [the] Gates of Hades” will take place on July 27, 2014, with many wondering why.

When one asks Siri, “What is July 27” or asks “What is July 27, 2014,” it will respond: “It’s Sunday, 27 July 2014 (Opening Gates Of Hades).”

Not everyone will get the response, but several Epoch Times reporters asked Siri the question and got the “Hades” response and some didn’t. Hades is the name of the Greek god of the underworld, and it’s also used to refer to the underworld, or according to some interpretations, Hell.

According to the Cult of Mac website, the July 27, 2014, response pertains to the “Chinese Ghost Month,” which takes place on the seventh month of the lunar year. During the Ghost Month, the gates of Heaven and Hell open. On the Apple forums, some speculated that it had to do with Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

Cult of Mac, however, noted that the response is due to a glitch in Siri’s Wolfram Alpha configuration. The website also found that Siri offers a response to what happens May 14, 2005, suggesting the gates of Hades already opened, and it speculated that it might have to do with a New York City bar or club named Hades closing on that date.

For more than a month on Facebook and Twitter, a large number of people have been telling others to ask Siri the question.

“Everyone ask siri whats july 27th, 2014 is... This is not good,” wrote one Twitter user Sunday

Added another: “If you got Siri on your iPhone ask her what July 27th is an see if you don’t freak out.” 

Some speculated that it’s a “prediction” for the end of the world.

On YouTube, a large number of people uploaded videos of Siri’s response to the question, while some conspiracy theory-oriented websites offered even more speculation.

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Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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