U.F.O.s/U.A.P.s
The crossroads of mystery, misidentification, and belief
A U.F.O. is something seen in the sky (or on the ground if it seems like it could fly) that a person cannot recognize as a normal object or having a natural origin. If it puzzles them enough, they report it or post it online.
A UFO is not always a real object; it is just what seems strange enough to cause someone to make a report, or share a video or photo. It also includes fake reports where someone might try to trick others. It follows that people who know less about common things, optics, and atmospheric sciences are more likely to report UFOs because they cannot identify them.
Recovered Alien Craft
A foundational narrative within UFOlogy asserts the U.S. government has recovered crashed off-world craft and biological remains, which it has been secretly reverse-engineering for decades.
Project Serpo
Imagine packing your bags for a thirteen-year trip where the local cuisine tastes like paper, the weather is a blistering 107 degrees every day, and your hosts are quasi-socialist extraterrestrials living under two suns.
The 1949 Death Valley Saucer Crash
This story is one of the first widely publicized reports involving both a crashed craft and "occupants." It was appropriated and expanded upon in later years.
UFOs (UAPs)
1941 Cape Girardeau, Missouri
UFOs (UAPs)
The Frankenstein Saucer: Tracing the Cultural DNA of the Roswell UFO Myth
UFOs (UAPs)
The Intergalactic Fender Bender: Why Do Advanced UFOs Keep Crashing on Earth?
UFOs (UAPs)
Psychological Factors Behind UFO Sightings
UFOs (UAPs)
The "Hottel Memo"
UFOs (UAPs)
The Blueprint of a Myth: Silas Newton, the Aztec Crash, and the 75-Year Echo
UFOs (UAPs)
Identified Sources of UFO Reports: Current and Historical
UFOs (UAPs)
The Mystery of the Lights: Why UFOs Don’t Stay Hidden
UFOs (UAPs)
The Human Element: Frank Scully and the Anatomy of Belief
UFOs (UAPs)
The Psychosocial UFO Hypothesis (PSH)
UFOs (UAPs)
The Wilbert B. Smith “Top Secret Canadian Memo” (1950)