Knowledge Tree
flying saucer
Also known as: UFOs, flying saucer, flying saucers, flying saucer craft, flying saucer situation, flying discs, UFO
Facts (27)
Sources
Unidentified flying object - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 11 facts
claimFlying-saucer imagery became a staple of science fiction and popular culture, appearing in media such as the C57D in the 1956 film 'Forbidden Planet', the Jupiter 2 in the television series 'Lost in Space', and the saucer section of the USS Enterprise in 'Star Trek'.
claimHistorian Greg Eghanian reported that in the weeks following the 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting, a majority of Americans surveyed by Gallup either had no idea what flying saucers were or believed witnesses were mistaken, and extraterrestrial visitors were not a primary consideration.
measurementIn 1966, 5% of Americans reported to Gallup that they had seen something they thought was a 'flying saucer', 96% had heard or read about them, and 46% of those who had heard of them thought they were 'something real' rather than imagination.
quoteCaptain Edward J. Ruppelt of the United States Air Force coined the acronym 'UFO' and wrote: 'Obviously the term 'flying saucer' is misleading when applied to objects of every conceivable shape and performance. For this reason the military prefers the more general, if less colorful, name: unidentified flying objects. UFO'.
perspectiveKendrick Oliver notes that encounters with flying saucers and alien space travelers have had profound social impacts on the world, which can be studied without necessarily adjudicating the material realities of those experiences.
accountDuring the late 1940s and 1950s, UFOs were frequently called 'flying saucers' or 'flying discs' following the Kenneth Arnold incident.
claimThe United States Air Force coined the term 'unidentified flying object' (UFO) because investigations into 'flying saucers' revealed too broad a range of reported shapes to classify them all as saucers or discs.
referenceMegan Garber published an article titled 'The Man Who Introduced the World to Flying Saucers' in The Atlantic.
measurementA Gallup poll conducted weeks after Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting found that 90% of people in the United States had heard the term 'flying saucers'.
referenceCarl Jung authored the book 'Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies', which explores the phenomenon as a modern myth.
claimIn a preliminary defense estimate issued three weeks after July 9, 1947, the United States Air Force investigation concluded that the 'flying saucer' situation was not imaginary and that 'something is really flying around.'
How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously | The New Yorker newyorker.com Apr 30, 2021 4 facts
claimThe U.S. government renamed 'flying saucers' to 'unidentified flying objects' and debated how seriously to treat the reports.
claimThe term 'flying saucers' originated from a newspaper headline following Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting.
perspectiveIn the late 1940s, scientists asserted that flying saucers did not exist because they could not exist.
perspectiveScientists in 1947 asserted that flying saucers could not exist because they deemed the existence of such objects impossible.
UFOs and the U.S. government: The push towards greater ... - WBUR wbur.org Nov 14, 2023 4 facts
claimThe U.S. government popularized the term 'UFO' (Unidentified Flying Object) after World War II during the early Cold War to destigmatize the discussion of 'flying saucers.'
accountThe modern flying saucer age began in 1947 when an Idaho businessman reported seeing nine saucer-shaped objects flying at high speeds over the Pacific Northwest.
claimThe U.S. government originally popularized the term 'UFOs' (Unidentified Flying Objects) in the years following World War II to destigmatize the discussion of 'flying saucers' during the early Cold War era.
claimFollowing World War II and the start of the Cold War, the U.S. government popularized the term 'UFO' (Unidentified Flying Object) to replace the term 'flying saucer' as a method to destigmatize the reporting of such sightings.
Disclosure movement - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 3 facts
claimSteven Greer claims to have seen a flying saucer as a child.
claimThe cryptoterrestrial hypothesis proposes that reports of UFOs or flying saucers are evidence of a hidden, Earth-based, technologically advanced civilization or unknown animal life forms.
quoteIf our scientists were ALLOWED to have but one of these machines (which exist in great profusion and in fine repair) for study, that our whole technical development would be accelerated beyond imagination.
Steven M. Greer - Wikiquote en.wikiquote.org 2 facts
'Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind': Film Review - Variety variety.com Apr 7, 2020 1 fact
accountDr. Steven Greer was born in 1955 and claims to have witnessed a flying saucer when he was nine years old.
UFOs and the U.S. government: The push towards greater ... - LAist laist.com Nov 14, 2023 1 fact
claimThe U.S. government originally popularized the term 'UFO' (Unidentified Flying Object) in the years following World War II and the dawn of the Cold War to destigmatize the discussion of 'flying saucers.'
Amid Anticipation of Government Disclosure, 'We Are Not Alone ... religiondispatches.org Jan 25, 2024 1 fact
accountThe era of modern Ufology began in 1947 following pilot Kenneth Arnold's report of sighting objects that the media subsequently described as 'flying saucers,' with assistance from Ray Palmer.