Fact Or Fiction: 18 Things You Didn’t Know About UFOs

A poll taken by Roper in 1991 gave a startling result. Almost 4 million people believe they have been abducted by aliens at some point in their life.

2. Astronomer Jose Bonilla was credited with taking the first photographs of a UFO, in 1883, in Zacatecas, Mexico.

3. A papyrus containing notes of Pharaoh Thutmose III detailed a UFO sighting around 1480 BC. A circle of fire was seen in the sky, and the scribes reported their sighting to the pharaoh. Days following, more UFOs showed up. The pharaoh decided to burn incense and have his scribes mark the day as important.

4. Even the legendary Alexander the Great had an encounter with a UFO. In 329 BC, as Alexander and his army were crossing a river, some silver shields encircled with fire began diving at his men and scaring their war elephants. The war party had to wait until morning arrived before they could cross safely without interference.

5. The first documented account of a UFO sighting in America dates back to the year 1639. John Winthrop, the colony governor of Massachusetts, noted an incident where three men observed a luminous object flying around the Muddy River, near the same area of the Charleston for a period of 2 to 3 hours.

Some say the book of Ezekiel proves that UFOs have been around a lot longer than we may have thought. The prophet Ezekiel is noted for recounting his observation of a “great cloud with fire enfolding itself, a wheel in the middle of a wheel that descended and fired lightning bolts into the earth.”

7. Strange objects spotted in the skies were referred to as “flying saucers” since 1947. In 1952, the term UFO, for Unidentified Flying Object became more in vogue. UFO was used by US Air Force officer Edward Ruppelt.

8. Studies have shown that 5% to 20% of reported UFO sightings are unexplained, and remain to be unsolved mysteries.

9. UFOs have even managed to sneak their way into famous medieval European artwork. “The Annunciation” by Carlo Crivelli, made in 1486, has a mysterious looking flying disk with lights prominently in the painting. Another work of art, “The Madonna With Saint Giovannino,” by artist Domenico Ghirlandaio shows Mary with the baby Jesus. In the background of the painting, a man and his dog seem to look at a UFO hovering above. UFOs were “photobombing” before it was cool.

10. Between December 1948 and April 1955, many witnessed green fireballs above the skies of New Mexico. Astronomers, military personnel, and members of the public were baffled about these UFOs. Dr. Lincoln La Paz, a meteor expert, was brought in to investigate. This was because the objects sighted didn’t behave like natural phenomena or meteors. After years of investigating the phenomenon, the results were inconclusive. Nobody knew what the UFOs were, except that they weren’t meteors.

During World War 2, the 415th Night Fighter Squadron had a little extra company during a mission. While flying over the Rhine Valley, there were suddenly strange lights following the airmen in the sky. On November 1944, pilot Edward Schlueter and other personnel described 8 to 10 bright lights of an orange color, flying at the side of the left wing of the plane at high velocity. Despite the sightings, the radar and ground control did not have any visible readings. The repeated reports of UFOs by allied pilots during World War 2 became known as “foo fighters.”

12. The term UFO, for the unidentified flying object, is not the only descriptor for sightings in the sky. UAP or unidentified aerial phenomenon is used by investigators. OVNI or Objeto volador no identificado is another acronym used by many in Europe.

13. In Tully, Australia, in 1966, a farmer recounted seeing a UFO rising up from a swampy area and flying off. When he went toward the area of the sighting for a closer look, he saw a circular area of flattened reeds and grass. The crop circle was assumed to be made by extraterrestrials, but investigators concluded it was a waterspout.

14. The Heaven’s Gate Cult gathered a lot of attention when 38 people sadly took their own lives. They believed that there was an alien ship behind the Hale Bopp comet. The only way they could travel on the approaching UFO was to shed their mortal forms, as only their souls could make the journey.

15. The book Flying Saucers from Outer Space, written by author Donald E. Keyhoe in 1953, was the first to use the term “UFO.”

In 1938, a radio program was broadcast under the direction of Orson Welles for Halloween. The performance was so convincing that the public went into a panic, believing that there was an alien invasion of UFOs.

17. The term “flying saucer” is widely used to describe UFOs since many are shaped like a saucer. In 1947, pilot Kenneth Arnold described his UFO sighting as a “flying saucer.” Hence, the name stuck. However, many UFOs sighted also look like balls and triangles too.

18. Explorer Christopher Columbus saw a glimmering light in the distance on October 11, 1492. He called for Pedro Gutierrez, who bore witness to the strange light. The light vanished and reappeared several times, in addition to making strange movements. Columbus took this as a sign they would soon arrive on land. His prediction came true, just four hours following his proclamation.