1947 Flying Disc Craze

Civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold's report of disc-shaped objects on June 24 sparked the 1947 flying disc craze in the United States, which quickly spread, with at least 800 "copycat" reports in subsequent weeks, peaking on July 7 and largely subsiding by July 10. Mainstream sources attributed the reports to novel technology, mistaken identifications, or mass hysteria, while fringe theories speculated on extraterrestrial origins or apocalyptic significance. Scholars regard the 1947 craze as the "birth of a modern myth" and analyze it within folklore and religious studies frameworks.