On June 24, 1947, an amateur pilot named Kenneth Arnold was flying a small plane near Mount Rainier in Washington state when he saw something extraordinarily strange. Directly to his left and about 20 to 25 miles north of him and at the same altitude he saw a chain of nine objects that shot across the sky whilst glinting in the sun as they traveled.

By comparing their size to that of a distant airplane. Arnold gauged the objects to be about 45 to 50 feet wide. They flew between two mountains spaced 50 miles apart in just 1 minute, 42 seconds. Which was implying an astonishing speed of 1,700 miles per hour or three times faster than any manned aircraft of the era. They seemed as if they were controlled and the flying objects seemed to dip and swerve around obstacles in the terrain.

When the objects faded into the distance. Arnold flew to Yakima, Washington and then landed and immediately told the airport staff of the unidentified flying objects he had spotted. The next following day he was then interviewed by reporters. The story spread like wildfire across the nation. People thought these UFOs were Martians who had come to keep an eye on us now that we had nuclear weapons. As time would prove of course this was but the first of many outlandish theories behind visits of an extraterrestrial nature. The era of UFO sightings had begun.

Arnold's sighting was such a sensation that it made front page news across the nation. In fact Arnold had told the press that the objects had flown erratically, "like a saucer if you skip it across the water." They were thin and flat when viewed on edge. he said but appeared crescent-shaped when viewed from the top down as they turned. However, a reporter named Bill Bequette of the United Press interpreted Arnold's statement to mean that the objects he saw were round discs. Becoming one of the most significant reporter misquotes in history.

The phrase 'flying saucers' provided the mold which shaped the UFO myth at its beginning. UFOs took the form of flying saucers, he noted, in artist's renderings, hoax photos, sci-fi films, TV shows and even the vast majority of alien abduction and sighting reports for the rest of modern history and up until the present day.

Though he didn't see flying saucers, most of Arnold's contemporaries believed that he really had seen something that day. The Army report on the sighting states: "If Mr. Arnold could write a report of such a character and did not see the objects he was in the wrong business and should be engaged in writing Buck Rogers fiction. His account was very convincing to the public. This forever changed history in our world and has inspired millions of believers to term UFOs the term flying saucers. Thus leading up to this incredible holiday now known as Flying Saucer Day on June 24th. Celebrate by sharing the news*** through this article and by watching some documentaries or talking to your friends about your alien interests. And remember to always follow your weird because you never know where it might take you! And one day if you keep up hope you may just get a holiday in your own interest's strange honor!

From: http://www.examiner.com


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