For years, reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have littered literature, from newspapers to tabloids, bulletins to science fiction books. The history books are no exception: Alexander the Great’s army reportedly saw saucers flying in the sky in 329 BC; the Japanese army told of more strange nighttime sightings in 1235 AD; eyewitnesses watched the sky dance with light in 1561 in Nuremberg, Germany; and aerial combat during World War II saw much more than just flying debris – balls of light began stalking aircraft on either side of the Allied and Axis powers.
What is it about UFOs that makes us human beings fascinated with their existence? What makes human beings so intrigued by every tale, every UFO story?
By the time World War II had ended, the term of “UFO” was coined, and governments, intelligence agencies, and eyewitnesses all came together to document UFO sightings and close encounters. The study of UFOlogy, or the scientific investigation and classification of unidentified flying objects, was established. All the hullabaloo had a good reason for existing: not only were humans seeing lights in the sky; some of the unlucky eyewitnesses were being beamed up by an unseen Scotty, prodded and pushed, and in short, dissected to within an inch of their sanity.
Aside from alien abductions and the fascinating lights show that UFOs allow humans to watch, why has humanity been so obsessed with them?
• The Quest for Higher Technology – UFO stories are filled with accounts of bright flashing objects moving at speeds so fast without breaking the sound barrier. If aliens have this technology, what else can they do?
• The “We Are Not Alone” Syndrome – Are we really the only inhabited planet in this vast universe? If there is life on other planets, what will it look like?
• The Excitement of Panic Mode – UFO visits often leave behind sick humans, mutilated cattle, and dead plants. Does this mean aliens can invade us?
• The UFO-Government Conspiracy – Why has the government been so secretive with UFO evidence? Is there something they know that we don’t?
Despite all the evidence pointing to the existence of UFOs, skeptics still claim that eyewitness accounts are unreliable (especially as some of them were derived while subjects were under hypnosis), and most UFO pictures can be created nowadays by a monkey armed with a computer and graphics design software.
Be that as it may, no one can deny that a UFO story still fascinates human beings. A great UFO story, whether real or fabricated, will always be cause for excitement.