Lecture/presentation which examines the history of flying saucers, the birth of the phenomenon in the mid-1900s, and the appeal of the folk narrative today.

1. A HISTORY OF
FLYING
SAUCERS

2. DO YOU THINK
OTHER INTELLIGENT
LIFE EXISTS IN THE
UNIVERSE?

3. DO YOU THINK
UFOS ARE ALIEN
SPACECRAFT?

4. 6:31
WHAT CAN EXPLAIN THE SIGHTING OF
THE FLATWOODS MONSTER?

5. 4THE FLATWOODS MONSTER
THE FLATWOODS MONSTER
WEST VIRGINIA
REDDISH SPHERE IS
SEEN IN THE SKY AND
A CREATURE WITH AN
“ACE OF SPADES”
SHAPED HEAD IS SEEN
SEPT. 12, 1952
SKEPTICS SAY WHAT
THE GROUP
WITNESSED WAS A
METEOR AND AN OWL

6. 5WHAT IS A UFO?
UFOREFERS TO AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
FOLK NARRATIVES ARE
BASIS OF UFO LORE

7. 6POLLS AND UFOS
40% OF PEOPLE BELIEVE UFOS ARE REAL
MILLIONS BELIEVE THEY HAVE SEEN A UFO...

8. 7ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS
SOME CLAIM ALIENS (OR
ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS)
VISITED EARTH IN THE
PAST AND INFLUENCED
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
ERIK VON DANIKEN
POPULARIZED IDEA IN
1970S

9. DO YOU BELIEVE
ALIENS VISITED
HUMANS IN THE
ANCIENT PAST?

10. 9THE HISTORICAL PROGRESSION OF FLIGHT
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMAN FLIGHT...
HOT AIR BALLOONS
ARE INVENTED
1783
STEAM-POWERED
AIRSHIP INVENTED
1852
WRIGHT
BROTHERS TAKE
TO SKIES
1903

11. 10THE GREAT AIRSHIP WAVE (1890S)
AMERICANS FROM
CA TO TX REPORT
ENCOUNTERS
WITH AIRSHIPS
AND THEIR
“PILOTS”
1890, THE GREAT AIRSHIP WAVE OCCURRED...

12. 11THE SPACE RACE
FROM 1957-1969, THE UNITED STATES AND THE
SOVIET UNION ENGAGED IN THE “SPACE RACE”...
SOVIET SCIENTISTS
ASTOUNDED THE WORLD
WHEN THEY SENT
SPUTNIK I INTO ORBIT
OCTOBER 4, 1957
YURI GAGARIN, A
SOVIET, BECAME THE
FIRST HUMAN IN SPACE
LAUNCHED TO ORBIT ON
VOSTOK 1
APRIL 12, 1961

13. 12BIRTH OF THE “FLYING SAUCER”
KENNETH ARNOLD SAW 9
CRESCENT-SHAPED
OBJECTS FLYING AT HIGH-
SPEED NEAR MT. RAINIER
1947
1940S, AGE OF THE FLYING SAUCER ARRIVED...

14. 7:33
WHERE DID THE TERM "FLYING SAUCER"
ORIGINATE?

15. 14THE GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATES “UFOS”
1940S, THE GOVERNMENT BEGAN INVESTIGATING UFOS...
PROJECT GRUDGE (1946) SAID
UFOS WERE NO THREAT TO U.S.
PROJECT SIGN (1948) SAID
UFOS WERE SOVIET AIRCRAFT,
BUT SOME ISSUED THE
"ESTIMATE OF THE SITUATION"
PROJECT BLUE BOOK (1952-1969)
WAS THE LONGEST INVESTIGATION
INTO UFOS COMPILING MORE THAN
12,000 REPORTS
#1
#2
#3

16. 15ROSWELL
JULY 1947
GOVERNMENT DECLARED THEY HAD
CAPTURED A CRASHED FLYING
SAUCER, ONLY TO LATER RETRACT
THE CLAIM SAYING THE DEBRIS WAS
ACTUALLY A WEATHER BALLOON

17. 4:41
WHAT’RE YOUR THOUGHTS?

18. 3:24
DO YOU THINK ITS RIGHT TO SPEND SO
MUCH MONEY INVESTIGATING UFOS?

19. 18A BELIEF IN “FLYING SAUCERS”?
#1
#2
#3
UPDATED MODERN-DAY TALES OF OLDER STORIES
FEATURING ANGELS, DEMONS, AND SPIRITS
FUELED BY THE SPACE RACE AS PEOPLE
WONDERED WHO MIGHT BE OUT THERE?...
STORIES FUELED BY THE HUMAN
PSYCHE AND A NEED TO BELIEVE
PEOPLE LOOKING FOR GREATER
MEANING IN THE UNIVERSE
(“SECULAR THEOLOGY”)
#4
FOLKLORISTS ARGUE FLYING SAUCERS BELIEFS ARE...

20. DO YOU BELIEVE
THE GOVERNMENT
IS HIDING THE
TRUTH OF UFOS?

21. NEXT CLASS:
ENCOUNTERS OF THE
“FOURTH KIND”
HOMEWORK: NONE