Celebrating "Flying Saucer Day" in our Universe of Stories

With a theme like “A Universe of Stories,” MidPointe Library’s current Summer Reading Program for all ages is THE place to learn about Space -- you know, things like astronauts, the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing this year, planets, stars, UFOs... 

Yes, UFOs. 

UFO.jpg

According to the book, “2019 Chase’s Calendar of Events,” today, June 24, Is “Flying Saucer Day.”  

Seventy-two years ago today, June 24, 1947, a Boise, Idaho, pilot “reported seeing pie-plate-shaped unidentified flying objects (UFOs) over Mount Ranier, Washington. Flying at more than 9,000 feet, [Kenneth] Arnold saw flashes of light and then nine ‘saucer-like’ objects flying at incredible speeds. The term ‘flying saucer’ came into currency soon after to describe a UFO.” (1) 

To many Earthlings, UFO sightings are baseless reports from highly imaginative, overly medicated or very intoxicated Earthlings. 

But skeptics may be convinced otherwise after reading a riveting January 15, 2019, New York Times article about “Project Blue Book.” That was “the code name for an Air Force program set up in 1952 after numerous U.F.O. sightings during the Cold War era...”  

Although the “Blue Book” was closed in 1969, the article reported, the U.S. Air Force “didn’t actually stop investigating” U.F.O.s. 

The reporters’ startling yet fascinating findings include: 

1)Project Blue Book’s purpose was to “explain away or debunk as many reports as possible in order to mitigate possible panic and shield the public from a genuine national security problem: an apparently technological phenomenon that was beyond human control and was not Russian, yet represented an unfathomable potential threat...” 

2) “Blue Book compiled reports of 12,618 sightings of unidentified flying objects, of which 701 remain unexplained to this day...” 

3)That “...Despite government statements to the contrary, once-secret official documents include detailed reports of dramatic U.F.O. events abroad...” 

Their article concludes with the following: 

“Scientists may know more about the behavior and characteristics of U.F.O.s and are closer to understanding the physics of how the technology operates, according to A.A.T.I.P. documents and interviews..."  The initials stand for the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, which began in 2007. 

“...But the government still makes every attempt to keep investigations and conclusions secret, while denying any involvement to American citizens...” 

So what’s an Earthling to do?  

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According to “The Big Book of UFO Facts, Figures & Truth – A Comprehensive Examination,’ (available for checkout at MidPointe LIbrary) there are steps to follow if you see or experience an Unidentified Flying Object. 

In the section titled “...4 Things to Do If You See a UFO” you’ll find the following : 

1) Find other witnesses  

2) Take photos  

3) Make notes, and   

4) Photograph, but don’t disrupt, the area involved. 

“Most importantly, report your UFO sighting,” the book continues. “Call the Center for UFO Studies any day of the week, any time of the day or night...An investigator will contact you as soon as possible.” 

According to Wikipedia, the Center for UFO Studies was “founded in 1973 by J. Allen Hynek, who at the time was Chair of the Department of Astronomy at Northwestern University in Illinois...” 

So keep those binoculars and telescopes handy! There’s a real “Universe of Stories” overhead! 

Accompanying images: 

Flying saucer from Google Images 

Book cover, “The Big Book of UFO Facts, Figures 

 If you love all-things-Space, then you’ll love MidPointe Library’s “Summer Reading Program” for all ages! The theme, appropriately, is “A Universe of Stories.”  

It’s happening now through July 31 at all MidPointe locations: Middletown, West Chester, Trenton, Monroe, Liberty Township (2nd floor, Liberty Center) and onboard our traveling Library On Wheels, formerly known as the Bookmobile. 

 During your visit check out our “universe” of Space-themed materials available to MidPointe Library cardholders!  

Go to: www.midpointelibrary.org > Catalog Search > Outer Space 

Or, blast off into the vast world of e-knowledge at: 

www.midpointelibrary.org > eLibrary > eAudiobooks > eBooks > eMagazines > Movies and TV shows > Music > Research bases > Digital Archives. 

 No library card? No problem! Sign up for your free card at any MidPointe location!  

Sources: 

“2019 Chase’s Calendar of Events” available for checkout at MidPointe Library.  

(2) “’Project Blue Book’ Is Based On a True U.F.O. Story. Here It is” by Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean. New York Times online edition dated January 15, 2019. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/arts/television/project-blue-book-history-true-story.html 

Paper copies of the New York Times are available for reading at MidPointe’s Middletown, West Chester and Monroe branches. Go to :  www.midpointelibrary.org > Catalog Search > New York Times 

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