UFOlogy: A curious and often baffling field of study concerned with Unidentified Flying Objects. It’s a subject riddled with paradoxes, not least the fact that the more people try to identify these objects, the more stubbornly unidentified they seem to become.
The generally accepted, though by no means universally agreed upon, theory is that UFOlogy’s roots can be traced back to the early 20th century, a period of considerable human ingenuity and even greater human confusion. Early experiments in deception, such as those involving the Swedish “ghost rockets” (which, let’s face it, sounds like a rather good name for a rock band), and the somewhat more ambitious Operation Fortitude during World War II, laid the groundwork for what was to come.
These early ventures into the art of misdirection, combined with the dawn of the nuclear age, created a perfect storm of paranoia and speculation. The subsequent events in New Mexico, involving a supposed crashed weather balloon (or was it?), only served to further muddy the waters.
The truly perplexing part of the story, however, is that all this deliberate obfuscation, this carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation, appears to have inadvertently attracted the very phenomenon it was designed to conceal. It’s as if all the smoke and mirrors somehow conjured up the real thing. Or, at least, something equally perplexing.
Now, humanity finds itself in a rather awkward position. Having spent so much time and effort trying to convince itself (and everyone else) that UFOs were a figment of the imagination, it’s now faced with the distinct possibility that they might be real after all. The cosmic irony, of course, is that nobody has the faintest idea what to do about it. It’s a bit like finally catching that elusive bus you’ve been chasing for years, only to discover that it’s heading straight into a black hole.
So, the next time you hear someone talking about UFOs, remember: the truth is probably stranger than fiction. And always carry a towel. You never know when it might come in handy. Sources and related content
Kevin Cann & Gemini.AI in honor of the great Douglas Adams
2/21/2025