Pinpoint: A virtual user conference inRegister today
Smarty

World UFO Day

Dan Lambourne
Dan Lambourne
 | 
July 1, 2024
Tags
Cow being abducted by a UFO

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Wait, what is that thing? World UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) Day occurs on July 2nd each year, and we’re geeking out about it. If you’ve experienced close encounters with extraterrestrial forces, you wouldn’t be the only one. In fact, this goes back as far as the Puritans. Diary records from John Winthrop in 1639 mention an incident involving 3 men in a row boat. “‘When it stood still, it flamed up, and was about three yards square,’ the governor reported, ‘when it ran, it was contracted into the figure of a swine.’”

Alien investigation

As time passed, a documented unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) occurred in 1947 by Kenneth Arnold. Kenneth was flying his plane near Mount Rainier when he saw 9 flying crescent-shaped objects. He described them as moving in a pattern similar to saucers skipping over the water, which was mistakenly printed in a newspaper as saucer-shaped, giving life to the term “flying saucer.”

More sightings were reported, many stemming from Kenneth's report. Further complicating matters, tensions in the United States were high due to the Cold War and fear of Soviet aircraft invasions and spies. So much so that in 1948, the US Air Force launched an investigation into these sightings. Titled “Project Sign” in 1948, then “Project Grudge,” and finally “Project Blue Book” from 1952-1969, 12,000 UFO sightings and reports were compiled.

Looking for little green men

The Robertson Panel, an expert team of scientists commissioned by the CIA, probed into these claims and drafted a report on their findings, The Condon Report. This stated that 90% of the documented sightings or photographs could be attributed to cosmic events and that no national or international security threat existed. However, parts of the panel’s report were kept under classified lock and key, leaving speculation into government cover-up conspiracies and secret government programs. 

Area 51

desert-fence-448x336.webp

Fabled or factual, Area 51, a restricted 90,000 acres of land in Nevada, could be labeled as the location for the peak of government conspiracy theories as it’s allegedly the site where an alien spacecraft crashed and was “covered up.” (We put this in quotes because we don’t want to get sued.) Satellite imagery of this location has been banned since 2018, and visitors to the site’s gates will also see signs prohibiting photos. This only adds to the hype of the conspiratorial vibes there. Several theories circulate about Area 51, suggesting it's the base where alien technologies found at famous crash sites are tested and possibly even where alien lifeforms themselves are studied.

Crop Circles

Probably the most famous encounters credited to UFOs are the crop circles that appear overnight, thought to have been made by the landing of these flying discs. “Since the start of the 21st century, crop formations have increased in size and complexity, with some featuring as many as 2,000 different shapes and some incorporating complex mathematical and scientific characteristics.” A quick Google image search will show you more of what we mean when we say these circles can be intricate and advanced. 

alien-crop-circles-448x336.webp

Conclusion

World UFO Day reminds us of the intriguing mysteries and endless possibilities that lie beyond our planet. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, the stories and sightings continue to captivate our imagination and fuel our curiosity. Keep looking to the skies, and who knows what you might discover. Happy UFO Day, live long and prosper, and may your quest for knowledge never cease!

Subscribe to our blog!
Learn more about RSS feeds here.
rss feed icon
Subscribe Now
Read our recent posts
Welcome to the Address Zoo #1 | Override & underride city addresses
Arrow Icon
The benefits of reliable, easy-to-implement address data are straightforward. Actual addresses, on the other hand, aren’t always so cut and dry. If you’re looking to become an expert in everything that begins or ends with an address, this series is for you. We’ll demystify the types of addresses that have developers scratching their heads and introduce you to the tools keeping your address data best-in-class. Come one, come all, and enter the wonderful world of peculiar addresses! Let’s see what’s on exhibit.
Around the World in 80 Days (with Smarty!)
Arrow Icon
Phony passports. Runaway trains. Rogue elephants. Hot air balloons. Phileas Fogg dodged them all in the 1956 movie adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, Around the World in 80 Days. His race was against time. Today, your ecommerce business is running a race of its own; delivering quickly, accurately, and affordably across a world full of logistical landmines. Fortunately, you don’t need a valet named Passepartout to guide you (although wouldn’t that be fun?!) You just need Smarty. Smarty is your passport to global address data perfection, specializing in address verification, autocomplete, geocoding, and enrichment.
Address component analysis: A smarter way to validate addresses
Arrow Icon
Most address validation tools give you a simple thumbs up or down on an address because it either matches or it doesn’t, right? But what if you need more than just “valid” or “invalid” as a response? What if you could know exactly what part of the address is off, like a misspelled street name or an unconfirmed vanity city (like Hollywood), and why it isn’t considered valid?What if part of an address needed to change in order to make it a mailable, valid address? We think you’d want to know that, too.

Ready to get started?