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Everything Else

The Odd, the Obscure, and the Out‑There

UFOlogy isn’t just serious reports, government hearings, or meticulous case studies. Alongside the science and speculation thrives a world of quirky cultural fallout — myths, memes, fashions, forgotten TV pilots, and downright weird stories that orbit the UFO phenomenon.

This page collects the curiosities: the stranger‑than‑fiction side of the UFO story.

Tin Foil Hats & Alien Mind‑Control

  • The Origin: The phrase “tin foil hat” first appeared in a short story by Julian Huxley (The Tissue‑Culture King, 1927), where characters used metallic headgear to block telepathic control.
  • Pop‑Culture Boom: By the 1950s, tinfoil hats became a tongue‑in‑cheek piece of folk armor against alien thought control and government mind‑rays.
  • Fun Fact: Modern physics nerds point out that aluminum foil can indeed block electromagnetic interference… so maybe the “joke” has some grounding after all.

UFO Channeling & Cosmic Dictation

Beyond abductions and sightings, some contactees became famous for “channeling” aliens via telepathy, typewriters, or trance states:

  • George Van Tassel: Hosted the legendary “Giant Rock” gatherings in California (1950s‑60s), claiming channeled messages from the “Venusian commander Ashtar.”
  • The Ashtar Command: A galactic federation allegedly speaking through dozens of worldwide channels, warning about nuclear weapons and urging cosmic peace.
  • Quirkiest Episode: In the 1970s, some groups predicted Ashtar’s ships would land in plain sight. Reports of “no‑show contact dates” became cult‑classic UFO lore.

Forgotten UFO TV Gold (60s, 70s, 80s)

Want UFO trivia that’ll stump even hardcore fans? Check out these obscurities:

  • “Project U.F.O.” (1978, NBC): A Jack Webb (Dragnet) docudrama based loosely on Project Blue Book case files. Ended with “The truth is out there”‑style voiceovers before The X‑Files made it cool.
  • “UFO” (1970, UK): A Gerry Anderson live‑action series with string‑pulled spaceships, purple wigs, and a secret Moonbase defending Earth from aliens. Campy… but surprisingly influential.
  • “The Invaders” (1967‑68, ABC): A noir‑style series about a man uncovering an alien infiltration of Earth. Famous for showing humanoid aliens with a tell‑tale “crooked pinky.”
  • “My Favorite Martian” (1960s): Strictly comedy, but it primed TV audiences to embrace the idea of aliens living among us, hidden in plain sight.
  • Obscure Gem: The Quatermass Experiment (1953 UK serial) — early sci‑fi blending rockets, alien possession, and paranoia long before UFOs became mainstream on TV.
  • "The Lost Saucer"- Episode 9: "Return to the Valley of the Chicaphants" Fi and Fum land on a planet and encounter a prehistoric land where the hybrid chicken-elephant creatures live.


UFOs Meet Fashion & Lifestyle

  • The 1950s UFO craze sparked a boom in pulp art, cheap ray‑gun toys, and “spaceship” diner designs across America.
  • Disco Aliens: The 1970s gave us space‑themed disco outfits and cosmic album covers (Parliament‑Funkadelic’s Mothership Connection — a literal funk UFO).
  • Cosmic Cuisine?: Contactees sometimes reported being fed “space food pellets” aboard craft — years before Earth astronauts adopted freeze‑dried meals. Coincidence?

UFO Pranks, Hoaxes & Curiosities

  • The 1967 “Shag Harbour Crash”: Still treated as serious by Canadian authorities, but one Canadian newspaper ran a cartoon of Mounties pulling an alien over for “space‑driving without a license.”
  • Crop Circle Tractors: While many circles are mysterious, the famous “Doug & Dave” in England claimed to make many with planks and rope — only later did real unexplained cases show measurable anomalies.
  • Cosmic Curiosity: In 1973, Ohio police chased a glowing UFO across counties… which later turned out to be the planet Venus. Still, the event left a permanent mark on local folklore.

UFOs in the Fringe of Science & Culture

  • Psychic UFO Debates: Researchers like Jacques Vallée noted that UFO reports often carry overlaps with ESP, synchronicities, and spiritual experiences. Weird, but consistent.
  • Shaver Mystery (1940s): Pulp magazines published claims of underground “Deros” (deranged robots) sending voices into people’s heads with ray‑machines.
  • The Mothman (1966‑67): In Point Pleasant, West Virginia, winged “Mothman” sightings coincided with UFOs and poltergeist activity — a mash‑up of high strangeness.
  • UFO in the Law: In 1954, France briefly allowed “flying saucers” to count as cause for paid worker leave if the encounter left the employee incapacitated. Yes, UFO sick leave.

Trivia Corner: Did You Know?

  • First UFO Toy Craze: In 1953, the Marx Toy Company sold over 250,000 “Flying Saucer” disk toys in a single year.
  • UFO Olympics: In 2009, Chile’s Air Force investigated UFO sightings during an international paragliding competition — yes, aliens may have had the best seats.
  • Animal Abduction Theories: In one 1978 case, a rabbit farmer claimed UFOs were stealing his rabbits, which adds Watership Down meets sci‑fi to the cultural canon.
  • Astronaut Humor: On Apollo 11, Michael Collins reportedly joked about “watching out for UFOs” in space, turning alien surveillance worry into a running gag among astronauts.

Why Include the Weird?

Because UFOlogy isn’t just “nuts and bolts.” It’s also a culture, a shared mythology, a playful mirror of our fears and imaginations. By exploring the oddball, we understand how the UFO phenomenon shaped human creativity — from science fiction to fashion to fringe philosophy.

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✨ “Everything Else” is where the fun of the UFO puzzle lives — the folklore, the culture, the trivia. Because sometimes, the strangest details tell us just as much about humanity as about the phenomenon itself.

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