Editing Ufology Handbook 080713/RADAR and UFOs (section)

==Direct Physical UFO Evidence==

The first claim of a UFO supposedly generating direct physical evidence reportedly occurred near Maury Island (a peninsular 5 kilometres from Tacoma, Washington USA). At this location on the 23rd June 1947, a formation of 6 silver doughnut shaped "UFOs" were purportedly observed, one of which discharged light metal "flakes" (and later rock-like slag) directly onto a boat containing two men, a boy and a dog. During this "rain" of debris, the boat was reputedly damaged, the boy injured and the dog killed. Those who saw examples of the metal "recovered" by the "witnesses" stated it resembled scrap material derived from surplus WWII aircraft (quite commonplace in that era). The slag may have been naturally occurring rock or (as stated by UFO researcher John Keel) radioactive material illegally dumped from the air.

In September 1957, metallic fragments supposedly originating from a disc-shaped UFO which exploded over a beach at Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, were sent (with a letter detailing this event) to a Brazilian newspaper columnist. Initial examinations of this metal suggested it was a totally pure form of magnesium. But a later examination by the University of Colorado UFO Project found it to be no more purer than other test batches of magnesium made during (or even before) 1957. Other examinations of the Ubatuba fragments were conducted after this date, some which suggested the metal was unusual, while others indicated that it was fairly mundane in composition.

A few claims have also been made concerning the "recovery" of small "UFO"-like artefacts. One of the best documented instances relates to the discovery of an unusual object reportedly seen falling to earth near Silpho Moor, Scarborough, Yorkshire, on the 21st November (or the 1st of December) 1957. This 46cm diameter disc-shaped construct weighed 16 kilograms, and had a "hieroglyphic" inscription running around its lower section. When cut open, it was found to contain a copper tube which itself held 17 thin copper sheets adorned with further "hieroglyphic" writing. A supposed translation of this text relayed a message from the disc's extraterrestrial creators, describing how and why it had been dispatched to Earth. On examination, the object was found to be constructed from copper and lead; the composition of both being terrestrial in nature. Needless to say, this case is widely dismissed as a hoax today. It is claimed (but not irrefutably documented) that the hoaxers responsible for constructing the saucer later confessed to their involvement in this affair. In some ways this case shares some similarities with an elaborate student hoax perpetuated in September 1967, involving several small flying saucer models placed in a line spanning a considerable portion of Southern England.

There is reference in the early UFO literature to a substance termed "space grass", which some researchers suggested was associated with UFO activity. This was, in actuality, Chaff; thin metal strips dumped from aircraft in order to "spoof" RADAR systems during military exercises. Similar claims were also made in relation to small spherical RADAR calibration targets, occasionally discovered by those unfamiliar with their true nature. One of the most unusual forms of alleged UFO physical evidence were several pancakes supposedly given to a witness by UFO entities encountered in April 1961, at Eagle River, Wisconsin, USA. An examination by the American Food & Drug Administration revealed them to be terrestrial in composition;

comprising of a mixture of fat, buckwheat, bran and soybeans (but notably lacking in salt).

<div id="Implants"/div>