Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. — John Adams, 1770
Four Years of UFO Investigations – What We Learned:
An unidentified flying object (UFO), in its strictest sense, is an unfamiliar anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object. Technically, “UFO” refers to something that cannot be identified; unfortunately, in contemporary popular culture, the term has become synonymous with extraterrestrial spacecraft. However, decades of investigations, research, and analysis from a cadre of UFO investigators, including the United States Air Force, have established that most UFO sightings are either hoaxes or misidentifications of man-made terrestrial objects and natural phenomena. Evidence of extraterrestrial life remains elusive as ever.
The lack of physical and scientific proof beyond a reasonable doubt has pushed UFOs to be regarded along with Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the chupacabra, and leprechauns: subjects nestled together in the occult section of your local bookstore or library. This unfortunate occurrence, in my opinion, is a direct result of a once-worthy subject being hijacked by a convergence of armchair UFO investigators, conspiracy theorists, hoaxers, and people taking occasional cheesy photos of alleged extraterrestrials or flying saucers.