of Law that this is the full explanation of these sightings . "
ran an extensive piece in April, discussing what it called the
B u t most of h i s statement was an exposition of swamp
"saucer flap" with an air of genteel derision.
gas as the probable cause of the sightings at Dexter and
Newsweek
Hillsdale: "The flames go out in one place and suddenly ap
carried a full summary. and
Life
magazine
weighed in with a more gaudy but no less carefully qualified
pear in another place. giving the illusion of motion. No heat
article titled " Well-Witnessed Invasion - by Something. "
is felt, and the lights do not burn or char the ground. They can
Summing up, the editors said: "Call them what you will: flying
appear for hours at a time and sometimes for a whole night.
saucers. Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) . optical illusions.
Generally there is no smell . and usually no sound. except the
or the first symptoms of the silly season. They are back
popping sound oflittle explosions. " To Hynek's dismay, how
again - and seen by more people than ever before. Last week
ever. the news conference "turned out to be no place for
the manifestations seemed almost to have reached the pro
scholarly discussion; it was a circus. The TV cameramen
portions of an invasion . " But the amused detachment with
wanted me in one spot, the newspaper men wanted me in
which many reporters viewed the sightings was not shared by
another. and for a while, both groups were actually tugging
the hundreds of people who had seen the Ann Arbor UFOs or
at me. Everyone was clamoring for a single, spectacular ex
knew people who had. They were offended by the way Hy
planation of the sightings. They wanted little green men.
nek's explanation was reported and accepted, and their feel
When I handed out a statement that discussed swamp gas.
ings spread throughout Michigan.
many of the men simply ignored the fact that I said it was a
ne of the state's representatives in Con
' possible' reason. I watched with horror as one reporter
gress. House minority leader Gerald Ford.
scanned the page. found the phrase 'swamp gas . · underlined
returned to Washington in late March to
it, and rushed for a telephone.
issue a call for a "full-blown" congression
"Too many of the stories the next day not only said that
al investigation. At about the same time,
swamp gas was definitely the cause of the Michigan lights but
there were calls for action f�om respected publications and
implied that it was the cause of other UFO sightings as well.
observers not previously heard from on this issue. The
I got out of town as quickly and as quietly as I coul d . "
tian Science Monitor.
Despite Hynek's dismay, which was expressed only I at
Chris
for one. said in an editorial that the
Michigan sightings had "deepened the mystery" of UFOs.
adding. "It is time for the scientific community to conduct a
er. his swamp gas hypothesis quickly became as famous as
thorough and objective study of the ·unexplainable . ' " Syn
the Michigan sightings themselves; both received national coverage to an extent unprecedented in the long history ofthe
dicated columnist Roscoe Drummond called on Congress to
of U FO stories. carried several reports on the Michigan sight
believed it could ignore such demands, Congress was under
"take charge " and order an investigation . If the air force
UFO controversy. The staid New York Times, historically leery
no such illusion . Like it or not. it would have to act.
ings. reproduced Frank Man nor's sketch of what he had seen,
Thus it was that the first congressional hearing on UFOs
and even hazarded a cautious editorial. Its breezy conclu
began as a closed session of the House Committee on Armed
sion: ' The flying saucer enthusiasts demonstrate human
Services. chaired by Representative L. Mendel Rivers of South
frailties that are likely to sail on forever." A few days later,
New York Times columnist Russell Baker dished out a typically
Carolina, on April 5, I 966. The previous week, Rivers had
healthy an tidote for human boredom. Zoo keepers in Pitts
Rivers. "has a pretty good sized stature in the Congress. " Ford
received a letter from Congressman Ford -who, observed
sardonic observation : "The possibility of flying saucers is a
cited widespread dissatisfaction with the official response to
burgh and New York have recently been seeking a similar antidote for their caged gorillas . " The
the Ann Arbor sightings and concluded. "In the firm belief
New Yorker magazine
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