Amongst
the many UFO-related publications that I've purchased
over the years, I have a collection of tabloid-style UFO
magazines. They're fun to read and look at, and sometimes,
you'll find a few interesting reports that most UFO researchers
are already familiar with. But you do have to be careful
when reading these kinds of magazines because they tend
to sensationalize UFOs by publishing anything that comes
their way with verification or investigation.
Case
in point:
I
purchased this following issue of UNSOLVED UFO SIGHTINGS
in 1995.
In
the middle of this issue, I found this two-page photo
spread about a cone-shaped UFO that landed in the woods
near Gulf Breeze, Florida.
As
I looked at it, something struck me when I saw the object
in the photo...and I started laughing. I said to myself:
"Oh my God. I know what that is! And I can't believe
that they published it in a UFO magazine.
Making
sure my instincts were right, I went downstairs and rumaged
through my Star Wars toy collection and pulled out a toy
called Land of the Jawas.
Included in the playset is the escape pod in which C-3PO
and R2-D2 found themselves as they got away from the Imperial
forces.
Land
of the Jawas playset
Three
different views of the Escape Pod
On
a nice sunny day, my friend Todd Fraser and I went out
and took the following photograph, using the escape pod
as the UFO by stringing it between two small trees, using
fishing test line.
Notice
the similarities between the object in this photo and
the one in the photos that were submitted to the magazine.
What do you think?
This
is to show you that I don't accept everything at face
value, as some of my co-workers would have you believe.
When possible, I research and investigate the information
given to me before coming out publicly with it. In this
particular case, I just happen to be lucky at being able
to say what this object really was.