Chinese Encounter Rash of UFO Sightings

[INRM]

Okay, so what do you think the actual culprit is for these sightings?

 

[DC]

Okay, so what do you think the actual culprit is for these sightings?

well i have read on the Internet that there is an intergalactic war in Space, but the governments do not inform us about it. Have you also heard about that?

 

[bit_pattern]

well i have read on the Internet that there is an intergalactic war in Space, but the governments do not inform us about it. Have you also heard about that?

And a good thing too... Intergalactic wars anywhere else are a real pain in the arse

 

[richardm]

And a good thing too... Intergalactic wars anywhere else are a real pain in the arse

I had one in the cupboard where I keep the dog food, once. It was okay but the Bonios were never really the same again.

 

[Beerina]

Okay, so what do you think the actual culprit is for these sightings?

Stupidity of the general populace, there and worldwide, which enhances success of both Photoshop fraud and mis-identified missile launches.

 

[marksman]

I blame technology. Back when the populace did not believe in the concept of space travel, they would have reported good ol' fashioned nature spirits.

 

[INRM]

Beerina,

Entirely possible

 

[Soapy Sam]

Paparazzi in planes, hovering for a shot of the 3 Gorges Dam when it breaks.

 

[INRM]

You do realize I wasn't being silly here. I was actually asking for what could actually be a plausible explanation for these sightings, the only person who has given me a reasonable explanation so far is Beerina

 

[marksman]

Hey. My explanation was completely serious! in the past, unexplained phenomena would be attributed to spirits. In the modern age, UFOs are the go-to explanation.

 

[hgc]

You do realize I wasn't being silly here. I was actually asking for what could actually be a plausible explanation for these sightings, the only person who has given me a reasonable explanation so far is Beerina

The UFO fad emerges in different societies at different points in history. Today China. Tomorrow somewhere else. What other explanation is needed?

 

[Agatha]

People are liars, gullible, pattern forming, and influenced by reports. Someone sees a star and thinks it must be a UFO. Following news reports, other people misidentify objects in the sky as UFOs, or lie to get their 15 minutes of fame.

 

[Tricky]

Thread moved from politics.

Posted By: Tricky

 

[Sledge]

What do you think? Try to have a thought of your own, Baldrick INRM, thinking is so important. What do you think?

 

[ExMinister]

I would tend to wonder what the Chinese military have been up to.

 

[tsig]

Okay, so what do you think the actual culprit is for these sightings?

A "Rash of UFO Sightings"? You need a little skeptic balm for that.

 

[Bell]

Hey. My explanation was completely serious! in the past, unexplained phenomena would be attributed to spirits. In the modern age, UFOs are the go-to explanation.

But were the gods astronauts?

 

[jakesteele]

Okay, so what do you think the actual culprit is for these sightings?

http://www.cufon.org/cufon/ifo_list.htm

Here's a fairly comprehensive list of plausible explanation for UFOs in general complied by Donald Menzel, a noted debunker of the 50s and 60s. What on this list would be most likely for the China ones, I'll leave that to the guys with the non-plausible answers. But below are my personal picks that I dedicate to them for sarcastically skirting the issue.

Matches (while sometimes being mistaken for UFOs, they are most commonly mistaken for Will‘o the Wisp due to the abrupt way in which they are extinguished by the smoker)

smoker lighting pipe – usually reported as a UFO igniting booster rockets while achieving escape velocity

flicked cigarettes (very common when drunk guys are pissing outdoors)

reflection from glasses – I wear glasses and have been on the cover of the National Enquirer several times and once made a guest appearance on the UFO Hunters.

The falling leaf effect – mostly reported by people under the influence of LSD or other hallucinogens

Ghost of the Brocken – this one speaks for itself

insect swarms - particularily in tropical climates

tumbleweeds – mainly reported by lonely cowboys

icebergs
[*the updated and revised list also includes two new entries - the iceberg tumbleweeds (related to iceberg lettuce) and the tumbling icebergs (not to be confused with Bjork's new band)]

domed roofs – this originated from explorers to the Arctic seeing Superman flying out of his dome-roofed Fortress of Solitude and then mistaking it for the Mother of all Mother Ships

milkweed seeds – frequently mistaken for armadas of invading fleets releasing their Death Gliders.

feathers – especially when seen on flying birds at dusk and dawn

paper and other debris – The possibilities are endless considering their versatile and varied nature

kites – particularily deceptive because of their tendency to chaotically jerk hither and yon while hovering over the same general area and its erratic movements are mistaken for right-angle turns and other laws-of-physics defying acts

leaves – Autum in New England in particular

spider webs – will the wonders of nature never cease?

Moths – mainly when they fly into a bug zapper and they are mistaken for UFOs that crash and burn

advertising – ‘nuff said

illuminated bubbles – WTF?

sewage disposal – WTF?

soap bubbles - Lately, there's been a rash of sightings in Pocetello, Idaho that were later discovered to be soap bubbles. It turns out it was a publicity stunt by Dove Bar Soap. The company was charged by the local authorities for being in violation of the Orson Welles alert and were required to supply the whole town with free soap for a year.

 

[SezMe]

People are liars, gullible, pattern forming, and influenced by reports.

Thread moved from politics.

Posted By: Tricky

I can't think of a better place for it.

 

[SRW]

My wife asked me this morning if I ever heard of Billy Meier, because he was on a Chinese news program talking about his encounters. (She is Chinese and we get Mandarin Language stations).

She was convinced that there must be some truth to him, because the Chinese news program, said Jimmy Carter had signed a contract with the aliens. She wanted to know, how the aliens were able to write in English and also why they were so beautiful

I was on my way out the door so I just gave her the brief Billy Meier story, but have my work cut out for me this evening. I just may start by calling Comcast and having CCN cut off.