The Great UFO Cover-Up?

SIXTY-FIVE YEARS AGO - Officials from the public information office at Roswell Army Air Field issued a statement on July 8, 1947, claiming that a crashed “flying disk” had been recovered by military personnel from a nearby farm.  

The following day, the commander of the Eighth Air Force stated that a radar-tracking balloon had crashed and been recovered, not a “flying disk.”  A later press conference displayed what was said to be wreckage and which appeared to verify the General’s explanation.

The incident leapt from obscurity in 1978, when one of the officers involved in the recovery told a “ufologist” (i.e., one who studies UFOs) that the military had recovered an alien spacecraft and had covered up the fact.  From that point, the story acquired a life of its own, including everything from National Enquirer articles, to documentaries, to two congressional inquiries in the 1990s.  There have also been reports of as many as ten additional crash sites and, of course, alien autopsies.  

 

One of the many wonderful things about freedom of speech is just how entertaining it can be.  It takes a truly open society to tolerate, sometimes embrace, and even occasionally celebrate our fellow Americans who can become obsessed by such an off-the-wall story.

The greatest thing since sliced bread

EIGHTY-FOUR YEARS AGO – The expression “the greatest thing since sliced bread” originated when the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, produced their first machined sliced bread for sale on July 7, 1928. Their product was called "Kleen Maid Sliced Bread," and was advertised as "the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped." Apparently, it was the most significant thing that ever happened to Chillicothe - kind of sad, actually.

 

49 Star Flag

FIFTY-THREE YEARS AGO - On July 4, 1959, the 49-star flag became the official banner of the United States of America. Replacing the 48-star flag that had flown for forty-seven years and represented the nation during the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean War, it became necessary when Alaska was admitted to the union earlier in the year. The 49-star standard flew only one year and was replaced on July 4, 1960 by our current 50-star flag after Hawaii was admitted on August 21, 1959.

Women's Firsts On This Date

1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell becomes America's first female doctor, receiving a medical degree from the Institute of Geneva, New York.

Women's Firsts On This Date

1997 - Madeleine Albright becomes America's first female Secretary of State.