The term ‘flying saucers’ was coined by pilot Kenneth Arnold after seeing some strange objects when flying over Washington State in the USA on 24 June 1947. But I seem to be the only person to properly explain what he saw.
It turns out that the objects he thought were jet aircraft (others thought them guided missiles or balloons) were mirages of snow-capped peaks in the Cascade Range, near which he was flying. The movement he attributed to them was an illusion caused by his own movement.
It turns out that the objects he thought were jet aircraft (others thought them guided missiles or balloons) were mirages of snow-capped peaks in the Cascade Range, near which he was flying. The movement he attributed to them was an illusion caused by his own movement.
 | An illustration of mountain-top mirages, which might explain the Arnold report (Copyright Van Nostrand Reinhold). |
I covered this case in detail in my book The UFO Mystery Solved but an edited version can be seen on this page The Arnold Report Explained. It is an example of how ignorance of an unusual phenomenon can start a new myth.