Word: menzel
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...eternal thanks to Dr. Donald Menzel, for he has provided me with the needed ammunition in my battle with my gullible friends. Hitherto, my pooh-poohing of the "space-ship theory" . . . has been backed up only by my feeble guesses that they are caused by the trickery of lights; now, some one theory" who has knows and unmasked can these prove his terrors "light-spot (perhaps from another planet...
...will be interesting to read the replies to Dr. Menzel from the diehards, especially the devotees of fantastic-story magazines, who prefer to think themselves mentally advanced and would rather continue feeding a fear to themselves and others. I, for one, accept Dr. Menzel's theory...
Unknown Lights. Even before this turn-of-the-century flurry, says Menzel, flying saucers were reported. In 1893, the British warship Caroline saw mysterious lights just south of Korea. They "flew" in a long line, sometimes changing their formation. Through a glass they appeared "to emit a thin smoke." On reaching Kobe, the officers of the Caroline learned that these "Unknown Lights of Japan" had been observed by fishermen and were even described in Japanese schoolbooks...
...search of literature, Dr. Menzel suggests, would turn up many flying saucers. There may even be some in the Bible: the "wheels" seen in the air by the Prophet Ezekiel.* Saucers have been seen more often of late, he thinks, because the U.S. Southwest, where atmospheric conditions are most favorable, has only recently been occupied by a large, alert population. The men who man its air bases, rocket ranges and laboratories are just the sort of observers that would notice flying saucers...
...aspect of his saucer research saddens Dr. Menzel. People like sensations, he says. The marvelous ships from space, manned by wise little people from Venus or Mars, brought a kind of frightening diversion into a jittery world. Dr. Menzel is aware that a debunker is not always a popular man. "I," he says sadly, "am the man who shot Santa Claus...