Editing Extraterrestrial UFO hypothesis (section)

===The 1947 flying saucer wave in America===
On June 24, 1947, at about 3:00&nbsp;p.m. local time, pilot [[Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting|Kenneth Arnold]] reported seeing nine unidentified disk-shaped aircraft flying near [[Mount Rainier]].<ref>Chicago Daily Tribune (June 26, 1947)</ref><ref>Arnold Kenneth, [http://www.project1947.com/fig/ka.htm Report on 9 unidentified aircraft observed on June 24, 1947, near Mt. Rainier, Washington], (October 1947)</ref> When no aircraft emerged that seemed to account for what he had seen, Arnold quickly considered the possibility of the objects being extraterrestrial. On July 7, 1947, two stories came out where Arnold was raising the topic of possible extraterrestrial origins, both as his opinion and those who had written to him. In an Associated Press story, Arnold said he had received quantities of [[fan mail]] eager to help solve the mystery.  Some of them "suggested the discs were visitations from another planet."<ref>Associated Press story, July 7, 1947, e.g., Salt Lake City ''Deseret News'', p. 3, "Author of 'Discs' Story To Seek Proof" [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Aul-kAQHnToC&dat=19470707&printsec=frontpage]</ref><ref>Chicago 'Times', July 7, 1947, p. 3</ref><ref>Kenneth Arnold; Speaking to Journalist Edward R. Murrow (April 7, 1950), [http://www.project1947.com/fig/kamurrow.htm Transcript] care of [http://www.project1947.com/ Project 1947]</ref><ref>Spokane ''Daily Chronicle'', p.1, June 27, 1947, "More Sky-Gazers Tell About Seeing the Flying Piepans"[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19470627&printsec=frontpage]; Eugene (OR) Register-Guard, p.1, June 27, 1947; Bremerton (Washington) ''Sun'', June 28, 1947, "Eerie 'Whatsit objects' In Sky Observed Here."</ref>

When the 1947 flying saucer wave hit the United States, there was much speculation in the newspapers about what they might be in news stories, columns, editorials, and letters to the editor. For example, on July 10, U.S. Senator [[Glen H. Taylor|Glen Taylor]] of Idaho commented, "I almost wish the flying saucers would turn out to be space ships from another planet," because the possibility of hostility "would unify the people of the earth as nothing else could." On July 8, [[R. DeWitt Miller]] was quoted by UP saying that the saucers had been seen since the early nineteenth century. If the present discs weren't secret Army weapons, he suggested they could be vehicles from Mars, or other planets, or maybe even "things out of other dimensions of time and space."<ref>Jerome Clark, ''UFO Encyclopedia'', p. 202-203</ref>  Other articles brought up the work of [[Charles Fort]], who earlier in the twentieth century had documented numerous reports of unidentified flying objects that had been written up in newspapers and scientific journals.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rUohAAAAIBAJ&pg=2393,814473&dq=charles+fort&hl=en |title=Schenectady Gazette - Google News Archive Search |website=news.google.com}}</ref>

Even if people thought the saucers were real, most were generally unwilling to leap to the conclusion that they were extraterrestrial in origin. Various popular theories began to quickly proliferate in press articles, such as secret military projects, Russian spy devices, hoaxes, [[optical illusions]], and [[mass hysteria]]. According to journalist Edward R. Murrow, the ETH as a serious explanation for "flying saucers" did not earn widespread attention until about 18 months after Arnold's sighting.<ref name=uforaddocu>[[Edward R. Murrow]] (April 7, 1950) ''[http://www.albany.edu/talkinghistory/arch2004jan-june.html The Case of the Flying Saucer]'', CBS News (Radio Documentary available in MP3/Real Media), (October 2006)</ref>

These attitudes seem to be reflected in the results of the first U.S. poll of public UFO perceptions released by [[Gallup poll|Gallup]] on August 14, 1947.<ref name="jacko1">Jacobs David M  (2000), "UFOs and Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge", University Press of Kansas, {{ISBN|0-7006-1032-4}}  (Compiled work: section sourced from Jerome Clark)</ref> The term "flying saucer" was familiar to 90% of the respondents. As to what people thought explained them, the poll further showed, that most people either held no opinion or refused to answer the question (33%), or generally believed that there was a mundane explanation.  29% thought they were [[optical illusion]]s, [[mirage]]s, or imagination; 15% a U.S. secret weapon; 10% a [[hoax]]; 3% a "weather forecasting device"; 1% of Soviet origin, and 9% had "other explanations," including fulfillment of [[Bible|Biblical]] [[prophecy]], secret commercial aircraft, or phenomena related to [[atomic testing]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=feST4K8J0scC&dat=19470815&printsec=frontpage Gallup poll in August 15, 1947, ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 6]</ref>