Reports of UFOs-unidentified flying objects-continue to pour in from various locales around the world. While they are popularly believed to be extraterrestrial craft, or "flying saucers," most eventually become IFOs-identified as planes, balloons, meteors, or other objects, or even as illusions or hoaxes.

While it may take only a few moments for someone to report a UFO, it may take weeks or years for the data to surface that could explain it. Those in the business of promoting UFOs are unfazed by the constant UFO-to-IFO transformation, since there is always a residue of old cases to tout, as well as a constant supply of new ones with which to mystify a credulous public...