60th Anniversary of Roswell UFO Crash
I'm sure the festivities would be interesting. I would love to go and check it out. Do I believe in UFO's? Somewhat. I think it's fairly ridiculous to think we are the only "intelligent" beings in this entire universe. For those of you wanting a more complete background, check out this entry at Wikipedia.
If you have a good computer, you can help with the search for extraterrestrials. Seti@home uses your spare processing power to analyze radio telescope data. I used to have it running on my laptop, but my laptop is about 5 years old now and has enough problems with handling daily activities.
The 60th anniversary of the so-called "Roswell Incident" will be marked July 5-8 at the city's annual UFO festival. City officials say 50,000 people are expected for the event, which will include lectures, book-signings, tours, entertainment, and, according to the organizers, perhaps an alien abduction or two.
Long-term plans are underway as well, for a UFO-themed amusement park, complete with an indoor roller coaster that would take passengers on a simulated alien abduction. The park, dubbed Alien Apex Resort, could open as early as 2010. The city has received a $245,000 legislative appropriation for initial planning, but the park would be privately built and managed.
The original Roswell Incident occurred in July 1947, outside the city. A rancher named W.W. "Mack" Brazel went to check on some sheep after a night of storms. He claimed he found some strange debris. Neighbors told Brazel he might have pieces of a flying saucer.
On July 8, 1947, a local military office issued a press release saying that pieces of a "crashed disk" were recovered. A story featured on the front page of the Roswell Daily Record claimed a flying saucer was captured (the paper is now reproduced and sold to tourists). Other news agencies picked up on the event — albeit in a cursory fashion.
A revised release was soon sent out that said the material was a weather balloon. But stories about requests for tiny coffins and a nefarious plot began to emerge and Roswell went from small town to Alien Capitol.
While what exactly happened more than a half-century ago in the desert remains murky. But it did inspire me to drive hundreds of miles across the desert to a town of roughly 45,000 people.
