June 24

On June 24 1947, the “first modern UFO sighting” took place as private pilot Kenneth Arnold, an Idaho businessman, reported seeing nine silvery objects flying in a “weaving formation” near Mount Rainier in Washington. He claimed that the press misquoted his statement about them being like “saucers,” but the name stuck. (I should note that this is not the first time the term “saucer” was used. It was originally used as a size comparison by Texan named John Martin. The size, not the shape, resembled a large saucer. You can read that story here.)