Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo
Was the 'Betz mystery sphere' an alien device ?
Posted on Friday, 1 January, 2021
The sphere was widely reported in the papers. Image Credit: St. Petersburg Times
A strange metallic sphere found near the home of a family in Florida sparked a decades-long mystery.
The strangeness began in 1974 when the Betz family of Fort George Island, Florida discovered a mysterious metal sphere in their garden shortly after a fire had destroyed their property.
Believing it to be a cannonball from some historic battle, they decided to keep it, however it soon became clear that the object - which was suspiciously pristine - was not what it seemed.
They later reported that the sphere had started to behave peculiarly, reacting to guitar playing by emitting a throbbing noise and changing direction when being rolled across the floor.
The family dog was also said to whimper and react in fear of the object.
Eventually, the US military got their hands on the sphere.
According to one analysis, there were "radio waves coming from it and a magnetic field around it", however initial attempts to x-ray it proved futile due to the metal being too thick to penetrate.
Even UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek got a chance to examine it, but he, along with the military experts, all concluded that the object was most likely man-made.
This didn't stop it being billed as an extraterrestrial device by the media, however.
It was later discovered that the stainless steel sphere happened to be a perfect match for a component kept in stock by a Jacksonville equipment supply company.
Its erratic movements, it was argued, were more likely to be due to the uneven floor at the family's newly rebuilt house rather than due to any unusual properties of the sphere itself.
Even so, to this day the sphere continues to remain a topic of debate and intrigue.
Source: Popular Mechanics
https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/342579/was-the-betz-mystery-sphere-an-alien-device
Thanks to: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com
Posted on Friday, 1 January, 2021
The sphere was widely reported in the papers. Image Credit: St. Petersburg Times
A strange metallic sphere found near the home of a family in Florida sparked a decades-long mystery.
The strangeness began in 1974 when the Betz family of Fort George Island, Florida discovered a mysterious metal sphere in their garden shortly after a fire had destroyed their property.
Believing it to be a cannonball from some historic battle, they decided to keep it, however it soon became clear that the object - which was suspiciously pristine - was not what it seemed.
They later reported that the sphere had started to behave peculiarly, reacting to guitar playing by emitting a throbbing noise and changing direction when being rolled across the floor.
The family dog was also said to whimper and react in fear of the object.
Eventually, the US military got their hands on the sphere.
According to one analysis, there were "radio waves coming from it and a magnetic field around it", however initial attempts to x-ray it proved futile due to the metal being too thick to penetrate.
Even UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek got a chance to examine it, but he, along with the military experts, all concluded that the object was most likely man-made.
This didn't stop it being billed as an extraterrestrial device by the media, however.
It was later discovered that the stainless steel sphere happened to be a perfect match for a component kept in stock by a Jacksonville equipment supply company.
Its erratic movements, it was argued, were more likely to be due to the uneven floor at the family's newly rebuilt house rather than due to any unusual properties of the sphere itself.
Even so, to this day the sphere continues to remain a topic of debate and intrigue.
Source: Popular Mechanics
https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/342579/was-the-betz-mystery-sphere-an-alien-device
Thanks to: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com
