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people’s stories. That is what they say when they’re on television. In private, they admit that there are great differenc- es. For example, an analysis of 95 abductees’ stories in terms of what were the extraterrestrials wearing? Thirty- seven percent of the people said they were wearing capes or cloaks, like a minister. Ah, I think 28 percent said they were wearing coveralls. Ah, 20-odd percent said they were wearing jumpsuit; and 22 percent said the ET’s were naked. Now, is that similar? David Jacobs has admitted that some of the abductees—in quotation marks— say the creatures had three fingers; some say they had four fingers; some say they had six fingers; some say they have crab- like claws; some say they have web fingers, like a duck and so on. There—this is the party line, that there’s great similarity. But in fact, there is great difference. Some describe the aliens as being short and bald and large-headed, big eyes and so on. Others describe them as being tall Nordic with long blond hair. Other abductees say that the ET’s look like giant praying mantis like giant insects. And still others say that they look like lizards. If that is similarity, then I suppose that somebody would say that Dolly Parton and I are quite similar. We both have one head, two eyes, one mouth, two ears, four fingers and a thumb on each hand. Similarity is like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. So if an extraterres- trial saw me standing alongside Dolly Parton, the extraterrestrial might say that I and Dolly Parton are similar. But I think the average human would say that we’re quite different. an were NOVA: So just give us a brief summary of what’s behind—the prosaic reasons (for) most UFO sightings. KLASS: In my nearly 30 years of investi- gating UFO reports, I’ve found that roughly 97, 98 percent of the people who report seeing UFO’s, are fundamentally intelligent honest people who have seen something—usually at night, in dark- ness—that is unfamiliar, that they cannot explain. There are dozens of different things that can generate UFO reports: Re- that can that can generate UFO reports: Re- entering satellites, meteor fireballs, hoax hot-air balloons. I was about to give a lecture out at Seattle, Washington, last June, around seven o’clock. And before going into the lecture auditorium, several other people were outside. And one of them said: ‘What’s that?’ And we looked up, and here was an orange-structured shape UFO. And I said: ‘I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s a balloon reflecting the rays of the setting sun.’ And the other one, said: ‘No, it’s not moving.’ Some- body said: ‘Maybe it’s a kite.’ And I said: ‘Oh, I’ve never seen a kite that high.’ It seemed like it was up several thousand feet. And we stood there, and finally, one man said: ‘I think I’ve got binoculars in the car.’ He ran to the car, got his binoculars, looked and said: ‘It’s a kite.’ Now, if that man had not been there, had not had binoculars in the car, I would have to say to you that I had seen an object—broad daylight—in Seattle, that I could not identify. It didn’t do anything extraordinary. It didn’t abduct me, it didn’t do sudden maneuvers and so on. So being able to find out what generates a UFO report takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a bit of luck. But there are many, many different trigger mecha- nisms that can generate UFO reports. KLASS: John Mack, being a psychiatrist, puts him—and a doctor—in a special position, in my view. That he has an obligation, if somebody comes and reports strange experiences, as a trained psychiatrist he has an obligation to explore all possible prosaic explanations. He has an obligation to, if he thinks he comes to an 48 NOVA: So what about John Mack?