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APPENDIX INITIAL hypothesis "J or, if they do, must represent evidence of a visitation by some advanced race of space travelers (the extraterrestrial hypothesis or ETH). It is the view of the author that research on UFOs need not be restricted to these two alternatives. On the contrary, the accumulated data base exhibits several patterns tending to indicate that UFOs are real, represent a previously unrecognized phenomenon, and that the facts do not support the common concept of "space visitors. " Five specific arguments articulated here contradict the ETH: (i) unex- plained close encounters are far more numerous than required for any physical survey of the earth, (ii) the humanoid body structure of the alleged "aliens" is not likely to have originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel, (Hi) the reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race, (iv) the exten- sion of the phenomenon throughout recorded human history demon- strates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon, and (v) the apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives, three of which are proposed in outline form as a conclusion to this paper. HYPOTHESES Over the last forty years we have observed the steady development of a group of aerial phenomena generally referred to as Unidentified Fly- ing Objects or UFOs. After a brief attempt to explain the reports in terms of secret prototypes or advanced technology, two major explana- tions have captured the attention of the public, the media, and the scientists. These two theories are the natural phenomena hypothesis and the extraterrestrial hypothesis, or ETH. A large majority of the scientific community, which is typically unaware of the observational data except as reported in the popular press, continues to support the natural phenomena hypothesis. It asserts that all the reports can be explained as a combination of observing errors, classical atmospheric phenomena, and man-made objects, possi-